Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was beloved during his playing days in the NBA, working tirelessly to become the best player he could be.
Despite all the early success Bryant achieved in his career, he remained the hardest working person in the league in his pursuit to win as many titles as his hero Michael Jordan. A younger Bryant relished the opportunity to go up against Jordan and to this day remains the closest thing to the Chicago Bulls icon.
There are several iconic videos and photos that depict Bryant and Jordan’s on-court battles, though a recent trading card depicting the two recently sold for a record $12.9 million. The card is the only one in existence and contains signatures from the two superstars.
It was previously unknown who the lucky winner of the Bryant-Jordan trading card was, but it was recently revealed that investor Kevin O’Leary was the mystery bidder, via Laya Neelakandan of CNBC:
“We bought it together, yes we did,” O’Leary said on “Squawk Box” on Monday, adding the three got together on a 3 a.m. Zoom call to buy the card. “I’m very proud to own it.”
O’Leary is best known for his appearances on the popular TV show “Shark Tank” where investors hear pitches from businesses and decided whether or not they’d like to get involved. For the trading card, O’Leary teamed up with fellow investors Matt Allen and Paul Warshaw to buy the card in an effort avoid competing against one another.
O’Leary is a shrewd person who does not throw away his money willingly, and he acknowledged that he and his partners view the card like they do crypto currencies and other valuable collectible items such as watches. Trading cards have a popular past time for collectors through the decades and a card like the Bryant-Jordan one does not come around often
O’Leary stated the card won’t go on sale again during his lifetime, allowing it to appreciate in value and grow his impressive portfolio of assets:
“It’s going to be a part of an index that I’m going to continue to grow along with my partners,” he said. “We look at it no different than our bitcoin holdings, our ethereum holdings, our gold holdings.”
It’s hard to imagine another basketball trading card selling for close to $13 million any time soon, but if another Bryant card were to hit the market it could very well get into roughly the same neighborhood.
Nike unveils Kobe 3 Protro Low for 2026 release
The past weekend, fans got the chance to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant on his birthday and on Mamba Day, held annually on Aug. 24. This year, Vanessa Bryant unveiled the newest addition to Kobe’s signature shoe line the Kobe 3 Protro Low.
The shoe is set for release in 2026, with the promotional color coming in an all-white “Halo” colorway.
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