JORDAN AND BRYANT CARD BREAKS WORLD RECORD WITH 12.9 MILLION DOLLAR SALE

By: Gyang Dakwo

A basketball card showing Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant has been sold for 12.932 million dollars, setting a new world record for the most expensive sports card ever. The sale took place in Dallas, Texas, through Heritage Auctions, although the buyer’s name was not revealed.

Sports cards are small collectible cards, usually about the size of a playing card. They often show a picture of an athlete on the front, with details about the player printed on the back. Some special editions go further by including the player’s signature or even a small piece of material from a jersey they wore in a game. These rare versions are highly prized by collectors and can sell for huge sums.

The Jordan and Bryant card is one of those rare types. It was made in the 2007 to 2008 season and is called a Dual Logoman. It carries photos of both players, their signatures, and two NBA logo patches cut from jerseys they wore in actual games. Only one copy of this particular card exists, which makes it unique, and it has gained even greater value since Kobe Bryant’s passing in 2020.

Auctioneers said the demand for the card was enormous because it unites two of the greatest basketball players of all time in one item. The mix of photographs, signatures, and game-worn jersey patches gave it everything collectors look for.

The card had been expected to sell for about 6 million dollars, but the final figure more than doubled that amount. It beat the previous record of 12.6 million dollars set in 2022 by a Mickey Mantle baseball card.

Before this sale, the most valuable basketball card was Steph Curry’s from his rookie season, which went for 5.9 million dollars in 2021.

However, the Jordan and Bryant card is not the most expensive sports item ever sold as that record belongs to Babe Ruth’s jersey from the 1932 World Series, which fetched 24.12 million dollars in August 2024.