$20 million+ worth Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan jerseys gets comical $20k offer from Shaquille O’Neal

Sotheby's showed off Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's debut jerseys to Shaquille O'Neal and Inside the NBA crew.

$20 million+ worth Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan jerseys gets comical $20k offer from Shaquille O’Neal

Michale Jordan and Kobe Bryant's debut jerseys worth $20 million gets $20K bid from Shaquille O'Neal

It has been a long time since Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played in the NBA. Both of those superstars though, left a lasting impact on the game where they are the first names that come across the minds of fans across the globe.

That also means that memorabilia with their names written on them do fetch significant sums of money on auction sites. Fans have tried to get their hands on signed merchandise from those two legends in a bid to turn a profit.

YouTube video

Sotheby’s the auction house turned up at tonight’s broadcast of Inside the NBA. They brought along two jerseys which they will be auctioning soon. One was Michael Jordan’s NBA debut game worn jersey from 1984. The Kobe Bryant one was also from his NBA debut in the 1996 NBA season

FS Video

Sotheby’s’ representative detailed that the Jordan jersey was signed with a personal message. Hearing this, Shaquille O’Neal started with a $20K bid. That brought out a bout of laughter from his colleagues. They know the value of those jerseys were much higher.

Then Kenny Smith called out $25K. Charles Barkley then first bid $30k, then argued that he will pay $50k to the auction house representative immediately for those jerseys. Hearing this, O’Neal then outbid that by saying he would give $100k for both the jerseys.

Host Ernie Johnson asked Barkley if his $50k bid was going to matter considering the jerseys were going to be in the millions. In fact, the representative clarified that each of those jerseys is going to go for at least $10 million each. Which means, O’Neal first bid $20k for both jerseys that would go $20 million+.

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant memorabilia are collector items

Usually, Michael Jordan‘s rare memorabilia sell for millions. One example is his 1985 game-worn Nike Air Ship sneakers which sold for $1.47 million. His jersey trading cards sell in six figures and even tickets from his NBA debut have sold for nearly half a million.

That means this game-worn debut jersey will likely match what Sotheby’s is projecting. Famed collector Nick Fiorella will likely show up for this auction as he has previously splurged a lot of rare collector items. Along with him, expect other collectors to bid when the auction for Jordan jersey starts this month.

Kobe Bryant‘s memorabilia also sell at considerable prices. The jersey and sneakers from the Los Angeles Lakers great’s final ever road NBA game have sold for $500k. Quite a significant amount considering they are not as highly sought after such as the final ever jersey or game shoes. Therefore, this debut jersey might surpass the $10 million estimate Sotheby’s has when it goes up for auction in April.