Kobe Bryant’s Game Shoes, Ali’s Gloves and More Hitting L.A. Auction
With a Los Angeles Lakers jersey worn by Kobe Bryant in his rookie year having just sold for $2.73 million, sports fans with expensive tastes will want to check out the upcoming “Sports Legends” auction at Julien’s this month.
Game-worn items that belonged to the NBA great will be on the block at the Beverly Hills auction house on June 28, along with pricey treasures from other titans of athleticism, including Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Larry Bird, Mike Tyson and, the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali.
One item that will likely see some highly competitive bidding—especially in L.A.—are a pair of Kobe Bryant’s game-worn and signed Adidas KB8 II shoes from the 1998-99 NBA season (estimate: $20,000 – $30,000).
Or, for a whole lot of Lakers in one shot, there’s a 1999-2000 championship team-signed basketball, which includes the autographs of Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal (estimate: $3,000 – $5,000).
If you’re a fan of the sweet science, on the other hand, and have a couple fistfuls of cash, perhaps you’ll want to take home the burgundy Everlast boxing gloves worn by Muhammad Ali in his December 7th, 1970 bout against Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden. It was only Ali’s second fight in two years after being banned from the sport and stripped of his belt for refusing to be drafted into the war in Vietnam. Bonavena, a native of Argentina, had called Ali “chicken” and referred him to be his former name of “Clay” leading up to the fight—and was defeated by TKO in the 15th round (estimate: $60,000 – $80,000).
Those who love pro basketball but not Los Angeles can pick up a “significant early career era (1979-84)” Boston Celtics home jersey game worn and signed by Larry Bird—remote bidding is welcome (estimate: $20,000 – $30,000).
Also hitting the market is the dress tennis champ Serena Williams wore in her 2011 U.S. Open Semi-Final match against Caroline Wozniacki (estimate: $2,000 – $3,000).
And for people who want all things Michael Jordan even from a time when he wasn’t the best at something, mark that era with a Chicago White Sox batting helmet game-worn by Jordan during Spring Training in 1994 (estimate $2,000 – $3,000).
For more info check out Julien’s website.
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