A one-of-a-kind basketball card celebrating two legends of the game has sold at auction for nearly $13 million US, making it the most expensive sports trading card ever sold.
The 1-of-1 card, which was part of Upper Deck’s 2007-08 Exquisite Collection and sold online by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, features NBA logos cut out of jerseys worn by both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, along with both players’ autographs. It was rated in excellent-mint condition.
When the dust settled after more than 80 bids, the card was sold for $12,932,000 US. That surpasses the records for both the most expensive basketball card ever sold (an autographed Stephen Curry rookie card that was privately sold for $5.9 million in July 2021) and the most expensive sports card ever sold, which was previously a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that Heritage Auctions sold for $12.6 million US in 2022. It also becomes the second-most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold, trailing only Babe Ruth’s “called shot” jersey, which sold last year for $24.1 million US.
“I think that this incredible world record price reflects two things,” Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions, said in a press release. “First, this is the finest modern basketball card in the world, and second, Heritage Auctions provides our clients with the best platform to generate world record results for your rare collectibles.”
The gold NBA logo in the card comes from a jersey Jordan wore during the 1996-97 season, when his Chicago Bulls were the defending NBA champions. The Bulls would go on to win the NBA Finals again that season, which was the middle title in the Bulls’ second three-peat of the 1990s.
In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary revealed himself as one of three investors who pooled their resources to purchase the card. The other buyers include collector Matt Allen (perhaps better known by his social media handle, @Shyne150) and Paul Warshaw.
“We formed a syndicate so we didn’t have to compete with each other,” O’Leary told CNBC. “We bought it together. Yes, we did, and I’m very proud to own it. I’ve been looking at this asset class now for three years.”
O’Leary admitted he might not see much of the card in real life: “These cards stay in vaults in perpetuity. I mean, I may handle it once in my life, but it’s an image that is passed around digitally.” Still, for this writer whose formative years were in the 1990s, the situation can’t help but evoke that time Bart, Milhouse and Martin pooled their resources to buy a copy of Radioactive Man #1 …
Related stories:
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant’s First NBA Jerseys Expected To Sell For More Than $10 Million (US) Apiece 
NBA Unveils New 2024-25 City Uniforms for All 30 Teams 
Emirates NBA Cup Courts Unveiled For All 30 Teams 
Emirates Logo to Appear on NBA Referee Jerseys As Part of New Sponsorship Deal 
NBA Unveils Michael Jordan MVP Trophy, 5 Other New Trophies for Individual Awards 
NBA Unveils 2022 NBA Finals Logo, Reviving a Classic Look 
Lakers, Brooklyn Among 5 New Leaked 2022 NBA Jerseys 
Confirmed: Lakers to Wear Kobe Bryant Tribute Uniform on August 24
