History was made at Heritage Auctions over the weekend.
A basketball card featuring the uniform logos and signatures of legendary players Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant sold for $12.9 million at the auction house's Summer Platinum Night Sports sale in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday evening, setting a new world record in the process.
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The lot attracted 82 bids, helping it double the pre-sale estimate of $6 million. It is now the most expensive sports card to sell at auction, surpassing a Mickey Mantle card that hammered down for $12.6 million at Heritage in 2022. It is also the second most expensive sports collectible ever sold, behind baseball legend Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series "Called Shot" jersey , which realized $24 million at Heritage in August 2024.
"I think that this incredible world record price reflects two things," Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports auctions, said in a statement. "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 card features logos from Jordan and Bryant's uniforms and their signatures.
The card is part of the "Dual NBA Logo Autographs" series that ran from 2004 to 2009. Each card in the series was produced in limited editions of one, though players often appeared in multiple different pairings. Jordan was featured on eight, while Bryant appeared on 11. This is the only example showcasing Jordan and Bryant, along with each star's signature. It will remain that way, too, given that Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020.
The card itself showcases an NBA logo sourced from a Bryant jersey in a patriotic, red, white, and blue colorway, alongside a golden NBA logo from a Jordan jersey worn during the 1996-1997 season in which he claimed his second consecutive NBA Championship. Next to the patches lie two autographs in blue felt-tip pen. The previous owner held the card for more than a decade. The new buyer's identity was not revealed.
Sports memorabilia has exploded into a billion-dollar business , with the ever-growing card community generating big money. Many of the major auction houses are now offering up cardboard collectibles, making it a prime time to start trading—if you're not already, that is.
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