Everything Kobe Bryant related is iconic, even the jersey donned in a game that risked his career. Notably, the Jersey that Kobe wore in the match in which he suffered an Achilles Injury is up for auction. He suffered the injury back in 2013 on April 12. And it was after this game’s injury that he doubted if he will ever be able to make a “comeback”, as stated by him in a post on X. The jersey from the game was signed by Kobe on his day of injury itself and it is now being auctioned by Goldin.

The bidding opened with $250,000 and reached $385,000 by April 28, 2024. But no one placed any further bids till May 7, when the next came at $435,000. But in less than 24 hours, the amount reached the $1 million mark. And with 24 days still remaining in the auction, the bidding amount is most likely to rise even further. As per a post by ‘cllct’, the present bidding amount for the jersey has reached $1,220,000.

“The Kobe Bryant ‘Achilles’ game-used jersey has reached $1,220,000 (w/ buyer’s premium) just minutes ago… The jersey has more than doubled from $435,000 an hour ago,” read the post. The LA Lakers legend suffered the injury in Game 80 of the 2012-13 season against the Golden State Warriors. It was in the fourth quarter that the 5x NBA champion was fouled and he collapsed on the ground.

Months later, Kobe Bryant had described the injury where he could not feel his tendon to be there. However, he still gathered himself for two free throws, which he successfully sunk in. So this jersey is not just a reminder of Black Mamba’s Achilles injury but also him overpowering it to get the points that made the winning difference. Notably, the Lakers won the match by 118-116, however, what came after that was a message of mixed feelings from 5x NBA champ on his comeback.  

After effect of Kobe Bryant’s Achilles injury

After sinking in the two post-injury free throws, Kobe somehow managed his way to the locker room. But what came after this was a lengthy post by the Black Mamba in which he vented out all his feelings about this injury and what comes next. “This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times!… Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that?? I have NO CLUE…,” read the post. 

Kobe Bryant even expressed in the post that maybe this is it for him in the game. But his ‘Mamba Mentality’ that he always talked about would not allow this. So he further wrote in the post, “”If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer,” he further wrote in his post.

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And not only did Kobe Bryant make a full-fledged comeback in the 2013-14 season, he put up an impressive 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game in the season. So the value of this jersey from an emotional point of view is understandable. And now it is to be seen if the bidding by the end of the auction can cross his previous jersey’s highest auction price of $5.8 million.