Kobe Bryant’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, has put Kobe’s 2000 Los Angeles Lakers NBA championship ring up for auction.
Bryant gifted his parents his first NBA championship ring, and the Bryants reportedly considered selling it in 2013 along with several other pieces of memorabilia. They later took the ring off the market, instead opting to keep the championship ring.
The ring is not an executive version of the team-issued ring, according to Goldin auctions. Instead, Bryant ordered an identical copy at the time as a special gift to his father. The duplicate ring is the item up for auction.
The ring will be up for bid until March 30, with the top offer sitting at $94,000 as of early Thursday afternoon.
Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today sports
“Obtained directly from the Bryant family, this ring is a true one-of-a-kind, and we can confirm that it is the only championship ring ever given by Kobe to his father,” the auction description says.
The ring is made of 14-karat gold and weighs 59.6 grams. It contains 40 diamonds and is engraved with the words “WORLD CHAMPIONS,” “LAKERS,” BRYANT,” and “BLING BLING.”.
