Kobe Bryant's MVP jersey sells for more than $5 million at auction

Believe it or not, Kobe Bryant won only one MVP award. It was the 2007-08 season and Bryant was masterful, scoring 28.3 points while notching 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Kobe got 82 first-place votes for that season's MVP award. The next-closest player was Chris Paul with 28.

It's unbelievable to think that one of the greatest players of all-time only has one MVP season, but that's the case regarding the Black Mamba. It makes sense that a jersey he wore that season would be worth a nice stack of cash.

$1 million? $2 million? 

Think higher than that.

ESPN's Dan Hajducky is reporting that a signed jersey Kobe wore in that season has sold for $5,849,700 with Sotheby's. It's a record for any Kobe item, and it's actually the second-most expensive basketball jersey ever sold.

The first? 

A jersey Michael Jordan wore during game one of the 1998 NBA Finals. That sold for more than $10 million. That was the now-famous "Last Dance" season.

"This jersey is iconic in a way we seldom see in sports artifacts," Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of streetwear and modern collectables said in a statement, via Hajducky. "The image of Kobe wearing this particular jersey during the NBA Playoffs has permeated in popular culture, reprinted on murals, books, newspapers [and] has become a symbol of his fierce determination and passion that has resonated with audiences across the world."

Along with the jersey is a collection of Greg Cohen photographs depicting the many murals of Kobe wearing that jersey. There is also artwork, magazines, newspapers, T-shirts, photos, pins, books and a letter of authenticity and more, in the lot.

A Hall of Famer, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star and a 15-time All-NBA superstar.

He, along with his daughter Gianna and others, tragically died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020