Kobe Bryant was among the most intense players in modern NBA history.
“Mamba mentality” was more than an alliteration: It was the embodiment of his approach to the game. Intensity, precision and a will to win.
But once-in-a-generation athletes with once-in-a-generation attitudes don’t simply appear ready-made in an NBA uniform. For Bryant, it started at Lower Merion High School.
A rare piece of the actual court on which he played, signed by Bryant, has come to auction at Goldin.
“Lower Merion and everything associated with it made me who I am,” Bryant told USA Today in 2016.
Bryant moved back to Philadelphia from Italy at the age of 13, just in time for his freshman year at Lower Merion, during which he made varsity. After a rough first season, Bryant would lead the team to a 77-13 record over the remaining three years.
In his junior and senior seasons, he averaged more than 30 points per game, bringing the school a championship in his senior year.
Those formative years never left Bryant’s mind, it seems, as upon his return as conquering hero in 2010 for the school’s dedication and renaming of the gym to “The Kobe Bryant Gymnasium,” he said "I'm just thankful to be back here.”
He donated more than $400,000 to renovate the gym. It’s not hard to see why the court which first allowed him to shine would be sacred.
Two years later, Bryant posted to Facebook: “I recently signed a piece of the old gym floor from my high school Lower Merion. Just seeing it brings back a lot of good memories. It's up for auction on EBay, with proceeds going to my foundation to help fight homelessness.”
The 3-by-3-foot square of the hardwood on which he spent four years proving himself was suddenly a collector’s piece. A piece of a foundational part of Kobe himself. It sold for just $2,500. The listing said it was the only piece from the gym where he played as a senior to exhibit his autograph.
There would be at least two more to emerge. First, another surfaced at SCP Auctions in 2020, where it went unsold. It’s clear from the differing autographs they are different pieces of the floor. SCP’s hardwood was accompanied by a letter from the Lakers, dated 2018, acting as a certificate of authenticity, while including verbiage that suggests it had been property of the Lakers before selling to the consigner.
The most recent piece has not been seen publicly until now: One more piece of hardwood from Lower Merion, once again clearly differing in appearance from the other two, has arrived at Goldin along with Bryant’s signature and a display featuring two photos of Bryant during his high school basketball days. It’s affixed with his high school number, 33, and is serial-numbered 1/1.
Sources confirmed to cllct this piece was originally purchased at Kobe’s jersey retirement ceremony at the Staples Center in 2017.
Now, the piece of Kobe’s origins will sell at auction with a starting bid of $5,000.
This isn’t the first time we have seen pieces of Kobe-related floor make waves at auction. Shortly after his death, Heritage sold floorboards from his 60-point farewell game, donning his No. 8, for $631,200 in 2020. Purchased by fractional investment platform Rally, it was then bought by a private collector for $800,000 in 2023. The twin floorboards, featuring his No. 24, were installed in the Laker’s practice facility.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.