Sotheby's announced Thursday morning it is selling the jersey believed to be from Michael Jordan's professional debut in a 1984 preseason game and the jersey from Kobe Bryant's first NBA regular-season contest.
The immediate question is: What's the difference in value between a pro debut and a regular-season debut.
The difference can most clearly be seen, at least data wise, through ticket values.
A ticket to Jordan's pro debut Oct. 5, 1984, in Peoria, Ill. against the Pacers, in decent condition, is worth about $5,000 today. A ticket to Jordan's regular-season debut Oct. 26, 1984, in Chicago, against the Washington Bullets, in decent condition, is worth about $30,000 in a blue version and $65,000 in a red version.
Yes, the regular-season debut is worth six to 13 times what the pro debut is worth.
That's despite the fact there are twice as many (23 to 12) Jordan regular-season debut tickets graded by PSA compared to his first preseason outing in a Bulls jersey.
How about tickets for Bryant's first games?
Bryant is, unfortunately, a bit of an anomaly because population does matter here. There's only one graded full ticket from Kobe's preseason debut in July 1996, and it sold for $40,800 in 2022. A regular-season debut stub around that same time sold for $44,400.
That makes us want to look at another comp.
A good condition copy of LeBron James pro debut from Oct. 7, 2003, sells in the $400 range. A ticket to James' regular debut Oct. 29, 2003, in good condition, sells for $7,000. That's a 17.5 multiple. And again, it has nothing to do with population. There are 137 LeBron James graded regular-season debut tickets, while there are only nine preseason debuts.
When it comes to jerseys, there aren't nearly as many across-the-board comparisons.
Thanks to tickets, we know there is a big deal between the first time a star walks on the court in uniform and the first time the game counts. And that's no matter what the player does in the game.
The jersey Kobe wore in his regular-season debut is going to go for a fortune despite the fact that he didn't score a single point.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.