Connect with us

Sports

Kobe Bryant’s debut jersey sells for $7 million at auction, a record price for memorabilia tied to the NBA legend

Published

on



CNN
 — 

The jersey Kobe Bryant wore in his NBA debut sold for $7 million in auction on Thursday.

Per auction house Sotheby’s, the sale sets a record for any memorabilia tied to the Los Angeles Lakers legend, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

The $7 million figure surpasses the previous record of $5.85 million paid for Bryant’s signed, game-worn jersey from the 2007-08 season in which he won his only NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Sotheby’s said that the jersey has been photo-matched to Bryant’s debut season in the NBA in 1996-97.

A then-18-year-old Bryant wore the famous yellow jersey with the No. 8 during his first media day, his preseason debut and his regular season debut on November 3, 1996, as well as in four other games.

According to ESPN, Bryant played six minutes and scored no points on 0-1 shooting in his regular season debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sotheby’s describes the jersey as a “bridge between the raw potential of a teenage prodigy and the refined greatness that would follow.” The jersey previously sold for $115,242 at auction in 2012.

Sotheby's describe Bryant's rookie jersey as a

Although Bryant averaged just 7.6 points per game in his first NBA season, he would retire as one of the sport’s greatest ever players with five titles to his name.

“Early rookie jerseys represent the genesis of an athlete’s career. For collectors in search of true one-of-one treasures, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own iconic pieces of basketball history,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles, said in a statement.

“Debut games are something every athlete experiences just once in their career journey, and is a moment where the hype of their pre-professional career finally comes to bear in the big leagues.”

According to Reuters, the jersey is the fourth most expensive game-worn sports jersey behind Babe Ruth’s “called shot” jersey ($24 million), Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey ($10.1 million), and Diego Maradona’s Argentina shirt from the 1986 World Cup ($9.3 million).

Bryant’s rookie jersey sale eclipsed the jersey from Michael Jordan’s debut season – which was photo-matched to his preseason debut and his second and third preseason appearances – which sold for just over $4 million in March.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Eugenio Suárez becomes 19th player in MLB history to hit 4 home runs in single game

Published

on



CNN
 — 

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez added his name to a very exclusive list on Saturday night, becoming just the 19th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game despite an 8-7 extra innings loss to the Atlanta Braves.

The 33-year-old was unstoppable at the plate, hitting solo shots in the second, sixth and ninth innings, as well as a two-run homer in the fourth. In doing so, he became the first major-league player since J.D. Martinez in 2017, also for the D-backs, to achieve the extraordinary feat – one which is even rarer than a perfect game, of which there have been 24.

He now finds himself among esteemed company alongside the likes of Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig and fellow third baseman Mike Schmidt.

Suárez traded a signed hat, jersey and ball for the ball from his historic fourth homer, per MLB.com.

“It’s awesome. I never thought in my life that I’d be able to hit four home runs in a game. To be honest, it feels great,” he said afterward.

“Obviously there’s mixed feelings right now because we didn’t win the game. But this is baseball, that’s why this game is so special.”

The 33-year-old’s final blast tied the game at 7-7 in the ninth inning, but Matt Olson scored on a wild pitch in the 10th to dampen the mood at Chase Field.

Eugenio Suárez hit three of his home runs off Grant Holmes, and the other off Raisel Iglesias.

Suárez has hit 286 home runs across a 12-year career in MLB, and can boast two previous three-HR games – one last year with Arizona, and another in 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds.

Nonetheless, he has struggled at the plate recently and started the day batting .167 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.

“I had a conversation with him in Miami, and he assured me that he’s still going over all of his checkpoints and working his butt off, and good things were going to start happening,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo after the game.

“When I’m going through those conversations and I’m watching him have success, I’m like a (proud) father. I’m just watching him go out and there and get the job done. So, hats off to him.”

With four swings of the bat, Suárez has now gone from a difficult stretch to being MLB’s leader in home runs this season. He and the Diamondbacks are next in action on Sunday for the conclusion of the three-game series.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

London Marathon: Two protestors arrested for throwing powdered paint onto the course

Published

on



CNN
 — 

Two protestors were arrested at the London Marathon on Sunday for throwing red powdered paint onto the course shortly before the men’s elite race passed by, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.

Video posted on social media by a group called Youth Demand showed two protestors wearing “Stop Arming Israel” t-shirts jump over the barriers at Tower Bridge, stop in the road, and throw powdered paint in the air.

One of the motorcycle outriders tackled the two protestors to the ground as the leading group of the men’s race ran past unobstructed.

Police added that the paint appeared to be “chalk-based” and wasn’t expected to pose any hazard to the runners.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa secured a thrilling victory, striding away from everyone else to set a new women’s-only world record too.

Tigst Assefa celebrates winning the women's elite race at the London Marathon.

Assefa finished the course in 2:15:50, smashing the previous women’s-only record – the fastest marathon time set by a female runner without male pacemakers – by 26 seconds. Although the 28-year-old flirted with breaking Paula Radcliffe’s course record of 2:15:25 set 22 years ago, that was ultimately a step too far for her.

She dominated the closing stages of the race, dropping Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei who clung on for second place and finished in 2:18:43.

Olympic champion Sifan Hassan crossed the line 16 seconds afterwards in third, after she had lost touch with the leading group around the halfway point.

In the men’s race, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe secured the biggest win of his career with a time of 2:02:27, attacking at the drinks station while his competitors slowed down and going on to cross the line alone.

Behind him, Jacob Kiplimo – the half-marathon world record holder – finished second in an impressive 2:03:37 in his much anticipated marathon debut.

The men's podium celebrate after the race.

In a thrilling race for third place, Alexander Mutiso Munyao crossed the line a hair’s breadth ahead of Abdi Nageeye and had to wait for organizers to confirm his podium spot. Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge finished in sixth place.

In the women’s wheelchair race, Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner set a course record, sprinting down the finishing straight on The Mall to cross the line in 1:34:18. She finished just two seconds outside her own world record, setting a blistering pace that none of her competitors could match. The USA’s Susannah Scaroni finished almost four minutes back in second place while Switzerland’s Manuela Schär rounded out the podium with a time of 1:41:06.

Catherine Debrunner smiles after winning the women's wheelchair race at the London Marathon.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race to take his seventh overall, and fifth consecutive, title in London. The 39-year-old completed the course in 1:25:25, almost a minute ahead of second-placed Tomoki Suzuki, securing his second major marathon victory of the week after winning in Boston on Monday.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Aaron Gordon’s historic buzzer-beating dunk propels Denver Nuggets to victory over Los Angeles Clippers, ties series 2-2

Published

on



CNN
 — 

A dramatic, historic buzzer-beating dunk by Aaron Gordon sparked wild celebrations on Saturday night as the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 to tie their playoff first round series 2-2.

With 1.8 seconds remaining, Nikola Jokić’s airball appeared to signal that the game was headed to overtime with the scores tied at 99. But Gordon had other ideas, slamming the ball down with 0.1 seconds on the clock before wheeling away in jubilation.

What followed was nearly three minutes of suspense as Gordon and Co. waited on the court for the referees to determine whether he had released the ball before the buzzer had sounded. When it was announced that he had, the Nuggets’ celebrations restarted in earnest, and boos rang out from the crowd at Intuit Dome.

Whether they wanted to or not, the LA crowd had just witnessed NBA history – Gordon’s slam was the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk ever made in the playoffs since the dawn of the detailed play-by-play era in 1997-98.

“Nice pass,” Gordon joked with Jokić at their post-game press conference.

“Joker was trying to get in his bag with the Sombor Shuffle. He’s made shots like that before. So, I’m just trying to clean up everything on the glass. He shot it with enough time to give us a chance to rebound it,” the former Slam Dunk Contest finalist added. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

The Nuggets led by two points at halftime, but arguably the most notable event up to that point had come with 6.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

When James Harden was fouled by Christian Braun near midcourt, Harden began exchanging words with the Nuggets shooting guard. The resulting skirmish saw Gordon rush in and catch Norman Powell’s face with an open hand.

Despite Clippers fans chanting “Kick him out!” Gordon received a technical foul, along with Harden, Braun, Powell, Jokić and Kris Dunn.

A total of six players received technicals for the skirmish just before halftime. Referees concluded that Aaron Gordon had not intentionally punched Norman Powell.

Denver went from strength to strength in the third quarter, outscoring LA 35-17 to open up an 85-65 lead. But, spurred on by 10 points by Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers fought back in the fourth quarter and took the lead for the first time in the game with 1:11 remaining thanks to Bogdan Bogdanović’s offensive rebound and basket.

A free throw and a basket from Jokić made it 99-97, before Ivica Zubac appeared to send the game to overtime. Gordon’s heroics ensured that would not be the case.

Gordon finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jokić led the scoring with 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists – in doing so becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to rack up at least 35 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists in a playoff game.

Braun and Michael Porter Jr. each added 17 points for Denver, while Leonard led the scoring for the Clippers with 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

It is the second time in the series that the Nuggets have prevailed by fine margins – they won Game 1 by two points in overtime. Game 5 takes place in Denver on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere in the NBA, Steph Curry ensured that the Golden State Warriors did not miss the injured Jimmy Butler, racking up 36 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in a 104-93 win over the Houston Rockets to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to make it to the second round of the playoffs, completing a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 117-115 victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was back to his best after a difficult first three games in the series for the NBA MVP favorite, scoring 38 points.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending