Basketball’s hall of fame and icon Kobe Bryant- who unfortunately passed away after a tragic helicopter accident back in January, enjoyed an amazing and decorated career in the NBA that spun two decades. The Los Angeles Lakers talisman retired from the game in 2016, and in his farewell speech, Bryant had a towel wrapped around over his shoulders. Two months after the legendary Shooting guard’s demise, that very towel has gone up for auction, and has been sold for more than $33000, which equates to an astounding Rs. 24,85,700!
On 26th January, Kobe, along with his 13 year old daughter Gianna, met with a tragic mishap, after a helicopter that they were on board along with seven other passengers that crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.
After his final match against Utah Jazz on 13th April 2016, Bryant gave his career closing speech. The towel that he had on himself during his speech at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was snatched by a supporter as he left the grand stage with his signature ‘Mamba Out’ gesture.
While the priceless towel has been under several possessors in the last four years, following Bryant’s accident, the item that is now a memorabilia of the Lakers star, was up for an online auction, along with two tickets from his final match.
The auction was conducted by Iconic Auctions, a company based in Arizona that specialises in auctioning authentic autographs and memorabilia. The towel’s latest owner contacted the company last month to resell the item on the heels of Kobe’s death.
The winning bid- an exact amount of $33,077.16 (Rs. 24,90,131.30), was registered to David Kohler, a dedicated LA Lakers fan and collector, who is famous for owning the largest collection of Lakers memorabilia in the world, as confirmed by Iconic Auctions president Jeff Woolf.
“He (Kohler) is a devoted Lakers fan. His long-term plan is to create a museum in Southern California,” Woolf told CNN following the auction.
The towel and the two tickets from the final game adds to Kohler’s collection of Kobe’s middle school yearbook, signed by the player himself, an item which the collector paid almost $30,000 (Rs. 22,58,475) back in early March, Woolf added.
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