A rare Upper Deck card uniting two NBA legends is already the most expensive basketball card ever sold at auction — and the bidding isn’t done yet.
DALLAS, Texas — A one-of-a-kind basketball card signed by both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant is now on display at Heritage Auctions in Irving, and by the end of its auction Saturday night, it could set a new world record for the most expensive basketball card ever sold.
The 2007–08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autograph card, featuring game-used jersey patches from Jordan and Bryant along with their signatures, is the only one of its kind ever produced.
Bidding has already surpassed $6.2 million online, eclipsing the previous ‘most expensive basketball card ever sold’ record of $5.9 million set by a similar Panini National Treasures Steph Curry rookie card with a game-worn patch. That card was privately sold in 2021.
“Yeah, I’ve actually lived with this card for the last month, you could say,” said Mike Provenzale, production manager at Heritage Sports. “We had it on display at our convention in Chicago, and then in our office in Beverly Hills, then our office in New York, and now it’s going to be on display here in our office in Dallas.”
The auction ends Saturday night on HA.com. Provenzale says the rarity and design of the card have driven interest.
“For modern cards, what has become incredibly valuable is the game-used patch from the athlete and an autograph on it, and then they would make a limited amount,” he explained. “This is a one of one, and it’s the only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant dual Logoman ever made. So it’s the only one that will ever exist.”
Kobe’s untimely passing in 2020 also drives the card’s value, which was originally in a pack and sold for roughly $150,000 years ago, according to Provenzale.
The patches come from memorable seasons: Jordan’s gold NBA logo is from the 1997 campaign, the league’s 50th anniversary year, while Bryant’s patch comes from his Lakers uniform.
“This is the only one with those two that there will ever be,” Provenzale said. “Both incredibly popular players, two of the greatest players in NBA history, but they have a real relationship. If you watched Kobe play, you could see he modeled his game after Jordan. Then you saw how deep their relationship was when Jordan gave his eulogy at Kobe’s funeral and got all choked up. We’d never seen Jordan like that.”
Heritage initially estimated the card at $6 million, believing it would top Curry’s record.
“When we got the card, the first thing we always do is, as a team, try and figure out an estimate that’s accurate for bidders and just fans who want to know what things are worth,” Provenzale said. “We put the estimate at $6 million, and we’ve got four days of bidding left, and it’s already at $6.2 million. We expect some more action on it as well.”
The sale will also place the card among the 10 most valuable sports collectibles ever sold, though Provenzale says it won’t catch the record-holder — a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle that sold for $12.6 million by Heritage in 2022.
Other Highlights in the Auction
The Jordan-Bryant card is part of a stacked lineup of memorabilia up for auction right now.
Provenzale points to a Babe Ruth 1923 World Series pocket watch as another standout item. “That was the Yankees’ first World Series victory, their first year in Yankee Stadium. Another true one-of-one item that’s very unique,” he said.
- An eight-by-eight-foot piece of the Chicago Bulls’ court, signed by Jordan with handwritten inscriptions from him detailing his titles and MVPs.
- Game-worn jerseys from Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, and Luka Dončić.
- The photographs used to create rookie cards for Mantle and Joe Namath.
- A collection of tickets from the first 55 Super Bowls, each signed by that game’s MVP, valued at more than $400,000.
Provenzale says sports memorabilia remains a strong market with economists signaling uncertainty in America following rounds of tariffs from the Trump administration and inflation fears.
“In the past five years or so, we’ve seen a lot more people come into our industry or return to our industry,” he said. “There is an aspect that when there are uncertain economic times, it can be a boon to collectibles. If you’re at a cocktail party, nobody wants to hear about your pork belly futures. But if you have a Ted Williams game-used bat or a Babe Ruth watch, that’s an investment that is a solid earner that people want to hear about, and it’s got a story.”
The Jordan-Bryant card will stay on display in Dallas through the weekend before the auction closes Saturday. Its final hammer price could redefine the upper edge of basketball’s collectible market.
“At Heritage, we get to see a lot of incredible items from all of our 50-plus departments,” Provenzale said. “But for a sports fan, I never get jaded by it. It’s always an incredible experience to be around history. It’s always thrilling to see something like this.”
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