5 most expensive pieces of NBA memorabilia ever sold feat. Kobe Bryant's $5.8 million jersey

Michael Jordan's jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals or "The Last Dance," held the record for the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia. However, it was recently surpassed by Babe Ruth's jersey worn during his famous "Called Shot" game, which was sold for a whopping $24.12 million on Sunday.

Ruth is considered the greatest player in MLB history and his memorabilia has always been worth a lot. The "Called Shot" game happened on October 1, 1932, against the Chicago Cubs and was held at Wrigley Field. It was also Game 3 of the 1932 World Series between the Cubs and the New York Yankees.

But what are the most expensive memorabilia in NBA history? Let's look at the top five below.

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5 most expensive pieces of NBA memorabilia ever sold

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#1 - Michael Jordan game worn jersey from Game 1 of 1998 NBA Finals ($10,091,000)

As mentioned above, Michael Jordan's game-worn jersey from Game 1 of "The Last Dance" run to the 1998 NBA Finals is the most expensive basketball memorabilia in existence. Jordan used the jersey on June 3, 1998, against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

It was a hostile crowd looking to end the Chicago Bulls dynasty and they got the momentum early in the series. The Jazz beat the Bulls 88-85 in Game 1, but MJ dropped 33 points wearing the jersey.

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#2 - Michael Jordan's The Dynasty Collection Shoes ($8,032,800)

Quite possibly the most spectacular memorabilia on this list, the Dynasty Collection is a set of shoes worn by Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals. It's rare to have a pair of shoes from every NBA Finals the Chicago Bulls have appeared in.

But this particular collection is much rarer and possibly one of a kind. The Dynasty Collection consisted all six pairs worn by "His Airness" in all of the series-clinching games. The six pairs are Air Jordan VI, VII, VIII, XI, XII and XIV, which are all personally signed by Jordan himself.

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#3 - Steph Curry 2009-10 National Treasures Autographed Logoman Rookie Card ($5.9 million)

NBA cards have always been a popular hobby throughout the decades, but it became a huge booming business a few years ago. So it's not surprising that the third-most expensive basketball memorabilia is a trading card. But it's not of Michael Jordan, but of Steph Curry.

The Golden State Warriors superstar's 2009-10 National Treasures Autographed Logoman Rookie Card was sold for $5.9 million back in 2021. Curry is one of the greatest players of his generation and will go down as the greatest shooter the game has ever seen.

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#4 - Kobe Bryant MVP Jersey from Game 2 of the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals ($5.8 million)

The unfortunate death of Kobe Bryant in January 2020 made his memorabilia even more valuable. A signed game-worn jersey was sold at auction back in February 2023 for $5.8 million. It's a unique item since it was worn during the game and was signed by the "Black Mamba."

In addition to those two things, Bryant also wore it for Game 2 of the 2008 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. He received his lone regular season MVP wearing this No. 24 jersey, making it one of the most expensive game-worn memorabilia in history.

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#5 - LeBron James 2003 Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographed Card ($5.2 million)

This list won't be complete with LeBron James, who is considered by some as the greatest player of all time. James' contribution to this list is his rare 2003 Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographed Card, which was sold in 2021, less than a year after he led the LA Lakers to their 17th NBA championship.

The card has likely gone up in value since James has broken the all-time scoring record, reached 40,000 points, won the first NBA Cup and even added a fourth Olympic gold medal to his resume.