Kobe Bryant's championship ring sets new record at auction / News - Basketnews.com

Kobe Bryant's title ring from 2000 was sold for $927,200 at the Goldin auction, breaking the record for sale of an NBA championship item.

Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images/AFP Credit Jeff Gross/Getty Images/AFP

The championship ring that Kobe Bryant won with the Lakers in 2000 has been auctioned for almost $1 million ($927,200), after a frenetic bidding in which 16 offers were made during the last 22 minutes. It started at $191,000 and the winner offered $760,000, to which must be added the commission for the Goldin.co auction house.

Kobe Bryant

Position:SG-Height:198 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:Philadelphia, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Years after NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away, one of his rings is being sold at an auction. Bryant's first NBA title came in the 1999-00 season when his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the Finals. The championship ring was so special to Kobe he made an exact copy of it and gifted it to his father, Joe Bryant.

Bryant averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists that season, maintaining similar stats throughout the playoffs (21.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists).

The ring features 40 total diamonds and is made of 14-karat gold, per Goldin. It features the Lakers logo and 'World Champions' on the front with 'Ring Bling' and the year on one side. The other side features Bryant's name and the Lakers' regular-season record of 67-15 along with the postseason record of 15-8. The underside features Bryant's No. 8, which he wore for the first half of his career.

The selling of the championship ring comes with a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) from Kobe's mother, Pam Bryant.

The identity of the buyer has not been revealed, although there is a suspicion that it may be Vannesa Bryant, Kobe's widow, who wanted to return the valuable piece to the family shortly after four years have passed since the death of the myth in a helicopter accident with his daughter Gianna.

The figure of $927,200 is the highest paid for an NBA championship ring, surpassing the $705,000 for the jewel won by Bill Russell with the Celtics in 1957, the first of the 11 he won. However, it is far from the $2,09 million that was paid for Babe Ruth's ring after he won the baseball World Series in 1927 .

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.