Los Angeles Lakers fans who are seeking commemorative items to signal the end of Kobe Bryant’s career may need deep pockets, with items costing as much as $38,024, according to an ESPN report.
Limited-edition items by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Los Angeles, feature everything from snakeskin-textured jerseys costing $424 to a lambskin and snakeskin hat being sold for $38,024. The hat is a reference to Bryant’s “Black Mamba” nickname, and contains 3.5 ounces of 18-karat gold; only eight have been made.
Some items were available at the Lakers’ online store beginning last Thursday, while others will be made available at the Staples Center on April 13, the night of Bryant’s final professional basketball game against the Utah Jazz.
“This city is all about spectacle,” says Sean Ryan, vice president of AEG Merchandise. “Derek Jeter might have represented the blue-collar people of New York, but Kobe is more about showtime, so we had to think of diamonds and gold.”
Other items include a purple cashmere hat with gold snakeskin featuring yellow diamonds that are priced at $24,008, and more affordable hats down costing $248.24, $82.48 and $72.48.
The merchandise is licensed by the NBA and Bryant’s company, Kobe Inc., which will receive an undisclosed amount of each sale. — J.B.