This is Kobe Bryant’s Topps Finest rookie card, #74, graded PSA MINT 9. The card still has its original protective coating, which is a big part of its appeal. Finest cards came with a peel-off film to protect the chromium surface, and most collectors removed it long ago. Copies that still have the coating are harder to find in high grade, and PSA notes “With Coating” on the label.

The protector film can be seen across the front, with its “Topps Finest Protector, Peel and Remove Coating” text intact. Part of Finest’s “Apprentice” theme, the card shows the rookie in his gold Lakers #8 jersey going up for a slam dunk as he bursts through a broken metal wall. His name is in red script in the corner. The back lists him as Bryant drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, 13th overall, in the first round of the 1996 draft. It also includes his high school stats and notes that he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s Southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record. The card is numbered 74 with theme code A10 and is marked as a common in the set’s color system.

It presents beautifully, with sharp corners, a bright chromium surface and clean, well-centered borders. A MINT 9 copy with the coating still on is a prime choice for collectors of Kobe’s rookie cards.