After 20 sensational years for the Los Angeles Lakers the great Kobe Bryant stepped away from the game. But not before giving fans a fairy-tale ending to his Hall of Fame career: 60 points in his last game with the whole world watching! It was vintage “Black Mamba” reminiscent of his younger years when he would step on the court almost expecting such a performance. Perhaps the last season Kobe felt this way was 2012-13 before the injuries began to mount and the mileage on his legs began to multiply. He played in 78 games and averaged 27.3 points 6 assists and 5.6 earning First Team All-NBA honors and leading the 45-37 Lakers to the playoffs—the last time he would do either. In the 80th game however Kobe ruptured his Achilles tendon to put an end to his season and any chance of another Lakers' title. San Antonio promptly swept L.A. in the first round without Bryant.

From essentially the last season that Kobe was Kobe comes this spectacular game-worn road jersey photo-matched to the following five away games in January 2013: 1/8 @ Houston - 20 points 7 assists 5 rebounds 3 steals; 1/9 @ San Antonio - 27 pts 5 ast 4 reb; 1/20 @ Toronto - 26 pts 5 ast 4 reb; 1/21 @ Chicago - 16 pts 5 ast 4 reb; and 1/23 @ Memphis - 29 pts 3 ast 3 reb. There are two key identifiers that can be clearly matched to game photos. The first is a 1” purple thread that has frayed from the top left shoulder. The second is a 1/2” white thread coming off the back ‘B’. In addition the mesh holes around the numbers and letters are a perfect match (see our purchased high-res image from Getty 159215253.

The purple mesh jersey has “LAKERS” across the chest in gold tackle twill with a white-stitched border. The player number “24” appears front and back in white mesh with a gold-stitched border on purple tackle twill. An arched “BRYANT” is sewn directly on the back in gold-on-white tackle twill. The NBA logo is embroidered on the left chest. The front left tail has Adidas manufacturer’s tagging with size 4XL and a LENGTH +4” flag tag. Adjacent is its official NBA jersey identification code reading “LLA01132.” Inside the left inseam is the washing instructions and a smaller tag with the “06/12” manufacturing date and “P55189 AZB001” code. Inside the rear collar is a “4XL4” size tag. The jersey shows solid wear overall including the aforementioned areas of fraying to the fabric.

This photo-matched Kobe gamer is certainly one of the most impressive examples ever offered at auction. Side by side photo-matching images are attached for each of the five games. The already purchased high resolution Getty images from each game will be provided to the winning bidder upon request.