This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/12/2017
Future Hall of Fame Kobe Bryant wore this “Sunday alternate” Los Angeles Lakers white jersey and matching shorts during the team’s 2005-06 regular season. The Reebok size 58 jersey (+4” added length) features the official “NBA” logo. Across the chest reads, “LAKERS,” and the number “8” appears on both the front and on the back with“BRYANT” properly placed across the shoulders. All numbering and lettering are properly sewn. The shorts are size 46 and Reebok as well. In our opinion these item appears to show moderate game use with loose threads and light staining on the shorts. Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from DC Sports Collectibles.
The 2005-06 season was a remarkable one for Kobe and his team. It marked a return to the playoffs for the Lakers, with Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments resulting in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the introduction of the shot clock. On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a 122–104 victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, Bryant’s 81-point game was the second-highest point total in NBA history (surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962). By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise records for most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832). He won the league's scoring title for the first time by averaging 35.4 points per game. Late in the season, Bryant said he would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 (his high school number) at the start of the 2006–07 NBA season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough to reach a 3–1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns, culminating with Bryant's OT-forcing and game-winning shots in Game 4. They came within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Suns in Game 6 but lost 126–118 in OT and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games.