Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers legend, 5x NBA champion and 18x All-Star — the Black Mamba is one of the most collected athletes in the hobby. Here's the complete overview of collecting his cards, from 1996-97 rookies to modern Panini hits.
- Position
- Shooting Guard
- Team
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Rookie Card
- 1996
Shop Kobe Bryant cards on eBay
Live listings — singles, rookies, and graded slabs, updated by the second on eBay.
Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships and earning 18 All-Star selections and two Finals MVPs. Nicknamed the “Black Mamba,” he wore both #8 and #24 — and is one of the most beloved and collected athletes in the entire hobby.
Collecting Kobe: the eras of his cardboard
- 1996-97 rookies — the foundation of any Kobe collection, across Topps Chrome, Fleer, Skybox, Metal, Bowman’s Best and more.
- Vintage 90s inserts — refractors, die-cuts, and premium parallels that defined late-90s collecting.
- Modern Panini — Prizm, National Treasures, and other current-era products with autos and numbered parallels.
Kobe was born in 1978 and passed away in 2020. His cards carry deep memorial significance for collectors, and demand across every era of his cardboard has stayed remarkably strong.
Where to start
If you’re new to collecting Kobe, begin with a graded 1996-97 rookie in your budget, lean on live eBay comps to price everything, and buy graded for anything valuable — his cards are heavily counterfeited. Use the eBay rails above to jump into live listings for his rookies, autographs, and graded slabs.