We are now over two months removed from the day that Kobe Bryant passed away and it still stings for everyone who knew Kobe, watched Kobe, and grew to idolize him as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant’s name is forever synonymous with excellence in sports and he exemplified that in his final game with the Los Angeles Lakers on April 13, 2016. ‘The Black Mamba’ poured in 60 points for the Lakers that night in his final curtain call, pouring in 13 unanswered points down the stretch to deliver the Lakers the victory.
Outside of the signature Kobe scoring burst, he delivered an iconic final farewell with the famous last words: “Mamba out”. Those two words proved to have a deeper meaning as we now know four years later.
Bryant dropped the mic and walked off into the sunset of retirement with a towel around his neck. That towel was recently auctioned off to avid Laker fan David Kohler, according to CNN. The sale price? $33,017.66.
A Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia collecting extraordinaire:
David Kohler is largely considered to hold the largest collection of Lakers memorabilia in the world. ESPN put together a slideshow to show the enormity and glory of his collection that includes some very unique pieces of memorabilia.
Some of these extraordinary pieces include the legendary Chick Hearn’s microphone from his last call, Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 NBA Finals Chuck Taylor sneakers, and an autographed pair of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s goggles.
Those artifacts are amongst a large group of one-of-a-kind pieces that he has in his possession. Kohler has now added a significant piece of Los Angeles Lakers history to an already outstanding collection.
According to multiple reports, this is not the first time the towel has been sold. The towel was initially taken by a fan off the shoulders of Kobe Bryant as he walked into the locker room. The fan sold it at auction for a total of $8,365 before it was resold by Iconic Auctions two months ago in an effort to resell it.
As the rest of us continue to cherish and rewatch the memories that the late great Kobe Bryant provided us for 20 seasons, David Kohler will walk away with a significant piece of memorabilia that marked the end of the Mamba’s career. The towel embodies the sweat and tears and the overall grind that Kobe put in for the Lakers for so long.
The game-used towel is truly an amazing get for one of the biggest sports collectors in the world.