A pair of LeBron James’s high school game-worn sneakers that were gifted by Kobe Bryant sold for $156,000 at auction this past weekend, Heritage Auctions confirmed in an email to Sports Illustrated.
Bryant gifted James the custom pair of Adidas Kobe II sneakers with a patriotic colorway and Mamba silhouette, designed to commemorate the victims of Sept. 11.
“I think my most fond moment is he gave me his shoes when I was in high school,” James said in the wake of Bryant’s death last January. “I think I was playing in a tournament in Teaneck, N.J., and they were playing in the [2002] All-Star game in Philly. And I had an opportunity to go meet him, and he gave me a pair of his shoes, and I actually wore them in a game against Oak Hill, against [Carmelo Anthony].”
James wore the sneakers in February 2002 in a matchup against Anthony. James scored 36 points while Anthony recorded 34 points and led Oak Hill Academy (VA) to a win over James’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (OH).
Bryant wore the sneakers in the Lakers’ season opener in the 2001-02 NBA season. The sneakers feature Bryant’s silhouette on the insole.
