ISTANBUL

A basketball card featuring NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant sold for a world-record sum of $12.932 million at an auction house in the US state of Texas, becoming the most expensive sports card ever sold.

Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced on the US social media company X’s platform Sunday that the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card broke records during Saturday's Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction.

"Bids for the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant #DL-KM Signed soared like the players it depicts until it reached $12,932,000," the auction house said.

The card uniquely features portraits, autographs and NBA jersey logo patches from both basketball legends. It represents the only dual Logoman card featuring Jordan and Bryant, with Jordan's jersey patch being a special gold variant.

The transaction exceeded the prior NBA card benchmark of $5.2 million by more than double and narrowly topped the previous sports card auction record set by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that fetched $12.6 million in 2022.

The Jordan-Bryant collectible now holds the position as the second-highest priced sports memorabilia item in history, trailing only Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey, which commanded $24.12 million in 2024.

The purchaser's name has not been revealed.

Jordan is commonly considered the NBA's greatest player ever, having secured six championships, while Bryant, another basketball legend, captured five titles throughout his career prior to his untimely passing in January 2020 in a helicopter crash.