Kobe Bryant

A star-studded autographed basketball from the 49th birthday party for President Barack Obama in 2010 has hit the auction block.

TMZ Sports reported Friday the ball is up for sale through Heritage Auctions and was expected to bring in a high offer of around $12,000. It's already beat that estimate with a bid of $17,500.

The signers include Obama, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Carmelo Anthony. The item comes with a letter of authenticity.

In 2010, the Associated Press reported the game took place at Fort McNair before Obama and some of the basketball superstars returned to the White House for a barbecue. It was played to benefit wounded warriors and members of a White House mentorship program.

No media members were allowed inside the gym, so no footage from the event, which also featured Bill Russell, Maya Moore, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, among others, has been publicly released.

Later that year, Obama required 12 stitches after being hit in the lip by an inadvertent elbow during a separate pickup basketball game.

The auction runs through Feb. 27 at 11 p.m. ET.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and Inside the NBA analyst Shaquille O'Neal sat down for a Bleacher Report AMA on Tuesday and went through a number of topics, including stories about former teammates Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade and more.

O'Neal played in the NBA from 1992-93 to 2010-11. His decorated resume includes four NBA titles and 15 All-Star Game selections.

He and Bryant notably led the Los Angeles Lakers to three straight NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Shaq then left for the Miami Heat in 2004 and won the 2006 title with Wade.

O'Neal also won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics with Team USA basketball.

       

The following is a full transcript from the AMA session.

@BigNetsGuy15: What are you most excited for people to see in your new series 'The Game Plan'?

I met some very inspiring people and I want to help them share their messages.

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@TheBair123: Where did your inspiration for doing good come from? Was it always engraved in you as a person or did something click along the way?

When you come from nothing and you achieve everything, there is two ways to go: do I keep being by yourself and you forget or you don't forget and I will always want to be the one to make people smile, especially when I go out and see little kids. Always trying to say: that was me, that can still be me. A lot of people dig their own crater and never know what they're doing. It was actually one of my funnest shows that I've ever done.

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@Wes7: What would you have done differently to prepare for the NBA when you were younger?

That's a trick question. I've done it my way. I probably would have saved a lot more money, but money isn't everything. I didn't want to be rich. I wanted my mom to have the ability to buy whatever she want and not have problems. I used to see my mother worrying about whether she can buy a new dress or not. It wasn't about 100, 200 million. It was about her. That was always my motivation. That is still my motivation to this day.

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@MaverickPrince: What was your first impression of Dwyane Wade?

When I played, I never paid attention to who is who because I'm trying to get that spot. Mike was on his way out. There was room for somebody to be that face and I always wanted to be that face. I wasn't really worried about other guys and then we got swept in the playoffs. Watching basketball, Baron Davis was always one of my favorite players, but I see this young kid give Baron Davis the business, and that's when I paid attention to D-Wade. So now when it was time for me to get traded, I didn't want to start over at 30. D-Wade was probably the best choice that I got at the time.

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@ThiccKingTua_: Favorite personal Kobe memory?

We were able to push each other. Big brother, little brother. My best friend. We were able to push each other to the maximum commitment that gave us the ability to get 3 out of 4, so I would never have done anything differently.

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@Jojo473454: Who was the one player that gave you the most problems?

Hakeem Olajuwon. Most guys are tri-dimensional—one move, two, maybe three. Hakeem had seven moves on each block so he was hard to stop.

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@Hornetsfan_: Most memorable in-game moment?

I only got one game winner. Baseline fadeaway vs. Utah. I always wanted to know what it felt like to hit that shot. I got one.

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@ripcity3: What's the origin story of 'barbecue chicken'?

BBQ chicken means this guy isn't going to be able to guard someone else. They're going to eat them up like BBQ.

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@Derockmx43: At what moment did you know Shareef had a similar passion and gift for basketball?

I used to make him watch me and D-Wade. I knew he was going to be tall, but I was hoping he wouldn't be 6'9' so he could be a guard. When I grew up, I was a shooter, but when you start playing with people his size, you don't want to shoot, you want to dunk it. I always made sure my kids were all able to shoot the ball. I tell all my kids, you don't need basketball. You could be a surgeon, a lawyer, run a hedge fund, do anything you want.

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@SweatyBurrito4: What made you want to become a DJ? General love of music or an experience?

Now, it's the only thing that gives me the same adrenaline as playing in the NBA.

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@CleFan4Ever: If you were stranded on an island with one host from Inside The NBA, Who are we going with and why?

Charles, so I could beat his ass every time he gets out of the water. I would say 'stay in the f--king water' every time he come to the shore.

Collectors have the chance to own game-worn jerseys and autographs from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant all on one card.

And perhaps for the low, low price of more than half-a-million dollars.

PWCC Marketplace is auctioning a 2000 Upper Deck Game Jerseys UD Combo Autograph Jersey card featuring the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers legends. The card sold for $516,000 during an auction in April 2021. 

The product description says it is "the very first dual on-card autograph and game-worn jersey card ever issued within a product, as well as the first card to pair Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan together with on card autographs and game-worn materials."

It is a fitting pairing considering how well-documented it is that Jordan was Bryant's basketball idol.

The Lakers star modeled much of his game after His Airness and opened up about what the relationship meant to him during an episode of The Last Dance documentary:

"I don't get five championships here without him."#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/RLcN0gmDrv

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2020

Jordan also made an emotional speech at Bryant's memorial ceremony at Staples Center in which he called Kobe his "little brother."

Bidding on the card will start at $160,000, but PWCC expects the card to surpass the previous sale price.

The NBA has unveiled the redesigned Kobe Bryant Trophy that will be awarded to the MVP of the 2022 All-Star Game. 

The trophy features an eight-sided base with 24 stars to honor the two jersey numbers Bryant wore during his legendary NBA career. It also includes four levels that honor the four All-Star Game MVP awards he won. 

The NBA’s new Kobe Bryant Trophy for the All-Star Game MVP features an 8-sided base with 24 stars, and 4 levels of 2, 7, 9 & 11 inches in height — a nod to the 2002, 2007, 2009 & 2011 years in which Kobe won his record-tying 4 All-Star MVPs. pic.twitter.com/tHQIPa7Fu6

— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) February 3, 2022

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced in February 2020 that the All-Star Game MVP trophy was being renamed in Bryant's memory. 

"Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game," said Silver. "He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world."

Bryant was among nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. 

During his 20-year playing career, Bryant was named to the All-Star team 18 times. His four All-Star Game MVP awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. 

The 2022 All-Star Game will be played at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland on Feb. 20. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the reigning All-Star Game MVP after scoring 35 points on 16-of-16 shooting for Team LeBron in 2021. 

Government officials in California said there are no plans for a permanent memorial dedicated to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other victims at the site of a helicopter crash in January 2020.

The City of Calabasas confirmed to TMZ Sports there are "no plans for any sort of memorial at the crash site," a stance also held by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which controls the land where the crash took place.

Questions were raised about the future of the site after artist Dan Medina brought a 160-pound bronze statue to the area on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the tragedy.

Medina told Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times he only planned to display the statue from sunrise to sunset, with hope a larger version would eventually find a more permanent home.

"I kind of want to follow the law, respect the locals, respect the Santa Monica Mountains," he said.

Medina added it was "kind of emotional" to see the statue surrounded by other items brought by fans.

"The flowers, the jerseys, the hats blow away, and I think we need something more permanent," he told Winton.

Bryant became one of the most well-known athletes in the world during a 20-year career with the Lakers that included five NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA.

The Philadelphia native, who died at the age of 41, was posthumously inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in May.

A local sculptor placed a statue of Kobe and Gianna Bryant at the site of the helicopter crash that killed them and seven others in Calabasas, California.

A bronze sculpture of basketball great Kobe Bryant & daughter, Gigi, was erected temporarily at the Calabasas crash site on the 2nd anniversary of the disaster that also claimed the lives of 7 others. Sculptor Dan Medina pulled the 150-lbs sculpture up a steep hill. #girldad pic.twitter.com/L8ln4OtZSq

— Richard Winton (@LAcrimes) January 26, 2022

According to Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times, the artwork went up Wednesday on the two-year anniversary of the fatal crash.

Dan Medina, who created the piece, told Winton he only envisions the memorial remaining there temporarily. He transported the 150-pound statue to its current home by himself.

"You come up here and it is kind of emotional," he said. "The flowers, the jerseys, the hats blow away, and I think we need something more permanent."

Kobe and Gianna Bryant and six others (Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli and Christina Mauser) were traveling to Mamba Sports Academy when the helicopter went down in a Calabasas hillside, killing the eight passengers and pilot Ara Zobayan.

Two years after the deaths of Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West is reflecting on what both men meant to him. 

Speaking to Tania Ganguli of the New York Times, West said Baylor's death was "unbelievably hurtful."

"I just was like a baby, I guess. Couldn’t believe it," he added. "As much as I appreciated him, I didn’t realize the depth of it until the first day. I really did not. It was like—I lost my best friend. I lost someone who meant more to me than just a basketball player. For three days I might be doing something—I might be hitting golf balls or chipping golf balls or putting golf balls—and honestly, I would just have to stop."

West and Baylor were teammates with the Lakers from 1960 to 1972. They reached seven NBA Finals during that span but never won a title together. The Lakers did win the championship during the 1971-72 season, but Baylor retired nine games into the regular season because of ongoing knee problems. 

Baylor died at the age of 86 on March 22, 2021. 

Wednesday marks the two-year anniversary of Bryant's death at the age of 41. He was among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. 

"I’ve often wondered if he had lived to, say, Elgin Baylor’s age, or even my age, would people look at him the same way? I’m not sure they would," West said upon thinking about Bryant's death. "Just the shock and sadness of seeing this very young man’s life taken seemed impossible."

West played a significant role in bringing Bryant to Los Angeles in the 1996 NBA draft. He was the team's general manager from 1982 to 2000. 

In a March 2021 article by ESPN's Dave Fleming, West recalled what it was like watching Bryant during a pre-draft workout that convinced him the Lakers needed to find a way to get him to Los Angeles. 

"You watch a workout like that—there isn't much of a choice to think of anything else. I remember saying to Jerry Buss, our owner, I said, 'Jerry, he's the best player in the draft.' I meant it. I would have taken Kobe as the first player in the draft. It was a no-brainer. He had this—forget desire—he just didn't want to stop playing. Ever," West recalled.

West told Ganguli that Bryant "was just one of those unique players that comes along."

Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers from 1996 to 2016. He was named to 18 All-Star rosters, won five NBA titles, two NBA Finals MVP awards and the 2007-08 NBA MVP. 

The Lakers retired Bryant's No. 8 and 24 in December 2017. He was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class, along with fellow players Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Tamika Catchings. 

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker called for people to stop comparing him to late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

While addressing the media after Phoenix's 112-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, Booker said the following about those on social media measuring him against Kobe:

"I am not Kobe Bryant."

D-Book responds to criticism about calling out Raptors mascot and not having a Mamba Mentality https://t.co/AnDZh2w8gx

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 15, 2022

"I'm really enjoying this, and I always have enjoyed social media. I check it daily and when they're saying good things about me, I don't get too high, I don't get too low on it. The only problem I have is people still comparing me to Kobe Bryant when I told them in the playoffs, 'Stop bringing up Mamba mentality.' I'm inspired by Kobe Bryant and Mamba mentality, but I am not Kobe Bryant. And people are out here yelling Mamba mentality from their mama's house. I'll leave you with that."

In part, Booker was responding to criticism for complaining about the Toronto Raptors mascot distracting him during Phoenix's win over Toronto on Tuesday and the fact that some on social media took that as an opportunity to compare him to Bryant.

The 25-year-old exploded for 35 points on 11-of-25 shooting during Friday's win over Indiana to go with four rebounds and three assists.

After helping lead the Suns to the NBA Finals last season, the two-time All-Star has been excellent again in 2021-22, averaging 23.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.7 three-pointers made per game in 34 appearances, while also shooting 43.7 percent from the field and a career-best 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.

While Booker has displayed some qualities consistent with what Bryant did during his career, he has a long way to go before reaching the level of the Black Mamba.

In 20 NBA seasons, all of which were spent with the Lakers, Kobe was an 18-time All-Star, five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time scoring champion and one-time NBA MVP.

Bryant also ranks fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 33,643 points.

Booker's accolades simply don't compare, but as a key member of a Suns team that leads the NBA with a 32-9 record, he has a chance to win his first championship this season.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has unveiled his list of the top five players in NBA history. 

Appearing on Throwing Bones with Chelsea Gray, Green had LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson on his all-time top five. 

MJ. LeBron. Kobe. Magic. Steph@Money23Green gives @CGray209 his Top 5 on #ThrowingBones. 👀

📺: https://t.co/pZsiUzxLgn pic.twitter.com/Mb9jdJLTtw

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) January 14, 2022

Earlier this month, Green named his top-five defensive players of all-time. He included Gary Payton, Tony Allen, Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman and himself on that list. 

Green did note he didn't include players from older eras of basketball, like Wilt Chamberlain, because he didn't see them play. 

The most controversial name on Green's list is probably Curry, but it's not hard to justify his inclusion on any list of greatest players in NBA history.

The two-time MVP has led the league in three-pointers made six times in the past nine seasons, and he's leading in that category again in 2021-22 (188, 32 more than anyone else). 

James, Jordan, Johnson and Bryant are among the most likely names who would be found on an all-time top-five list if everyone in the NBA was surveyed. 

There is also an obvious level of respect that Green has for James' game after all the head-to-head battles they have had over the years, including four straight matchups in the NBA Finals from 2015-18, that he would be included in this group. 

Add another record to LeBron James' collection of accolades and career milestones. 

On Saturday, James became the NBA's all-time leading scorer in Christmas Day games, surpassing Kobe Bryant's previous record of 395 points. 

James came into Saturday needing 13 points to set the record. He accomplished the feat with a pair of free throws at the 3:52 mark in the second quarter in the Los Angeles Lakers' showcase game against the Brooklyn Nets. He finished with 39 points in Los Angeles' 122-115 loss.

Here is the updated list of career scorers on Christmas Day:

• James: 422 points in 16 games
• Bryant: 395 points in 16 games
• Oscar Robertson: 377 points in 12 games
• Dwyane Wade: 314 points in 13 games
  
• Kevin Durant: 299 points in 11 games

While undoubtedly a cool accomplishment, it might not rank that high on James' personal list. After all, it's competing with his four titles, four MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVPs, 17 All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVPs, 13 first-team All-NBA selections and his 2007-08 scoring title, among others.

It's an incredible list for the future Hall of Famer. 

Granted, James will probably be more concerned with turning the Lakers' season around. The team came into Saturday 16-17 and is trying to end a four-game losing streak. 

It's been a tough season for Los Angeles, with the team seeing multiple players put into the NBA's health and safety protocols amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while Anthony Davis is sidelined with an MCL sprain. 

As for any other Christmas records, one accomplishment James doesn't hold is the single-game scoring mark on the holiday. That distinction belongs to Hall of Famer Bernard King, who scored 60 points in 1984 for the New York Knicks.