A new record in basketball cards, this time with an Israeli twist. Lior Avidor, CEO of the collecting platform ALT, bought the most expensive Kobe Bryant card in history for $3.15 million. The card is a 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems in the Green version, from Kobe's second year in the league - a card every serious collector knows by name alone.
What makes it special? Two things: scarcity and condition. Only ten copies of the green version were printed worldwide. The card that sold is graded PSA 5, and just one of the ten has ever graded higher. Put a legend's name together with a mythical 1990s set and a print run of ten, and the price stops behaving like an ordinary "what does a card cost" question.
The previous record for a Kobe card stood at $2.4 million, set only in September 2025. Another copy from that exact set sold in February 2022 for about two million. In roughly four years the same card nearly doubled - and that happened while much of the card market was actually cooling off. At the very top, it turns out, the rules are different.
Avidor said this was the Kobe card he wanted most, and that he had tried to get a copy for years. That is a point worth noticing if you are starting out: the genuinely big purchases are made by people who know one set deeply, know exactly how many copies exist and who holds them, and wait for the right moment.
And what does that mean for the average collector in Israel? Not that you need $3 million. But that the principles are the same at every level: a player with a name, a recognised set, a low print run and a good grade. A card that comes out of a Topps or Panini box today is measured by exactly the same criteria. If you pull a numbered card of a rising star, it is worth storing properly and considering grading. We have separate guides on both of those on the blog.
Source: ynet, sports desk.