Kobe Bryant rookie card: key RCs, checklist and collector interest
Kobe Bryant's first licensed base rookie card is the 1996-97 Topps #138. The first chromium rookie card is the 1996-97 Topps Chrome #138. Kobe Bryant's rookie season was 1996-97.
Kobe Bryant
No. 13 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, whose pick was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.
Photo: Kobe_Bryant_8.jpg: *Kobe_Bryant_7144.jpg: Sgt. Joseph A. Lee derivative work: JoeJohnson2 (talk) derivative work: JoeJohnson2 (talk), Public domainKobe Bryant card market
Collector attention: down 7% this week, down 15% over 30 days
Attention measures how much people are looking up this player, a leading indicator collectors watch. It is not a price. Source: Wikipedia pageviews through 2026-10-15.
Kobe Bryant's key rookie cards, by our criteria
- First licensed base RC: The licensed base rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist. Where an Upper Deck Young Guns card exists, that card.
- First chromium RC: The licensed chromium (Chrome, Prizm, Optic and the like) rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist.
- Scarcest licensed RC autograph: Among licensed rookie-card autographs in the player's checklist, the one with the lowest stated print run.
- First prospect card: For a player whose rookie cards are not out yet, or a baseball player's Bowman 1st: the earliest prospect card in the player's checklist. Not a rookie card.
Which Kobe Bryant card is the real rookie card
Bryant's 1996-97 rookie season had no single exclusive card maker: licensed RCs came from Topps (Topps, Topps Chrome, Bowman's Best, Finest), Fleer/SkyBox (Fleer, Ultra, Metal, Flair Showcase, SkyBox Premium, Hoops) and Upper Deck (Upper Deck, SP, Collector's Choice, UD3), 16 base RCs in all. Serial-numbered and autographed rookie cards were not yet common, so his RCs are base cards and parallels. Bowman's Best numbered its rookies with an R prefix (#R23). Cards from Collector's Edge, Pacific, Press Pass and Score Board use high school images and are not counted as RCs here.
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Kobe Bryant rookie card checklist with card numbers
10 rookie cards, each confirmed on the linked pages. Not every parallel is listed.
| Card | Type | Print run | RC | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 Topps #138flagship base RC | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Topps Chrome #138retail-only release | Chromium | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Bowman's Best #R23rookies use an R prefix | Chromium | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Finest #74Bronze common version | Chromium | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Upper Deck #58flagship base RC | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 SP #134 | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Flair Showcase #31Row 2; Row 1 and Row 0 versions also exist | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 SkyBox Premium #55 | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Fleer Ultra #52 | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
| 1996-97 Fleer #203 | Base | Not numbered | Yes | [1][2] |
Kobe Bryant's career, in brief
- Played 20 seasons, 1996 to 2016, all with the Los Angeles Lakers.
- 33,643 career points, a 25.0 points-per-game average, and 18 All-Star selections.
- Five NBA titles, two Finals MVPs (2009, 2010) and the 2008 MVP award.
- Elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
Career facts: [1]
- Played from 1996 to 2016.
- Honors include the NBA All-Defensive Team, the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, the All-NBA Team, among 34 listed on Wikidata.
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Record public Kobe Bryant card sales
Reported sales only, each with the report that carried it.
- 2021-03-06: 1996-97 Topps Chrome Refractor #138, BGS 10 Pristine Black Label, sold for $1,795,000 at Goldin Auctions. ESPN (via ABC7 Los Angeles)
Grading Kobe Bryant cards
A PSA 10 (Gem Mint) or BGS 9.5 is the top grade most collectors look for; it means sharp corners, clean edges, centered printing and an unmarked surface. A graded card and a raw one are different cards to look up.
- Topps Chrome #138 surfaces are prone to smudges (source: Cardboard Connection).
- Fleer Ultra #52 and SP #134 edges are prone to chipping (source: Cardboard Connection).
- Finest #74 holds more value with its protective film still on (source: allvintagecards.com).
- The Topps 'NBA at 50' parallel of #138 has a chrome-like foil finish and can be mistaken for the Topps Chrome RC (source: Cardboard Connection).
How PSA, CGC and Beckett grade
PSA
- Top grades:
- Gem Mint 10, then Mint 9 and NM-MT 8.
- Half grades:
- 1.5 through 8.5 since February 2008; there is no PSA 9.5.
One overall grade on the label. Centering weighs heavily in it.
CGC
- Top grades:
- Pristine 10 (virtually flawless, 50/50 centering), then Gem Mint 10 and Mint+ 9.5.
- Half grades:
- Yes, from Fair 1.5 up to Mint+ 9.5.
Authentic (AU) for a genuine card that cannot take a number; Authentic Altered (AA) for one that was altered.
Source: CGC grading scale
Beckett (BGS)
- Top grades:
- Pristine 10; a Black Label Pristine 10 has a 10 in all four subgrades.
- Half grades:
- Yes, 1 to 10 in half points.
Four subgrades on the label: centering, corners, edges and surface.
Source: Beckett grading
Grading scales as each grader describes them, checked Oct 16, 2026.
Population by grade
A population report counts how many copies of a card a grader has graded at each grade. Search 1996-97 Topps #138 on PSA Population Report or CGC Cards Population Report.
How to identify your Kobe Bryant card and check what it sold for
- Find the year and maker on the back of your Kobe Bryant card, and the card number, usually top or bottom on the back.
- Check the front and back for a serial number (for example 23/99) and for a colored or patterned finish: those mark a parallel, which is a different card from the base version.
- Look for the RC logo or the word Rookie. A card from before the first pro season, such as a Bowman 1st or a college card, is a prospect card, not a rookie card.
- Note any grade on the slab label (PSA, BGS, SGC, CGC). A raw card and a graded one are different listings.
- Search sold listings for that exact year, set, number, parallel and grade. What a card sold for is a better guide than any asking price.
Check Kobe Bryant rookie cards in eBay's sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.
Kobe Bryant cards for sale now
Kobe Bryant card questions
- What is Kobe Bryant's rookie card?
- Kobe Bryant's first licensed base rookie card is the 1996-97 Topps #138. The first chromium rookie card is the 1996-97 Topps Chrome #138. Kobe Bryant's rookie season was 1996-97.
- What year is Kobe Bryant's rookie card?
- Kobe Bryant's rookie season was 1996-97, so the rookie cards carry that year.
- How many rookie cards does Kobe Bryant have?
- Our checklist lists 10 Kobe Bryant rookie cards with card numbers, each from a cited source. It is not every parallel or color variation.
- How much is a Kobe Bryant rookie card worth?
- Parlae does not print card values. Find the year, set, card number, parallel and grade on your card, then check eBay sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.
- Are collectors watching Kobe Bryant right now?
- Collector attention is flat: Wikipedia lookups of Kobe Bryant are down 7% this week. That is attention, not a price.
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Card facts checked 2026-10-15. Parlae prints no card values. Set and brand names belong to their makers; Parlae is not affiliated with them.
By the Parlae deskCard data updated Oct 16, 2026 at 7:14 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number