LeBron James’ Game-Worn adidas Kobe 2 USA Is Up For Auction Again

Previously sold at auction for $156,000.

Matt Varga February 8, 2024

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Re-emerging once again after being up for auction in 2021, a pair of Kobe-owned, LeBron-worn Kobe 2s from his high school days is up for grabs. The USA colorway only adds to the intrigue surrounding these, and is a physical representation of a legendary meeting between the two surefire Hall of Famers.

While every piece of LeBron memorabilia carries a certain amount of history, the significance of this pair is on another level entirely. First conceived by Bryant himself in conjunction with Peter Moore, this adidas Kobe 2 was intended as a tribute to 9/11 victims, a then just-days old event. Cut to February 2002, prior to the All-Star Game: In their first ever meeting, Kobe gifted the sneakers to the 17 year old James. A few days after that, the already storied pair would make their on-feet debut as LeBron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary squared off against Carmelo Anthony’s Oak Hill Academy.

Though James’ squad couldn’t secure the win that particular night, he wasn’t lacking in the box score. His line of 36/10/5 was a sign of his famously sky-high potential, and is a final exceptional bit of trivia for the Kobe 2s in question. In case it wasn’t abundantly clear, the Kobe 2 USA signify the starting point for two of LeBron’s formative professional relationships, reprised at the 2003 Draft, in countless free agency rumors and a dozen All Star games.

All those key factors add up correspondingly high asking price. The starting bid for this pair of The King’s high school kicks is $45,000, but there’s already some history as to why that surely won’t hold; these same shoes were listed in just under three years ago at a starting bid of $15,000 eventually selling for a whopping $156,000. Should you be inclined to bid yourself, the auction will be open on the Goldin website until March 2nd; you can find a full suite of official photos below.

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.