Skip to main content
Come Fan with UsSunday, July 5, 2026

Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s mom at legal odds over memorabilia auction

Your latest reminder that athlete megastars lead very different lives.

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY

An auction house of some unknown repute is selling a load of Kobe Bryant's high school basketball stuff. Kobe's lawyers issued a cease and desist, saying the auction house didn't come by the stuff legally because, well, it's Kobe's stuff.

Lakers Nation explains Kobe's feud with his mom.

So, Deadspin’s excellent Tom Ley reports, the auction house sued Kobe, saying it had indeed come by the items legally ... because it bought them from Kobe’s mom, Pamela. From Ley:

According to the lawsuit, Pamela Bryant approached Goldin Auctions and offered to sell them her son’s old stuff, and the auction house agreed to pay her a $450,000 advance in exchange for the items. The suit alleges that Kobe ceded ownership of the items to his mother five years ago, and that she has been paying to keep them in storage for 15 years.

So Kobe did what many, many guys do and left all of his high school junk in his mom’s storage unit/attic/garage. And Kobe’s mom did what basically no other moms can do in that situation: sell it for lots of money. It’s like revenge on behalf of all the moms who just want to clear out their 30-year-old’s childhood bedroom and turn it into a giftwrapping space.

All this really means in practical terms is that we have another joke in the “Kobe is very disliked -- how very disliked is he?” inventory. Kobe is so very disliked he’s getting sued by his mom, more or less.

UPDATE: Kobe tweeted this Saturday morning. We’re guessing it is a reference to the legal battle.

More from SB Nation:

Stephen Curry’s 10 best shots of the playoffs

Pay Nate Robinson (if you dare)

Controversial call helps close door on Denver

David Kahn has the final word

What’s wrong with the Knicks?

Longform: The secret world of NBA daps

See More: