Kobe Bryant’s father by the late legend himself has now found itself up for auction.

The 14 karat gold championship ring was won by Bryant when his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals. The ring was Bryant’s first of five rings that he would win, cementing himself as an all-time legend in the basketball world.

The ring weighs 59.6 grams, and is a size 11.5, the size of Kobe’s ring finger. This no doubt cements its place as legitimate, though that claim comes with some caveats.

Falling Out

The ring came before Kobe Bryant’s falling out with his parents

The championship ring was gifted to Joe Bryant, the father of Kobe. Interestingly, Kobe had a falling out with his parents after choosing to marry Vanessa Bryant a year later, whom his parents did not approve of.

This led to Joe and wife Pam opting to skip their son’s wedding in April of 2001, and also skip their son’s 2001 NBA Finals games against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Regardless, the ring was gifted to Joe Bryant, who also played in the NBA himself from 1975 to 1983, prior to the falling out. The ring features 40 diamonds and the face reads “LOS ANGELES LAKERS” with the other side reading “BRYANT” and Kobe’s number eight.

Returning Company

Kobe has had history, and beef, with the auction company selling the ring

Technically, the ring that is up for auction is not Kobe’s original championship ring. The ring in question was a replica that Kobe had created in order to gift to his father. Since it is directly connected to the legend, however, that has not caused the value to drop.

As of Monday morning, the ring sat at $94,000 via the auction company Goldin, and will only increase. Goldin has actually been intertwined with Kobe Bryant in the past, as his mother, Pam, attempted to sell all of Kobe’s hard-earned memorabilia, including trophies, rings, and uniforms, after the falling out.

Kobe then sued Goldin upon discovering this news, which led to Goldin filing a countersuit. The company had already paid $450,000 for the collection and argued that Pam was the legal owner of the items. The two eventually settled, and Kobe got his stuff back.

This ring, however, is legitimate and not a fake. It was obtained directly from the Bryant family and features a Letter of Authenticity (LOA) from Pam. The bidding is scheduled to end on March 30.

The ex-NBA star believed Vanessa Bryant is more responsible than Kobe’s parents

Vanessa and Kobe BryantLaPresse

Kobe Bryant‘s parents have found themselves in the center of a social media storm after it emerged that the former NBA superstar’s father had placed one of his championship rings up for auction.

Bryant and his daughter passed away on January 26, 2020, following a tragic helicopter accident. But before that, he had gifted one of his NBA championship rings to his father, Joe. It is the 2000 championship ring, to be specific.

Pau Gasol’s special gift to Vanessa BryantInstagram
While plenty of affection has been shown to the Bryant family over recent years, Bryant senior has been heavily criticized on social media due to his decision to put that gifted ring on the market.

While many have laid into Joe Bryant, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has defended the decision. He said on a podcast appearance: “You can’t be mad because they’re selling the rings. The money wasn’t left to them. They trying to eat.”

But Arenas did not stop there, taking aim at Kobe‘s widow Vanessa Bryant, adding: “It’s her job to call them to take that off their hands because they’re obviously just trying to survive. And [Vanessa] is just sitting over there with the grandkids, billion-dollar industry.

“All they have is their son’s legacy, and when you’re trying to pay bills and eat, that legacy don’t mean anything.

“So once she sees it hit the net when it hit the auction, she should have brought that check, bring that back to the house and then say, ‘Anything you got over there, that belongs to your son, it belongs to his kids, and we will take that off your hands.”