July 13, 1996 will forever be remembered as the day that we were truly and formally introduced to Kobe Bryant. The Pyramid in Long Beach, California was at maximum capacity at 5pm when Kobe finally took to the court to take on the Pistons from Detroit. Well worth the wait, Kobe would go on to score twenty-seven points in twenty-six minutes of play and looked remarkable and thoroughly convinced the droves of Lakers fans in the stands that Kobe was most definitely the future. Little did they know, five NBA Championships would soon be coming their way.
Sourcing from that memorable day, this 1996 Fila Summer Pro League tick stub is easily the most scarce and sought after Kobe Bryant ticket in the hobby. Not the more common "Ticketmaster version," this is one of the few box office issued tickets that has managed to be saved by a savvy basketball enthusiast.
Graded and encapsulated EX 5 by PSA, this rare as hens' teeth memento is one of only three stubs that have been examined by PSA, the only one that that has received a numeric grade (the other two are Authentic only) and is a Pop 1 of 1 Highest Graded!