Kobe's 2012 face mask up for auction
One of the more competitive moments in NBA All-Star Game history came in 2012, when Dwyane Wade broke Kobe Bryant's nose while fouling him under the basket. The incident forced Bryant to wear a face mask for a time after the break, and of course, one of the appendages is now up for auction.
From GoldinAuctions.com:
It was decided that a protective mask was needed to be made. To do that, a molding of Bryant’s face had to be created. A letter from a member of the Los Angeles Lakers training staff accompanies this lot that states the following:
"In order to make the mask, a molding of Kobe’s face had to be made. Kobe had to sit for several minutes while the mold was applied and hardened. Once the mold was created, the mask was formed.
The mask originally had two straps; one that wrapped around behind his head, and another which wrapped over the top. Kobe did not like the strap over the top of his head so the team had to remove it. This is the reason why you still see a small round metal piece at the forehead of the mask. The small metal piece is where the over-the-head strap was anchored.
One main complaint that Kobe had with the mask was that it kept fogging up. In an attempt to remedy the problem, the team decided to add four small silicone dots at specific pressure areas to help reduce the fogging effect. Unfortunately it was not successful, so we had to remove the dots, some of the adhesive remained stuck to the mask, we had to use a small electric shaver in order to remove the remaining adhesive, and this is why one can see 4 areas of uneven surfaces inside the mask."
Bryant often complained about the mask saying it “felt like a sauna”. Bryant did however pick up a revised nickname, “The Masked Mamba” from the media, which was a take on his original “Black Mamba” nickname.
There you have it.
If the last face mask of Bryant that sold at auction was any indicator (it raised over $67,000 for his foundation), somebody will be paying tens of thousands of dollars for this fine piece of plastic.