Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant Champion Jersey Size X-Large

Champion produced the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant #8 jersey in the black and gold alternate colorway during the mid-to-late 1990s, when Kobe was still wearing #8 before his number change to #24 in 2006. This is an X-Large, mesh construction, gold tackle-twill lettering across the chest, yellow V-neck trim, and the embroidered Champion C logo at the lower left hem. The black alternate reads differently than the standard purple and gold. It is the one that feels like a flex precisely because it is less expected.

Bryant arrived in the NBA straight from Lower Merion High School in 1996, drafted 13th overall by Charlotte and immediately traded to the Lakers. By 1997 and 1998 he was a starter on a team that was being rebuilt around him and Shaquille O'Neal, with Phil Jackson not yet in the picture. The first three-peat came in 2000, 2001, 2002, once Jackson arrived and the triangle offense took hold. Champion held the NBA license through the late 1990s before Nike moved in at the turn of the millennium, and authentic Champion-era NBA jerseys became a closed chapter. The black alternate colorway specifically was produced in shorter runs than the road or home purples, which is why clean XLs in this color surface less often. Keep It Classic is downtown Las Vegas, and this one came off the rack in exactly the condition collectors look for.

This copy shows consistent coloration in the black body fabric, no cracking or lifting in the tackle-twill letters, and the mesh sits without distortion around the shoulder seams. Sizing on Champion's 1990s NBA jerseys ran athletic, so an XL on this tag fits closer to a modern large on most builds. The embroidered C logo at the hem is intact. There is no name on the back on some variants of this jersey, so confirm before assuming, but the front block lettering is clean and the stitching is still tight. Check the interior jock tag for the Champion script and the NBA Properties line, and then run your thumb along the V-neck twill edge to confirm the binding has not separated at the point.

OWNER VERIFY: Confirm production year within the #8 era (1996–2006) via jock tag date code or Champion label style; the black alternate colorway narrows the likely window to the late 1990s but visual inspection of the tag will settle it.