Kobe Bryant’s Staples Center Locker Fetches Nearly $3 Million at Auction, Setting Records.Giang

Kobe Bryant‘s personal Staples Center locker has been sold — for a hefty price!

The piece of the late basketball player’s legacy sold for $2.9 million at Sotheby’s on Friday, Aug. 2, the auction house announced via a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

According to Sotheby’s, four bidders went at it during a 20-minute bidding battle, before the bid for the item jumped from $750,000 to its final price near the completion of the auction.

The locker was originally estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million, Sotheby’s said in a prior press release.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Bryant’s locker will directly benefit The Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation, the NBA team’s official charity, per the auction house.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

According to Sotheby’s, Bryant’s locker “was discarded following the renovation of the Staples Center in 2018, and an individual involved with the project had the foresight to keep and store it.” It was then obtained by a private collector.

The locker was originally listed as part of Sotheby’s sports-themed online auction.

Other available items included a pair of Michael Jordan’s shorts worn during his final basketball game, an autographed Diego Maradona World Cup semifinal jersey, one of Rafael Nadal’s tennis rackets from the 2006 French Open and Wimbledon championships, as well as Florence Griffith Joyner’s record-setting spikes from the 1988 Olympic Games.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

“Kobe Bryant’s locker is not merely a piece of memorabilia but a profound relic from one of basketball’s most iconic figures,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectables.

Bryant died in a helicopter accident in 2020, alongside his daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

“Today’s price highlights not only Kobe’s enduring legacy but also the exceptional nature of this unique item,” Wachter added.