Is Kobe Bryant worth grading?

Basketball · Basketball Cards 1996 Skybox E-X2000 · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Kobe Bryant sells for $5,000 against $929 raw: a $4,071 spread, 5.4× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($3,875) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.

Raw (NM): $929
Grade 9.5: $5,000
PSA 9: $3,875
Gem premium: 5.4×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Kobe Bryant: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$5,000	+$4,046	+$4,021	+$3,921
PSA 9	$3,875	+$2,921	+$2,896	+$2,796
PSA 8	$2,259	+$1,305	+$1,280	+$1,180

Net = sale price − $929 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.

Expected value — how often does it need to gem?

Kobe Bryant: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$4,156	+$3,177
50%	$4,438	+$3,458
75%	$4,719	+$3,740

Even a miss (a 9) beats selling raw after the standard fee — the gem rate only decides how much you win by.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Kobe Bryant graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$5,000
9	$3,875
8	$2,259
7	$717

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

Enter the seller’s asking price to see your net outcome per grade.

Other 1996 Skybox E-X2000 cards worth checking

Full set checklist →

Kobe Bryant #30

Raw $600PSA 10 $40,436

Michael Jordan #9

Raw $405PSA 10 $5,435

Allen Iverson [Credentials] #53

Raw $2,176PSA 10 $18,288

Reggie Miller [Credentials] #27

Raw $457PSA 10 $2,525

Kobe Bryant [Credentials] #30

Raw $7,554Graded $58,415

Michael Jordan [Credentials] #9