The Short History of Kobe Bryant Charlotte Hornets Cards

We all know Kobe Bryant as a member of the Lakers. He’s synonymous with the yellow and purple. But there was a brief blip in history when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. That blip lasted all of about two weeks from when the team drafted him until he was sent to Los Angeles in exchange for Vlade Divac.

As crazy as it may sound, there are more than 10,000 different Kobe Bryant cards out there, virtually all of which have him on the Lakers. But there were a few photos snapped of the future Hall of Famer wearing a different hat. And in recent years, that has led to a small number of Kobe Bryant Charlotte Hornets cards.

Only about a dozen such cards exist. And of those, most are essentially the same with the checklist expanding due to parallels. All are inserts and none of them actually picture Bryant in the teal Hornets jersey. Rather, the Charlotte snapback is all we’ve got. Still, it’s an interesting chapter in Kobe Bryant’s cardboard history.

Here’s a checklist of the Kobe Bryant Charlotte Hornets cards found in the Beckett Basketball Card Database.

Kobe Bryant Charlotte Hornets Cards Checklist

2009-10 Topps Draft Snapshot #DSKB
2010-11 Panini Gold Standard 24-Karat Kobe #2 /299
2010-11 Panini Gold Standard 24-Karat Kobe Kobe 14K #2 1/1
2010-11 Panini Gold Standard 24-Karat Kobe Kobe Signatures #2 /49
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History #14
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History Die-Cuts Black  #14 /49
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History Die-Cuts Gold #14 /99
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History Die-Cuts Silver #14 /299
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History Autographs Black #14 /10
2010-11 Playoff Contenders Patches Place in History Autographs Gold #14 /49
2012-13 Panini Kobe Anthology #2