Are Kobe Bryant autographs faked a lot?

Yes — Kobe is one of the most forged signatures in all of sports memorabilia. High demand, high prices, and a surge of interest after his passing in 2020 made his autograph a prime target for forgers. The vast majority of fakes are loose 'signed' items (photos, basketballs, index cards) with worthless certificates of authenticity, not factory-certified trading cards.

What's the safest way to buy a real Kobe autograph?

Buy either a factory-certified card autograph — one signed for the card set and encased by the manufacturer, like Panini or Upper Deck — or an item authenticated by a top third-party service (PSA/DNA, JSA, or Beckett/BAS). Both remove almost all forgery risk. A card auto that is also professionally graded is the gold standard.

Is a certificate of authenticity (COA) enough to trust an autograph?

Not on its own. A COA is only as good as the company that issued it, and forgers print convincing-looking COAs from unknown or made-up 'authenticators.' Only certificates from the major third-party authenticators — PSA/DNA, JSA, and Beckett Authentication (BAS) — carry real weight. Ignore COAs from names you can't verify.

What does a real Kobe Bryant signature look like?

Kobe's signature evolved over his career, from a fuller, more legible 'Kobe Bryant' early on to a faster, more stylized version later. Because it changed, matching a single 'template' online won't reliably catch fakes — which is exactly why third-party authentication and factory certification matter more than eyeballing the signature yourself.

How do I verify a PSA/DNA, JSA, or Beckett (BAS) certification number?

Each authenticator runs its own free lookup on its official site: enter the cert number printed on the label or LOA and it will confirm the item, the description on file, and (for cards) usually a photo match. Never trust a certificate number alone — always run it through the authenticator's own tool rather than a link or screenshot a seller provides.

Why are new Kobe Bryant autograph cards still being released years after his death?

Panini signed Kobe to long-term autograph contracts while he was alive and built up an inventory of signed items and cards before his passing in January 2020. It has continued to release certified autograph cards from that inventory in newer products ever since. A Kobe auto card with a 2021-or-later release date isn't automatically suspicious — the signature was captured earlier; the card was just manufactured and released later. This is normal practice across the hobby whenever a signer dies mid-contract.

How to Spot a Fake Kobe Bryant Autograph

Kobe Bryant’s signature is one of the most sought-after — and most forged — in the entire hobby. His global fame, the strong prices his autographs command, and the wave of demand that followed his passing in 2020 all made his signature a favorite target for forgers. If you’re buying a Kobe auto, knowing how authentication works is the difference between owning a treasured piece and owning a worthless fake.

The good news: you don’t have to be a handwriting expert. A few clear rules protect you from nearly every fake on the market.

The single most important rule

Buy certified or third-party authenticated — nothing else. There are two safe lanes:

Factory-certified card autographs. These are signed for a specific card product and encased or serial-marked by the manufacturer (Panini, and earlier Upper Deck). The signature is verified at the source, so the card itself is your certificate. This is the cleanest way to own a signed Kobe.
Third-party authenticated items. For anything signed outside a card set — photos, basketballs, jerseys, or older cut signatures — trust only the three names that the hobby actually stands behind: PSA/DNA, JSA (James Spence Authentication), and Beckett Authentication Services (BAS).

Anything outside those two lanes should be treated as unproven until it’s authenticated by one of the majors.

On-card vs. sticker autos

Two kinds of factory autographs exist, and both can be genuine:

On-card autos are signed directly on the card’s surface. They’re generally the most desirable.
Sticker autos are signed on a clear label that’s applied to the card at the factory. Still legitimate — just usually a step below on-card in collector preference.

Neither is a fake. The distinction matters for value, not authenticity — the eBay listings above note which is which.

The red flags that give fakes away

Most Kobe forgeries aren’t clever — they rely on buyers not knowing what to check. Watch for:

A COA from a name you can’t verify. Forgers print professional-looking certificates from unknown or invented “authentication” companies. If it isn’t PSA/DNA, JSA, or BAS, treat the COA as worthless.
Loose “signed” items with no encapsulation. Raw signed photos, index cards, and basketballs are where the overwhelming majority of Kobe fakes live. Certified card autos are far harder to fake because the manufacturer controls the signing.
Prices that are too good to be true. A genuine Kobe autograph well below the going market rate is a red flag, not a bargain.
“Autopen” or stamped signatures. Some fakes are mechanical reproductions. Look for signatures that are unnaturally uniform, or the same exact signature repeated across multiple items.
Wrong signing medium. A signature in ballpoint on a modern card that should carry a paint-pen auto is a warning sign — though, again, don’t rely on eyeballing this; rely on certification.
Sellers who dodge authentication. A legitimate seller of a valuable auto will happily point you to its PSA/DNA, JSA, BAS, or factory certification. Evasiveness is your answer.

Why you can’t just “match the signature”

It’s tempting to compare a signature against an example you found online. Don’t rely on it. Kobe’s autograph changed over the years — a fuller, more legible signature early in his career gave way to a faster, more stylized version later. Because there’s no single “correct” template, even genuine autos vary. Forgers know this and exploit it. Certification and third-party authentication exist precisely because signature-matching by eye is unreliable — let the experts who’ve handled thousands of examples make the call.

Why new Kobe autographs still enter the market

It confuses buyers: Kobe died in January 2020, so why do certified Kobe autograph cards keep showing up in brand-new releases years later? The answer isn’t fraud — it’s inventory. Kobe signed long-term autograph contracts with Panini while he was alive, and the manufacturer built up a supply of signed items and cards ahead of his passing. Panini has continued drawing on that inventory for certified autograph cards in the years since. A card with a 2021, 2022, or later release date doesn’t mean the signature is fresher, or faker — it means the signing happened earlier and the card itself was produced and released later. This is standard across the hobby any time a signer dies mid-contract, and it’s exactly why the card’s certification matters more than its box date.

How to actually verify a certification number

Every legitimate authenticator gives you a free, official way to check a cert number yourself — use it every time, not just when something looks off:

PSA/DNA. The number is printed directly on the tamper-evident holder. Look it up at PSA’s own certification-verification tool (psacard.com/cert) — it will show the item description on file and, for graded cards, a photo match.
JSA (James Spence Authentication). JSA issues a serialized tamper-resistant label plus a matching paper letter of authenticity (LOA). Verify the number through JSA’s own online cert lookup — never through a photo or PDF the seller sends you.
Beckett Authentication Services (BAS). BAS affixes a tamper-evident sticker with a unique cert number, checkable in Beckett’s own authentication database.

The pattern is the same for all three: go to the authenticator’s own site and type the number in yourself. A seller-provided link, screenshot, or PDF “certificate” proves nothing — only the authenticator’s own database does.

A simple buyer’s checklist

Prefer a factory-certified card auto whenever possible — the card is its own proof.
For non-card items, require PSA/DNA, JSA, or BAS authentication — and verify the certification number on the authenticator’s own site.
Treat every unverifiable COA as if it doesn’t exist.
Be most skeptical of loose signed items and too-cheap listings.
When you want maximum peace of mind, buy an auto that’s both certified and graded.

Follow those five rules and you sidestep essentially every Kobe autograph forgery in circulation.

Keep learning

Authentication runs through everything in the Kobe market — his cards are faked as often as his signature. Our collecting guide covers spotting fake and reprinted cards, the how to spot a Kobe rookie reprint guide goes deep on raw fakes, and how to spot a fake Kobe graded slab covers the counterfeit-holder scam that even a PSA/DNA card can fall to. The Kobe autographs & top cards page rounds up the premium signed families collectors chase, all with live eBay listings. New to his cardboard? Start with the 1996-97 rookie card chase or the full Kobe Bryant hub.

If rule 5 — certified and graded — is where you want to land, graded Kobe cards is the shortest path there: it covers what a slab label actually guarantees and how to verify the cert number before you pay.