Right before last month ended, TMZ ran an exclusive on a rare Kobe Bryant card that could potentially sell for more than a million dollars. The card in question is one of the select few from the 90s that have grown in value with the Black Mamba's signature on it. But even after a week of bidding, the Los Angeles Lakers' legend isn't enough to catapult it past beyond the projected mark.

According to a report by TMZ around a week ago, a 1997 Metal Universe Red Precious Metal Gems card of Kobe Bryant was expected to surpass a million dollars once SCP Auctions was done auctioning it off. The card itself is authenticated by PSA and the actual signature of the late Black Mamba obtained a grade of 9, as seen on the area just above the Metal logo.

What makes the card of this Lakers' star so distinct is that apart from the short-print population of 100, it's the only one from the set Bryant actually signed. With that kind of distinction in mind, it really isn't far-fetched for this Precious Metal Gem card of Bryant to break the million dollar mark. A handful of rare NBA cards featuring Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and even Luka Doncic have gone on to sell for ludicrous prices over the past few years. Plus, a rarer green Precious Metal Gems Kobe Bryant card previously sold for $2 million in an auction, which strengthens the case of this particular card.

Unfortunately, the card missed the mark by around $597,000. In a post shared by SCP auctions on Twitter, the signed card of the Lakers' star ended its auction with a final price of $403,664. And even though that's still a very good price for a single piece of memorabilia, it's still far off from the projected value of more than a million dollars.

This recent auction just shows that anything can happen to a card when it comes to value, even one that features the legendary Kobe Bryant himself. Until the auction is done, it's never safe to assume the value of any NBA card. To do so can lead to unwarranted hyping of the card itself, much like in the case of this rare Precious Metal Gems card of the Los Angeles Lakers' late All-Star.