I don't think Dwyane Wade was thinking about all the money Kobe Bryant's protective mask would fetch when he broke his nose and gave him a concussion in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, but such is life. The two superstars collided, and Bryant was forced to wear one of those protective masks that Richard Hamilton made famous. Now the mask is up for auction and is expected to bring in as much as $50,000, Slam reports. All of the proceeds from the auction will be going to charity.
Per the Gold Auctions listing for Mamba's mask, according to Slam:
In order to make the mask, a molding of Kobe’s face had to be made. Kobe had to sit for several minutes while the mold was applied and hardened. Once the mold was created, the mask was formed.
The mask originally had two straps; one that wrapped around behind his head, and another which wrapped over the top. Kobe did not like the strap over the top of his head so the team had to remove it. This is the reason why you still see a small round metal piece at the forehead of the mask. The small metal piece is where the over-the-head strap was anchored.
One main complaint that Kobe had with the mask was that it kept fogging up. In an attempt to remedy the problem, the team decided to add four small silicone dots at specific pressure areas to help reduce the fogging effect. Unfortunately it was not successful, so we had to remove the dots, some of the adhesive remained stuck to the mask, we had to use a small electric shaver in order to remove the remaining adhesive, and this is why one can see 4 areas of uneven surfaces inside the mask.
Read more at Slam.