Kobe first met Quigley in 1996 while filming an Adidas commercial outside the artist’s Brewery Arts studio in downtown Los Angeles, before he had played an NBA game. Both from Philadelphia, they connected immediately and spent three days shooting baskets together. In 1997, the future NBA legend acquired an 8-foot painting by Quigley depicting his All-Star dunk contest victory.
In 2018, Quigley was asked by the Lakers to create a tribute to Kobe Bryant’s retirement. Bryant never saw the completed work, giving it a quiet, historic weight.
Acquired by performance specialist Fabrice Gautier, the work now anchors his Beverly Hills training facility alongside Quigley’s 8-foot 1992 portrait of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Audrey, and KO prints, as well as a boxing composition titled Champion. Together, these works create a quiet and focused environment experienced daily by elite athletes in training. The Kobe and Magic portraits in particular have attracted sustained collector interest, with offers exceeding $500,000 each, drawn to their presence and the enduring ethos of the Mamba Mentality.
