Kevin O'Leary, Partners Buy One-of-One Jordan-Kobe Card For Nearly $13 Million

Kevin O'Leary's latest investment didn't come from a "Shark Tank" episode -- Mr. Wonderful and his buddies just coughed up a whopping $12.932 MILLION for the most expensive sports card in the world -- which features patches and autographs from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant!!

The businessman revealed himself as one of the buyers in the historic purchase on CNBC on Monday ... saying he, Matt Allen and Paul Warshaw dug deep into their couch cushions to buy the super rare memorabilia.

O'Leary defended the move ... comparing the item to a work of art, as the value will only increase in time.

The TV star explained how he got the sports card bug ... saying Warshaw got him hooked three years ago. Initially, he was skeptical.

"I was a business partner with him, and I just started, and I thought it was nuts," O'Leary said on the show. "I said, 'Why would anybody pay a million bucks for a piece of cardboard?' He said, 'You don't get it.' And I slowly kept looking at the numbers."

But don't expect to see the card on the market in a few years -- O'Leary said he and his partners are in it for the long haul.

The card itself is from the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection and features Hancocks from each basketball legend and NBA logo patches from game-worn jerseys. Kobe's signature parallels a blue, white and red patch, while Michael's patch is gold and white.

Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions, previously spoke about its value ... saying, "The Dual Logoman card offered in this auction is the only example created that includes only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, making it the most sought-after example of the incredible Upper Deck Logoman series, and because of Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in 2020, it always will be the only one."

The record was previously held by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card ... which sold for $12.6 million in 2022.