A rare LeBron James’ 2003-04 rookie trading card with the Cleveland Cavaliers was recently sold for a whopping 1.8 million at an auction over the weekend. With the successful sale, it has become the most expensive basketball card purchased in the modern era – those produced in 1980 or later.
The exclusive card is signed by NBA star LeBron James who currently plays for Los Angeles Lakers. The bid for the autographed card began at $150,000 and was ultimately sold for several times its estimate. Commenting on it, the NBA said, “Only 23 versions of the Patch Autograph Parallel collection for James were ever produced. The rare card received a 9.5 mint gem grading from Beckett grading service.”
Numbered 14 of 23, the card features James as a teenager on court in his white Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and a white headband. As stated by Darren Rovell of sports media company Action Network, the winning bid for the card was placed by Leore Avidar, the CEO and co-founder of a San Francisco-based company. In all, 34 bids were received for the rookie card – one of the only 23 produced ever.
In May 2020, Michael Jordan’s autographed game sneakers from his rookie season were sold for $560,000 in an online auction and one of Trout’s cards was similarly sold for $923,000. Well, looks like basketball fans leave no stone unturned when it comes to collecting memorabilia belonging to their favorite stars!
[Via: KTLA]
