Collectors are willing to pay a high price for anything LeBron James-related — including from his days in high school.
The St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey James wore for his iconic 2002 Sports Illustrated “The Chosen One” photoshoot scored $1.3 million at Julien’s Auctions on Friday. It easily fell within the pre-sale estimate of $1 million and $2 million.
James was just a 17-year-old junior at the time when he graced the cover of SI in February 2002.
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“Following the photo shoot, James continued to wear this jersey during his high school game later that same day while playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary against the Archbishop Hoban Knights. James scored 32 points and collected seven rebounds,” Julien’s wrote in the lot description.
Photographer Michael LeBrecht captured the legendary pictures for the shoot. He said he had a young James dunk at least 40 times.
“You look back and you don’t realize it was a real turning point,” added Le Brecht.
👑 JUST SOLD 👑
— The Collectibles Guru (@ericwhiteback) September 28, 2024
LeBron’s high school jersey featured in his “Chosen One” Sports Illustrated cover just sold for $1,300,000.
The jersey previously sold for $184,000 via Goldin Auctions back in 2019.
That’s more than a 600% increase in just 5 years… 🤯
h/t: @goatcollect https://t.co/Yxob8bnmBV
LeBron James’ high school jersey has sold for big bucks before
This is the third time James’ “The Chosen One” jersey has been up for auction. It first sold at Goldin in 2019 for $184,000, and then it fetched $512,000 at Julien’s in 2021.
The jersey saw a 600% value increase in just five years — going from $184,000 to $1.3 million.
James has surely lived up to his “Chosen One” moniker. Since 2003, all he’s done is win four NBA titles, three Olympic gold medals, become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, and been selected to 20 All-Star games.
Despite the impressive price for James’ high school jersey, it fell over $2 million short for his most expensive jersey ever. James’ game-worn jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals when the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs netted $3.68 million at Sotheby’s in 2023.
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