A basketball jersey worn by LeBron James in a high school basketball game and for a landmark photo shoot will be sold this month with a top estimate of $2 million.
James’s enormous talent was already apparent when on February 3, 2002 he was shot as the first high school junior to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
The headline, The Chosen One, was prophetic.
Young LeBron had other things on his mind though, and went on to wear the same jersey in a game for his school, St Vincent-St Mary (nicknamed the Fighting Irish), against Archbishop Hoban Knights school in his native Akron, Ohio.
Those who tipped James for stardom were right. This summer he added another Olympic gold medal to his bulging trophy collection.
As an NBA player James has won four titles, been the MVP for the league four times, and has been in the NBA finals with three different teams in 10 out of 11 consecutive seasons.
LeBron James’s games were already being shown on TV when he was a high schooler.
He is the all-time scoring record holder for the NBA.
The jersey he wore for that photoshoot and game is now for sale in a Hong Kong auction hosted by Julien*s on September 28.
It carries an estimate of $1 million to $2 million. Not a bad return against sales in 2019 for $187,500 and a 2021 auction sale for $512,200.
The price in part reflects James’s enormous reputation, but also the single moment that this jersey captures. And, also an extremely healthy sports memorabilia market.
It is tied to that moment via photomatching – minutely comparing the actual item for sale against images from the day.
It will be sold with two photomatching identifications, one of which described matching the mesh holes in the jersey against the numbers and letters printed on it.
Basketballers are now among the most collectible of all sports stars, and there is a huge amount of money in and around the game.
Growth in the market has been explosive.
In 2022 Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” Chicago Bulls jersey from the 1998 NBA finals realised over $10 million at auction.
A Kobe Bryant jersey worn for the LA Lakers in 2007 to 2008 made $5.8 million in 2023.
This month, the world record for an item of sports memorabilia was broken by the $24.1 million Called Shot jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth in one of the most celebrated moments in the sport’s history.
Again, it combined a highly collectible star with a unique moment.
There is every chance this jersey, which is the top item in a sale dominated by Bruce Lee artefacts, will go beyond its estimate if the right bidders are interested.
