A shirt worn by LeBron James for a famous high-school photoshoot has realised $1.3 million at auction in Hong Kong. This is a world record for a high school basketball jersey.
The vest, from James’ St Vincent-St Mary high school team in Akron, Ohio, was worn for a cover shoot by Sports Illustrated magazine.
They called James The Chosen One in the headline. The chosen one left the shoot and wore the same shirt to play in a game against a rival school side.
James is now one of the most recognised and awarded stars in basketball history.
His Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris in summer 2024 was just the latest award in a hugely successful career that includes playing in the NBA finals in 10 of 11 consecutive seasons for three different teams. He won four NBA team titles and is the league’s record points scorer.
The label of LeBron James’ highschool shirt. Image courtesy of Julien’s Auctions.
The talent and potential to go t the top was already evident WHEN he was starring for his school side, whose games were televised.
The jersey was sold for $1.3 million on September 28 in a pioneering Hong Kong auction by Julien*s auctions.
Julien’s called the sale, “the marquee highlight” of their event, calling it a new world record for a high school basketball jersey sold at auction.
A print of a photo
A limited-edition photo print featuring LeBron James wearing the same high school basketball jersey, later signed by photographer Michael Le Brecht II. Numbered, “⅕”, was sold for USD16,250 / HKD126,750, eight times its pre-sale estimate.
It went into the sale, their first in the East Asian territory, with an estimate of $1 million to $3 million.
Collectors of basketball jerseys are prepared to pay out huge amounts for the right shirts linked with the right player.
This shirt has previously been sold for $187,500 in 2019 and was auctioned for $512,200 in 2021.
A Michael Jordan jersey, from the 1998 NBA finals was sold in 2022 for over $10 million. Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers 2007 – 8 jersey made $5.8 million in 2023.
And the art of photomatching is rising to new heights.
LeBron’s shirt was sold with two photomatching reports that prove the jersey was the one worn for the photoshoot.
Last month, a Babe Ruth shirt was sold for $24.1 million to become the most valuable item of sports memorabilia in history. That sale came after photomatching conclusively linked the grey NY Yankees outfit to the “called shot”, one of the most famous moments in baseball history.
Money in the East Asian market and a booming sports collectibles scene have proved to be a championship combination on this occasion.
