LeBron James Card Sells for $1.159 Million at Auction

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A rare LeBron James rookie card has achieved a stunning sale price of $1.159 million at Goldin Auctions on Saturday night, underscoring the robust market for high-value sports memorabilia. This sale marks the second James rookie patch autograph (RPA) from the 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection to surpass the $1 million mark within five weeks.

The James card, which is numbered to 99 and received a grade of 9.5 from Beckett Grading Services, highlights the growing interest in not only basketball cards but also in the collectibles market as a whole. “The demand for high-end cards continues to rise, indicating a strong investment trend,” said a Goldin Auctions spokesperson.

In the same auction, a unique 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card, which is a one-of-a-kind item, sold for $366,000. This card, graded with a perfect 10 along with a 10 autograph grade from Professional Sports Authenticator, broke the record for the most expensive women’s sports card ever sold, previously held by a 2003 NetPro Serena Williams RPA that fetched $266,400 in May 2022.

The 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection is celebrated among collectors for its allure, featuring rookie patch autographs of basketball stars such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. The collection includes various tiers, with the base Exquisite Rookie Patch autographs limited to 99 copies, and other limited parallels that garner significant attention due to their scarcity.

The high auction price of the James card is a testament to its exclusive nature and the heightened interest in elite basketball cards among collectors. Just a month prior, another James RPA from the same set sold for $1.22 million, yet it was a more limited number, out of just 23 copies.

According to population reports from Beckett, only one LeBron James Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph in any version received a higher grade than the 9.5 assigned to this latest card. In early 2021, the highest recorded sale for a James card occurred when a numbered-to-23 parallel sold for a staggering $5.2 million privately, a record that remains unbroken in the world of basketball card sales.