The Best Lebron James Basketball Cards
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LeBron James turns 40 years old today. His birthday last year marked the point when he had played more years in the NBA than he hadn’t since being drafted out of high school as an 18-year-old. Let’s take a look back at some of his most iconic cards.
22 YEARS IN THE NBA.
— NBA (@NBA) December 30, 2024
40 YEARS OF LIFE.
HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY TO THE KING, LEBRON JAMES! 👑 pic.twitter.com/dHTlZwaqDJ
The card that most likely shaped the sports card industry as we know it today was his 2003 Exquisite Collection rookie patch autograph. This was the first high-end product that included cards like this from any company at the time. Upper Deck took the leap and released a product that, at the time, seemed expensive. Little did collectors know how valuable these cards would become. There were versions numbered to 99 and versions numbered to 23, which was LeBron’s number when he first came into the league with the Cavs.
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His Topps Chrome rookie card is likely the card most collectors should get if they’re looking to pick up a base rookie card that has significant value.
![2003-04 Topps Chrome - [Base] #111 - LeBron James](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_collects/01jgcb0ep6xpnx4f5vkm.jpg "2003-04 Topps Chrome - [Base] #111 - LeBron James")
LeBron’s paper Topps rookie features the iconic image of him in his draft-day suit, a photo that was even recreated by Topps when LeBron scored his 40,000th point.
![2003-04 Topps - [Base] #221 - Draft Pick - LeBron James](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_collects/01jgcaz4e7afzxgxn0hm.jpg "2003-04 Topps - [Base] #221 - Draft Pick - LeBron James")
Topps Bowman Rookies & Stars is another good, more affordable base option besides his Topps and Topps Chrome rookies.
![2003-04 Bowman - [Base] #123 - Rookies - LeBron James](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_collects/01jgcawxr4x6t0rvh4d1.png "2003-04 Bowman - [Base] #123 - Rookies - LeBron James")
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LeBron has a ton of different rookie cards from 2003, all of which are great options, but he also has some iconic cards from the rest of his career. One thing to note is that for the majority of his career, he was an Upper Deck-exclusive athlete. During a period when Panini was the only company making licensed basketball cards, you couldn’t find many LeBron autograph cards. That changed when LeBron signed with Topps this past year.
Much love and appreciation @KingJames for narrating this video 🏆🏆!! Couldn't be more excited to have you as part of our family - looking forward to building and innovating with you for fans and collectors. pic.twitter.com/0CjGAl4xZU
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) January 10, 2024
In 2020, we saw a phenomenon occur with sports cards in popular culture. This even reached rapper Drake. During this time, he was trying to pull a LeBron Triple Logoman card with game-worn patches from his Cavs, Heat, and Lakers jerseys.
The LeBron James Triple Logoman is the single highest priced card ever to be pulled and sold in the same year 🤯
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) June 26, 2022
Final Sale Price: $2,400,000 pic.twitter.com/AvlUqc6NTA
LeBron made his debut for Team USA in 2004, and his first Team USA card is from the 2004 Fleer set.
![2004 Fleer USA Basketball - [Base] #_LEJA - LeBron James](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_collects/01jgcarqf9pqffgrmae4.jpg "2004 Fleer USA Basketball - [Base] #_LEJA - LeBron James")
Speaking of Team USA cards, this past summer, LeBron played for Team USA again. One of the most hyped Topps Now cards ever was released. Collectors are still looking for this triple autograph card, which led to a record 588,030 cards being ordered.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Someone who buys a Topps Now base card from today’s Team USA Gold Medal game will receive this 1/1 Steph, LeBron, KD triple auto.
— Topps (@Topps) August 10, 2024
This card is the first ever:
- LeBron Topps auto
- LeBron & Curry auto on the same card
- Steph/KD/LeBron triple
And to top it… pic.twitter.com/zzoS6rJhK6
If you’re looking for cards with iconic photos, there are two that should be at the top of your list. In 2020, Panini’s Prizm set featured an image of LeBron’s dunk, which paid tribute to Kobe.
![2020-21 Panini Prizm - [Base] #1 - LeBron James](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_collects/01jgcaqw5q6r5gc71jhx.jpg "2020-21 Panini Prizm - [Base] #1 - LeBron James")
2022 Panini Crown Royale included a LeBron card in the checklist that used the image from when he broke the all-time scoring record.
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The Lebron Kaboom in this years Crown Royale is from the game he broke the NBA All Time Leading Scorer record this season , Such a sick card 🥵🤤
— CLUTCH RIPZ (@ClutchRipz) May 14, 2023
Pulled by @ Riphamiltonrips on IG pic.twitter.com/LGQK228M2i
There is no doubt that LeBron has been an important player to the game of basketball, but his impact on sports cards cannot be understated. Now that he has signed with Topps, hopefully, once Topps starts making basketball cards again, we will see some more iconic LeBron autographs.
Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.
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