Rare LeBron James card just sold for more than $4 million
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LeBron James is still The King. Card Ladder listed a private sale of his 2003/04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection for an incredible $4.25 million. The card, an Exquisite Gold Rookie Patch Auto card numbered to 23 has long been one of the grails of the modern basketball hobby, and this sale shows once again that King James is going nowhere. The card that sold was graded a PSA 9/Auto 10. Secure Collectibles posted the sale on its Instagram page showing the card sold on Aug. 21.
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The card, numbered 12/23, is last listed as having sold, per Card Ladder, on June 5, 2022 for $2.1 million.
This is the second highest sale of this coveted James card of all-time. On Oct. 25, 2021, in another private sale, a BGS 9 version of the card sold for $5.2 million.
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Now, the card is responsible for the three top LeBron James sales record by Card Ladder. On 18 separate occasions a version of this James card has sold for at least $1,000,000 whether a card numbered to 23 or one numbered to 99. Additionally, of the top ten James sales per Card Ladder, this Exquisite RPA is responsible for eight, with the only other two sales being for Triple Logoman cards.
This 2020 Panini Flawless LeBron James Triple Logoman one-of-one sold through Goldin for $2.2 million in 2022.
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The other card in the top ten James sales is this generation-spanning offering, a Triple Logoman Game-Used Patch Card featuring Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. It sold for $1.68 million in 2022.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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