The jersey worn by LeBron James as a prep star for the famous Sports Illustrated “Chosen One” cover shoot continues to grow in stature among collectors — and in value.
Julien’s Auctions announced that the jersey, worn by James in 2002 when he played for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, sold for a record $1.3 million during the auction house’s “Legends in Motion” sale on Sept. 28. The winning bid at the Hong Kong sale set a record for a high school basketball jersey sold at auction.
The winning bid includes a 27% buyer’s fee and a 3% online fee.
The No. 23 Irish jersey went to a private collector, who has not been identified.
James was a 17-year-old high school junior when he was featured on the cover of the Feb. 18, 2002, edition of Sports Illustrated.
The jersey was photo-matched to the shoot, conducted by Sports Illustrated photographer Michael LeBrecht. Later that day, James scored 32 points and collected seven rebounds in a game between St. Vincent-St. Mary and Archbishop Hoban.
Previously, the jersey sold for $192,000 in October 2019 at Goldin Auctions. Two years later, it sold for $512,200 through a Julien’s sale.
Now 39, James has certainly lived up to the hype. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since then, he collected four NBA championship rings, was named an NBA All-Star 20 times and became the game’s all-time leading scorer.
James was also named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the 2003-04 season and is a four-time MVP. In March 2024, he became the first NBA player to score 40,000 regular-season points. King James became the NBA’s all-time career scoring leader on Feb. 7, 2023, when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387 points during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James has also won three Olympic gold medals.
“This storied jersey represents the pivotal moment of LeBron’s ascension to basketball royalty,” David Goodman, the CEO of Julian’s Auction, said in a statement before the sale.
While James’ high school jersey set a record, it is not the most expensive one from James’ storied career. James’ game-worn jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, when the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs, sold for $3.68 million in a Sotheby’s Auction held in January 2023.
James scored 37 points and added 12 rebounds as the Heat repeated as NBA champions with a 95-88 victory against the Spurs.
The high school jersey was not the only James item that sold this weekend during the Julien’s. sale.
A limited edition print of James from that 2002 shoot, signed by LeBrecht and numbered 1/5, fetched $16,250 after the buyer’s premium and online fee were calculated.
“To be somewhat connected to one of the greatest sports stories in any generation whatsoever, in the way I am — this is just insane,” LeBrecht said.
According to The New York Times, LeBrecht, who was an assistant photographer for Sports Illustrated, went to the gym at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School on Feb. 3, 2002, for an 8 a.m. photo shoot.
It was LeBrecht’s fifth or sixth assignment for the magazine, according to the newspaper. He had photographed James the previous summer during the ABCD Camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
The photo shoot in Akron lasted more than an hour, and then LeBrecht shot more pictures after practice. He asked James to dunk “30 or 40 times.”
“I don’t care who I photograph, or if I get another 100 covers or what,” LeBrecht told the newspaper. “I’m never going to photograph anything more iconic than that.”
While the James jersey took the spotlight and sold for a handsome sum, a Kobe Bryant game-worn jersey from late 2013 did not meet the reserve price.
According to Julien’s, the road jersey was worn by the late Lakers legend in a Dec. 14, 2013, game at Charlotte, where he had 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Los Angeles’ 88-85 win. Two nights later, Bryant scored eight points and added three rebounds, six assists and two steals in a 114-100 loss to the Hawks in Atlanta.
The starting bid was $20,000 and Julien’s estimated the final bidding would end up in the $80,000 range. That did not happen.
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