The auction for one of the hobby’s most talked about trading cards in 2022 ended Saturday night. The 1/1 LeBron James Triple Logoman card from 2020-21 Panini Flawless sold for $2.4 million in Goldin’s June Elite sale.
The final price was certainly nothing to sneeze at, but the card fell short of pre-sale projections that it could match or exceed the $6.6 million paid last year for a T206 Honus Wagner. Twenty-five bids were made for the card, with the final price including the standard buyer’s premium.
It didn’t hurt for attention. There were billboards in Times Square, international media coverage, national cable TV appearances and plenty of online chatter.
The card was pulled last month during a livestreamed box break by a trio of collectors who will make a hefty profit off of their $1,400 investment. It was later encapsulated and labeled Authentic by PSA. There was no immediate word on the identity of the buyer.
The card, which features three NBA logo patches taken from jerseys worn by James and photos of the three NBA teams he’s played for: Cleveland, Miami and the LA Lakers. It had been the subject of a nearly year-long hunt that even included rapper and collector Drake buying ten cases in an unsuccessful effort to land it.
It was one of two seven-figure James cards that sold in the auction. A 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph Parallel (#12/23) graded BGS NM MT+ 8.5 with a 10 autograph grade from Beckett sold for $2.1 million. The card is the rarer of James’ most valuable rookie autograph cards. A BGS 9 copy of the card sold for $5.2 million in a private transaction last year.
A stack of other cards saw six-figure sales topped by:
- 1996-97 Skybox E-X2000 Credentials #30 Kobe Bryant Rookie Card (#260/499) – PSA 10 – Pop 4 ($600,000)
- 1980-81 Topps Larry Bird/Magic Johnson Rookie Card – PSA 10 ($660,000)
- 1916 M101-4 Sporting News #151 Babe Ruth Rookie Card – PSA VG-EX 4 ($510,000)
- 1997-98 Skybox Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Red #23 Michael Jordan (#079/100) – BGS NM 7 ($450,000)
- 2020-21 Panini Flawless Logoman Autographs Anthony Edwards Rookie Patch Auto (#1/1) ($426,000)
Game-worn items were strong sellers including a 1998 Michael Jordan playoff jersey that went for $540,000, a 1957-58 Wilt Chamberlain Kansas Jayhawks home jersey with his autograph that netted $489,878 and Steph Curry’s Game 1 jersey from the 2016 NBA Finals that realized $343,200.
Complete results can be found here.
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