The jersey LeBron James wore when he made his Los Angeles Lakers regular season debut last month sold for $40,040 late Thursday night.
NBA Auctions offered the gold #23 shirt James donned the first half of the Lakers’ opening night loss to the Portland Trailblazers on October 18. It was listed the next day and drew 66 bids before the auction closed.
Authenticated through the NBA/MeiGray program, the jersey is a size 48 with six inches of extra length. James played 37 minutes during the opener and registered a team-high 26 points with six assists and a game-high 12 rebounds.
A sticker attached to the tag at the bottom of the jersey mentions “2nd Half” but the jersey has been photo-matched and authenticated to the first half of the Lakers’ 128-119 loss.
James wore two jerseys in the game, one each half, according to MeiGray’s Barry Meisel.
Game-worn James jerseys, especially those from milestone or important games, have brought big bucks in recent years. His Cavs jersey from Game 1 of last summer’s Finals when J.R. Smith dribbled away from the hoop with the Lakers in position for a game-winning shot sold for $100,322 on June 21. A jersey worn during the 2018 All-Star Game fetched over $90,000 last spring and his jersey from opening night of last year’s regular season—a new Nike model that famously ripped—went for $45,000 a couple of weeks later.
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