LeBron James continues to make history on and off the court. The 40-year-old is defying the odds by playing some of the best basketball of his career. Right now, he is averaging 24.9 points, 8.4 assists, and 8.1 rebounds while shooting one of the highest three-point percentages of his career. With his game still as relevant as ever, some NBA collectors are starting to honor his legendary career before it is even over. For example, a recent sale of one of LeBron’s game-worn jerseys puts him into the record books for sports collectibles. LeBron’s Heat jersey sale at Sotheby’s Auction House reportedly crossed the million-dollar mark on Tuesday night, making it one of the highest NBA jersey sales ever.
LeBron’s Jersey Makes List of Most Expensive NBA Jerseys Ever
The Highest NBA Jersey Sales Ever
Game-worn NBA jerseys are a piece of history. Like basketball cards, they have been one of the most sought-after collectibles for avid basketball fans, and over the last few years, people have started to shell out some real cash for legendary jerseys.
Michael Jordan holds the record for the most expensive game-worn NBA jersey sold at auction. His 1998 NBA Finals jersey sold for over 10 million dollars in 2022. This jersey is from Game 1 and Game 6 of the series where Jordan locked in his second legendary three-peat. Another jersey from Jordan’s final Bulls season also sold at Sotheby’s in 2023 for nearly $700,000.
The Top Selling Jersey From “The King”
LeBron’s 2013 NBA Finals jersey is also on the list of the most expensive game-worn jerseys ever sold. His jersey from Game 7 of his legendary comeback against the San Antonio Spurs sold on Sotheby’s in 2023 for nearly 3.7 million dollars. This jersey is the fourth most expensive NBA jersey ever sold.
LeBron and the Heat’s comeback in those Finals will go down as one of the greatest Finals victories of all time. His jersey from the clinching Game 7 represents one of the greatest moments in his career. It’s not a surprise that that is his highest-costing jersey from his career.
Significance of this LeBron Heat Jersey
The most recent LeBron-Heat jersey that sold happened just this Tuesday. The jersey LeBron wore in Game 2 of that same legendary 2013 Finals brought in slightly over a million dollars at Sotheby’s Auction House. Although this price is significantly lower than his Game 7 jersey, that makes sense. Game 7 jerseys will always fetch a premium over the jerseys from the beginning of the series.
James, however, does have a significantly iconic moment wearing this million-dollar uniform. Game 2 in the 2013 NBA Finals was when he got the second most memorable block of his career (his first obviously being the block on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 Finals). Everyone remembers when Tiago Splitter tried to posterize James in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Well, this jersey can connect collectors to that moment. The price doesn’t seem too crazy when you realize how it is a piece of NBA history from one of the greatest moments of one of the game’s greatest players.
Photo credit: © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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