2020 October Legends Closing Oct 31 & Nov 1
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2020
LeBron James has become a phenomenon like none before, capturing the hobby industry's fascination and inspiring an entire generation of NBA enthusiasts. The three-time NBA Champion continues to set new performance records on an annual basis, and his most elite collectibles merit discussion as propelling their own, red-hot market. Naturally, his Rookie Card items headline any list of the most prominent and valuable LeBron commemoratives, and the spectacular piece offered here predates the majority among the James debut-year category. In fact, a strong case can be made that this card represents the superstar's very first and lowest-mintage, major production Rookie Card.
The 2003-04 season witnessed the emergence of most of the first, noteworthy cards depicting LeBron. Yet, a maximum of 25 specimens exist of the card seen here, an issue that came to pass a year earlier, in 2002-03. The only other early, major production LeBron card from 2002-03 is the Upper Deck Inspirations portrayal, released in a much larger edition of 499, with distribution commencing in July, 2003. The 2002-03 Topps Finest production appeared a month before, in June, 2003. The notably beautiful 2002-03 Topps Finest Gold Refractor #178 LeBron, then, came to the hobby first, while boasting significantly greater rarity ... and infinitely more desirability.
Graded NM-MT+ 8.5 by BGS. Rookie Card. The card's BGS condition report: Centering 9.5, Corners 9.5, Edges 9, Surface 8. The limited-edition piece is serial-numbered "22/25." One of the most sought-after, debut-year commemoratives of the popular superstar, in Near Mint to Mint-plus condition.