Spring 2020 Premium Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/20/2020
In 2016, LeBron James accomplished the impossible: He brought Cleveland the city's first championship – in any major sport – in 52 years. James was the unanimous NBA Finals MVP after registering a triple-double in Game 7 and leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the team's first-ever NBA Championship. He is, undoubtedly, The King.
Presented here is one of the most valuable and coveted LeBron James cards in the world. The offered piece is a signed game used patch rookie piece from Upper Deck’s 2003/04 "Exquisite Collection" brand.
Upper Deck's "Exquisite Collection" is widely viewed as the most elite, iconic brand in hobby history among top basketball collectors. This LeBron rookie is from 2003-04, which was the first/inaugural year of Exquisite; first-year Exquisite is, by far, the most coveted release, and commands the highest prices. It's important to note that the offered card's year is 2003-04 (or 2003-2004), not the year "2004," which could be misinterpreted as 2004-05. All of LeBron's rookie cards were produced as 2003-04 issues and this is a LeBron rookie that was limited to only 75 examples.
Encapsulated and graded MINT 9 by BGS, with signature graded "10" by Beckett. Rookie Card. LeBron James has placed an exceptional, blue ink signature on the obverse of this premium collectible. Its cardfront presentation also incorporates a tri-color letter segment, game worn jersey patch relic. The card's BGS condition report: Centering: 9.5, Corners: 8.5, Edges: 9, Surface: 9. The limited-edition piece is serial-numbered "75/75."
The patch is one of the best imaginable on a LeBron "Limited Logos" rookie card. ("Limited Logos" is the name of the subset – largely considered the most desired and popular subset – within Exquisite.) Many of the patches seen in this release are single-color or two-color patches, but this is a splendid three-color patch. It's an awesome, large relic: the Limited Logos cards were focused on the embedded game worn material, so the patches were particularly large in this subset. The patch is from a game worn rookie jersey of LeBron's; that is, the patch revealed in the card was taken directly from a jersey LeBron wore during regular season play in his 2003-04 rookie season for the Cavaliers.
A congratulatory statement from Upper Deck appears on the card's reverse side; this declaration attests to the signature's authenticity, verifies the origin of the card's "patch" component, and serves as the COA for the subject item. This is a stunning and important LeBron James rookie card collectible, reflecting untouched and impeccable Mint condition.