Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar LeBron James is setting records even off the basketball court.
Goldin Auctions announced over the weekend that they sold James’ Upper Deck rookie Patch Parallel card from the 2003/04 season for $1.845 million. This represents a record amount for a modern-day card ( cards produced since 1980) and a record for any basketball card.
The auction took place over a period of 26 days, and 34 bids all across the world were received.
The card in question comes from a special series called Patch Autograph Parallel. It contains an autograph and a patch of a jersey, while the number of cards produced corresponded with the player’s jersey number.
James wore No. 23 in his rookie season with Cleveland Cavaliers, which means that 23 cards were made. However, the card that Goldin Auctions offered was only one of two that were graded 9.5 mint gem, which is what drove the price so high.
“There are only two of them, one of them is in private hands, and the other was up for auction,” said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions. “So this really was the single best LeBron card that somebody could have hoped to get. It was very active bidding, a lot of bidders, and we’re happy with the results.”
The previous record-holder for the modern card was Mike Trout’s rookie Bowman Draft Chrome Red Refractor in gem mint condition. The card, which was signed by Trout, sold for $922,500.
