Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James had his high school jersey sell for an incredible $187,500 bid at an auction on Saturday night:
The jersey LeBron wore for his first SI cover sold for $187,500 early this morning in a @GoldinAuctions sale. Highest price paid for a LeBron jersey yet. pic.twitter.com/ChADQDxsSz
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 20, 2019
The jersey in question was James' St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish one, which the former Cleveland Cavaliers NBA champion wore on the cover of Sports Illustrated's prophetic “The Chosen One” cover.
Per Caitlyn Holroyd at theScore:
The jersey was worn by a then-17-year-old James for his 2002 cover shoot with Sports Illustrated and for the majority of his junior season, according to Goldin Auctions.
James was the most watched, most scouted, and most talked about high school prospect at the time. It must have been fate when his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery in 2003, earning the right to select the first overall pick in that year's draft. Coming out of high school — at a time when prep-to-pro athletes were still allowed to enter the draft straight out of high school — James was the most hyped basketball player since perhaps Moses Malone. The Cavs enthusiastically declared they would draft LeBron, an Akron, Ohio, native upon winning the lottery.
Since then, King James has done nothing but appreciate the price of that one-hundred grand jersey — earning three NBA titles (two with the Miami Heat), 15 consecutive All-Star appearances, four MVP awards, a scoring championship, and going back in time the Rookie of the Year accolade just one year removed from wearing that Irish jersey.
It's strange to think that James' playing days could be done soon, with the nostalgic trip down memory lane producing an expensive bid to buy his high school jersey in the headlines.
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