Giannis Antetokounmpo's card BREAKS RECORD set by LeBron's rookie card, sells for $1.812M

Last week, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo made history after he won his back-to-back MVP award. With basketball memorabilia and their price already high, Giannis' MVP award helped the cost of his merchandise skyrocket. This includes the recently sold Giannis Logoman card, which broke the previous record set by LeBron James' rookie card sold for $1.8 million. 

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Giannis Antetokounmpo card sells for $1.812 million, breaks LeBron James rookie card record

Increasing Action Network's Darren Rovell recently shared that Goldin Auctions sold the Giannis 1/1 Logoman card. The card was reportedly sold for a whopping $1,812,000, which overtook LeBron James' rookie cards sold six weeks ago. James' card was sold for a reported $1.8 million, which means Giannis' card was sold for only $12,000 more. 

BREAKING: The Giannis Logoman card was purchased for a modern day basketball record of $1.812 million by @onlyaltofficial, which also bought the previous record holder, the $1.8M LeBron card, six weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/gXnut9OOFg

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 21, 2020

In 2014, a card collector posted to @blowoutcards forum that he returned the 1/1 Giannis card back to its eBay seller after buying it for $7,000 because it had a yellow stain on it.

That’s the card that sold for $1.812 million tonight!

(H/T @Ericc5Bears) pic.twitter.com/wBrAK9qkGF

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 21, 2020

According to Rovell, the card was sold to Alt, who have also purchased the LeBron James rookie card. As per their official account (@onlyaltofficial), they work towards "increasing the transparency and liquidity of alternative assets". As per TMZ Sports, the card was predicted to fetch around $2 million, just like the James' rookie card. 

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As per reports, the card is "ultra-rare", and also comes with a game-worn jersey that Giannis wore during his rookie campaign. The card is a 1-of-1 card, which makes it super valuable, especially since it is graded a Mint 9 by the Beckett Grading Service makes. Giannis' signature on the card also received a perfect 10 score from Beckett Grading Service's autograph evaluators. 

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The rare item was a part of the Panini America's 2013-14 high-end National Treasures line, which has the "Logoman" patch from the Greek Freak's rookie jersey. Before the sale, reports highlighted that the card's grading is of great importance to the buyers and collectors. The card was expected to break James' card record. James' card was a 2003-2004 Upper Deck rookie card, but not a 1-of-1. 

Goldin Auctions owner' Ken Goldin spoke about Giannis' card, stating that he would not be surprised if it sold for over $2 million. The bidding for the card began in August with $250,000, immediately hitting $500,000. Currently, Mike Trout's rookie card holds the record for being the most expensive sports trading card to be sold after being auctioned off for $3.93 million.  

Also read | LeBron James rookie card sells for record $1.8MILLION at auction

Giannis trade and Giannis MVP award

While Giannis has stated that he has no plans of moving on from the Bucks, various reports have hinted at a Giannis trade, especially to the Miami Heat or Toronto Raptors. The LA Clippers have also been listed as a possible option. The 25-year-old star also won the NBA MVP award this season, beating James with 209 votes. Giannis is only the third player after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon to win the Defensive Player of the Year award and the MVP award for the same season. 

(Image credits: NBA stats Twitter)