LeBron James' ‘King James’ game-worn Miami Heat jersey could fetch $200,000 at auction

NBA star LeBron James' Miami Heat King James jersey is expected to collect between $150,000 and $200,000 in an auction between July 20 to July 24. The King James jersey comes from the famous “Nickname Game” that took place between the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets on January 10, 2014. The match saw players sport their famous monikers on the back of their kits, with LeBron James sporting the King James jersey. 

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LeBron James jersey auction: Miami Heat's King James jersey could fetch $200,000 in auction 

Miami Heat players nicknames were on the back of their shirt for a handful of games during the 2013-14 NBA Season. While LeBron James sported Kings James on his kit, his Miami Heat teammates Paul Pierce had 'Truth' on his back, with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen featuring Big Ticket and J Shuttleworth on their jerseys respectively. Playing in the King James jersey against the Nets, LeBron James scored 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the double-overtime contest.

Despite James' heroics, Miami Heat lost the contest 95-104. The LeBron James jersey auction will see the bidding start at $1, with the Miami Heat memorabilia expected to collect between $150,000 and $200,000. Game-worn artefacts have been flooding the auction houses of late and attracting top dollar, with Sotheby's selling Michael Jordan's 1985 sneakers for a staggering $560,000, three times more than its expected windfall. 

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In a press release, Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s director of eCommerce development, said that they have an incredible week of drops lined up, with each item speaking to a different area of contemporary culture, ranging from sports to film and music. Wachter said that the rarity of the pieces is spectacular and the event kicks off with the LeBron James jersey auction. Other memorabilia during the auction include a pristine pair of ‘sample’ prototype Nike Air Yeezys, a pair of Nike MAG Back to the Future sneakers signed by Michael J. Fox and one of Michael Jordan’s game-worn Washington Wizards jerseys.

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LeBron James jersey auction: LeBron James rookie card fetches a staggering  $1.8 million

A 2003-04 LeBron James Upper Deck rookie Patch Parallel card sold at auction for a whopping $1.845 million to Lob.com CEO Leore Avidar on Sunday at Goldin Auctions. The LeBron James rookie card sale broke the previous record set in May when the Goldin Auctions sold a gem mint Bowman Draft Chrome Red Refractor Mike Trout signed rookie card for a thumping $922,500. The Trout card was one of only five produced and the highest graded. 

With James wearing No. 23, there were only 23 of this card produced and since it was graded as a 9.5 mint gem by Beckett grading service, it was one of only two of these particular cards graded that high. One of them was in private hands, while the other was up for auction, meaning it was the single best LeBron card that somebody could have hoped to get. Goldin Auctions also sold a pair of Michael Jordan rookie-season, game-used shoes from 1984-85 for $369,000 as well as a Patch Parallel Autographed LeBron James card from 2004-05 for $246,000.

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(Image Credit: NBA YouTube)