LEBRON JAMES
LeBron James #15
2010-11 Timeless Treasures
Rookie Year Materials
ROY Prime
Numbered 23-of-25
Beckett Grade: GEM MT 9.5
Centering 9.5
Corners 9.5
Edges 9.5
Surface 9
Timeless Treasures returned to the hobby hardwood packing plenty of hobby heavy hitters into each high-end 1-pack box. Treasures offers collectors a seamless mix of old school and new school players with plenty of autographs, relics, one of ones, and other intriguing hits per $100 hobby box. The “Rookie Year Materials” set featured current stars with their rookie campaign jersey swatches. This LeBron ROY Prime is numbered /25 or less. Even more interesting is the fact that it’s numbered #23, and when a sports card number matches a player’s jersey number -it can be considered a “jersey match”- and collectors are always willing to pay more for the card.
"They had to drag me out of bed to put this suit on," James said, when he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. "I didn't want to get out. I thought I was going to practice when they woke me up this morning." But that season belonged to James, from his 25-point,nine-rebound, six-assist NBA debut at Sacramento through his resounding windmill dunk to close his season at Madison Square Garden.
LeBron James
2016-17 Donruss #15
Kobe Bryant in Background
CGC Grade: GEM MT 10
Without a long history to draw from like baseball, one could argue that 2016-17 Donruss Basketball has more of a retro vibe than a nostalgic one. Much of the content comes from the brand’s past, primarily from other sports, and the design lacked a lot of the flash found in many other sets. Other than Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons and Bradley Beal – LeBron tops the set. It’s a bit odd, however, not to see a regular Kobe card considering they were always the Top 2 cards for nearly a decade. Regardless, this stellar LeBron card not only shows a powerful James going for the basket, but it also shows Kobe Bryant in the foreground! James would score 24 points while sharing a court with Kobe for the final time, leading Cleveland to a 120-108 victory over the Lakers that night. While the Cavs would top the Lakers at the end of the game, it was actually Kobe who had 26 points beating out LeBron. Kobe would ignore his constantly-sore right shoulder to make sure he didn’t miss his 22nd meeting with LeBron on an NBA court.. Interestingly enough, they never met in the playoffs.
Kobe Bryant got a raucous standing ovation in the first quarter after that graceful post move, faking James out of his shoes and stepping around him. "It was everything for a competitor like myself," James said. "I know he was not taking this game off for sure, and I definitely wasn't taking it off. It was great to be out there.” The superstars were clearly friends, but their lack of a playoff showdown means they never developed enough history to suit Bryant. Either Bryant or James had played in the past nine NBA Finals, but never at the same time strangely enough. Bryant and James had been parallel superstars for nearly 13 seasons. The U.S. national team teammates were the No. 3 and No. 13 scorers in NBA history, with 30 combined All-Star selections and seven championship rings.
LeBron James #16
Numbered 4-of-50
2021 Panini The National
PSA Grade: GEM MT 10
Seemingly more subdued than recent years, the 2021 Panini National Convention Wrapper Redemption program supplies Silver Packs in exchange for specific purchases at the show. This very limited set has only cards numbered to 50 copies or less. Compared to past years, the 2021 Panini National Convention Silver Packs checklist takes a less is more approach. Although it might not be as large as past promo sets found at the annual convention, across the board cards are more rare. All told, the checklist has 100 different cards. However, it’s divided up into four different sections, each with its own layout: Base (50 cards), Legends (15 cards), Prospects (7 cards) and Rookies (28 cards). Panini draws from a full range of sports for the athletes including football, basketball, soccer, baseball and NASCAR. However, the 2021 Panini National Convention Silver Packs checklist does not have any additional inserts.
For the 2021 season, LeBron was joined by Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook. He averaged 30.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 seals and 1.4 blocks on 54% shooting, also achieving his 100th triple-double, while becoming the third player in NBA history to surpass 36,00 career points - during this period, James played 35% of his minutes at center. From December 19 to February 26, 2022, he played 23 out of 27 games, and he also had a streak of 23 consecutive 25-point games
LeBron James
2003-04 Upper Deck
LeBron James Freshman Season
#39 January 12th, 2004 against Kobe
CGC Grade: MINT+ 9.5
Released in October 2003, this 32-card box set features an array of photographs of LeBron James ranging from on-court to studio posed. Each card has the Upper Deck logo in the top right corner and a LeBron James Box Set logo with a caption along the bottom in gold foil.
This specific 2003-04 Upper Deck Lebron James rookie card is from the “Freshman Season Collection” #39 featuring Kobe Bryant with Lebron. Two of the greatest NBA players of all time are together on this rare card. Gold script with a clean surface, sharp corners and edges give it a MINT plus grade of 9.5
LeBron James
2019-20 Panini Obsidian
Atomic #5
CGC Grade: GEM MT 10
Numbered 86-of-99
For those not familiar with Obsidian, the overarching design feature are the dark backgrounds done on chromium stock. In sets like Prizm and Select, backgrounds get the rainbow treatment. When the lights go out, parallels require a different approach. Enter the etching. These lines not only add pop but some colorful opportunities for parallels. This theme runs throughout the checklist, from the base set to the signatures and inserts.
In addition to being the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and ranking fourth in NBA career assists and eight in NBA career steals, LeBron James holds several individual honors: four NBA MVP Awards, four NBA Finals MVP Awards, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, three NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards, and the inaugural NBA Cup MVP award.
LeBron James #7
2023-24 Panini Mosaic
NBA In-Season Tournament
CGC Grade: GEM MT 10
The 2023-24 Panini Mosaic Basketball set featured a variety of inserts, with new additions including Bank Shot, Heat Check, and In-Season Tournament. Returning inserts like Overdrive, Razzle Dazzle, and Storm Chasers were also present. The popular Stained Glass insert returned as a super short print (SSP), and those hunting for something a little tougher could be on the lookout for short-printed In-Season Tournament cards. The “NBA In-Season Tournament” is a 25 card set.
The 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament was a multi-stage basketball tournament that played during the 2023-24 NBA season. It was the first edition of the NBA Cup. All 30 teams participated, each playing four regular-season games that count towards the tournament’s group stage standings. All games in the knockout round, except for the championship game, also counted towards the regular season standings. The tournament's semifinals and championship game were played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. The tournament's format was similar to in-season, multi-stage tournaments in European soccer. The Lakers became the first team to win the NBA Cup. LeBron James won the inaugural MVP award, following his averages of 26.4 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, while shooting 56.8% from the field and 60.6% on threes.