Collectibles On SI

The Best Lebron James Basketball Cards

On Lebron's 40th brithday, we wanted to take a look at some of his most iconic cards though the years

Adam Palmer

Dec 25, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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LeBron James turns 40 years old today. His birthday last year marked the point when he had played more years in the NBA than he hadn’t since being drafted out of high school as an 18-year-old. Let’s take a look back at some of his most iconic cards.

The card that most likely shaped the sports card industry as we know it today was his 2003 Exquisite Collection rookie patch autograph. This was the first high-end product that included cards like this from any company at the time. Upper Deck took the leap and released a product that, at the time, seemed expensive. Little did collectors know how valuable these cards would become. There were versions numbered to 99 and versions numbered to 23, which was LeBron’s number when he first came into the league with the Cavs.

2003 Exquisite Collection LeBron James #78
2003 Exquisite Collection LeBron James #78 / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

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His Topps Chrome rookie card is likely the card most collectors should get if they’re looking to pick up a base rookie card that has significant value.

2003-04 Topps Chrome - [Base] #111 - LeBron James
2003-04 Topps Chrome - [Base] #111 - LeBron James / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

LeBron’s paper Topps rookie features the iconic image of him in his draft-day suit, a photo that was even recreated by Topps when LeBron scored his 40,000th point.

2003-04 Topps - [Base] #221 - Draft Pick - LeBron James
2003-04 Topps - [Base] #221 - Draft Pick - LeBron James / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

Topps Bowman Rookies & Stars is another good, more affordable base option besides his Topps and Topps Chrome rookies.

2003-04 Bowman - [Base] #123 - Rookies - LeBron James
2003-04 Bowman - [Base] #123 - Rookies - LeBron James / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

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LeBron has a ton of different rookie cards from 2003, all of which are great options, but he also has some iconic cards from the rest of his career. One thing to note is that for the majority of his career, he was an Upper Deck-exclusive athlete. During a period when Panini was the only company making licensed basketball cards, you couldn’t find many LeBron autograph cards. That changed when LeBron signed with Topps this past year.

In 2020, we saw a phenomenon occur with sports cards in popular culture. This even reached rapper Drake. During this time, he was trying to pull a LeBron Triple Logoman card with game-worn patches from his Cavs, Heat, and Lakers jerseys.

LeBron made his debut for Team USA in 2004, and his first Team USA card is from the 2004 Fleer set.

2004 Fleer USA Basketball - [Base] #_LEJA - LeBron James
2004 Fleer USA Basketball - [Base] #_LEJA - LeBron James / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

Speaking of Team USA cards, this past summer, LeBron played for Team USA again. One of the most hyped Topps Now cards ever was released. Collectors are still looking for this triple autograph card, which led to a record 588,030 cards being ordered.

If you’re looking for cards with iconic photos, there are two that should be at the top of your list. In 2020, Panini’s Prizm set featured an image of LeBron’s dunk, which paid tribute to Kobe.

2020-21 Panini Prizm - [Base] #1 - LeBron James
2020-21 Panini Prizm - [Base] #1 - LeBron James / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

2022 Panini Crown Royale included a LeBron card in the checklist that used the image from when he broke the all-time scoring record.

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There is no doubt that LeBron has been an important player to the game of basketball, but his impact on sports cards cannot be understated. Now that he has signed with Topps, hopefully, once Topps starts making basketball cards again, we will see some more iconic LeBron autographs.

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Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.

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