LeBron James established his legacy as one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and it’s been clear he’s destined for greatness since his teenage years. Everyone at St. Vincent-St. Mary High knew he was going to be a star, and his iconic high school jersey is expected to fetch a fortune at an upcoming auction.
Before setting countless NBA records and winning four NBA championships, King James was just another young basketball prodigy. Michael LeBrecht had no idea he was about to make history when he showed up at the St. Vincent-St. Mary High gym to take photos of James for Sports Illustrated in 2002.
“The last time I saw this jersey was probably the time that I shot it in the locker room at St. Vincent-St. Mary… You look back and you don’t realize, it was a real turning point. It’s surreal. What’s f—ed up is I didn’t ask to take the jersey home after the shoot,” LeBrecht told the auction house Julien’s.
The jersey wound up on the cover of Sports Illustrated which described James as “The Chosen One.” It previously fetched $512,200 at Julien’s auction in 2021, and it’s expected to sell in the range between $1 million and $2 million when it goes up for auction in Hong Kong later this month.