Editor’s Note: Cllction was involved in the bidding for this auction on behalf of a client. Cllction, an advisory service that manages collections, is a division of Memoramedia, which is the parent company of cllct.
The jersey worn by LeBron James on "The Chosen One" cover of Sports Illustrated in 2002 sold for $1.3 million Friday night, becoming just the second James jersey to eclipse $1 million and setting the record for a high school jersey sold publicly.
Julien’s Auctions handled the sale, which marked the third time since 2019 the jersey changed hands publicly, with earlier prices of $187,500 in 2019 at Goldin and $512,000 at Julien’s in 2021.
The pre-sale estimate was between $1 million and $2 million.
Just a high school junior at the time, James’ appearance on the magazine cover represented an unprecedented level of pressure for such a young athlete. In the years since, the cover has become one of the most recognizable of the 21st century, largely due to the improbable fact James somehow lived up to the expectations.
The photoshoot for the magazine took place Feb. 3, 2002, just a few weeks prior to the issue’s release. James wore the same St. Vincent-St. Mary jersey later that day in a game against the Archbishop Hoban Knights.
"I was worried, that we were going to ruin the kid’s life by putting him on the cover," SI writer Grant Wahl, who wrote the cover story on James, told Jesse Washington of The Undefeated back in 2017. "It’s one thing to do a feature on somebody inside the mag. But when you put a young kid on the cover and proclaim him 'The Chosen One' – maybe 'ruin his life' is a little strong, but it took things to such a level that I felt like his life was not going to be the same after that. The pressure would get a lot higher."
Sotheby’s 2023 sale of a game-worn jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, which fetched $3.68 million, currently holds the record for the most expensive James jersey ever sold.
The all-time record for any basketball jersey belongs to the Michael Jordan 1998 NBA Finals “Last Dance” jersey, which sold for $10.09 million in 2022.
Unlike most record-setting jerseys, this one derives its value not from an iconic in-game moment, debut or championship, but rather, an indelible image. The magazine itself is a highly-valued collectible, a copy of which sold for as much as $9,000 in CGC 9.8 condition in 2022.
Other cover-worn pieces have seen massive interest from collectors outside the sports realm as well. A Versace Dress worn by Princess Diana on the cover of a 1997 tribute edition of Harper's Bazaar — possibly the first dress designed for the Princess by Gianni Versace — sold for $200,000 in 2015.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.