After more than two years without a LeBron James card selling for seven figures, one of James’ most valuable rookie cards, a 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection RPA /23, sold for $1.22 million in February.
Now, barely a month later, a second James card will clear the $1 million mark, marking the fifth million-dollar card sale of 2025 — a pace poised to shatter the seven such sales recorded in 2024.
The LeBron RPA /99 is graded BGS 9.5 and currently at Goldin Auctions, with bidding reaching $1.1 million (including buyer’s premium) and four days remaining. The last time a like-graded example of the card sold was in August, when one fetched $562,135.
Why has this example attracted nearly double that price already?
One reason is likely the patch embedded in the card, which features three colors and seven “breaks” according to the auction house. As collectors tend to value cards with more colorful and busy-looking patches, a look at past sales of the RPA show this card might have an argument for the single “best” patch of them all.
The record for this card is $2.46 million (Oct. 2021). More than 10 sales for the card have cleared $1 million.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.