Many observers heaped mountains of expectations upon LeBron James after the Cleveland Cavaliers made the high school prodigy the top overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft. At the same time, collectors expected trading card companies to move mountains and produce as many LeBron James rookie cards as possible – and the more that included his signature or a piece of his jersey, the better. Upper Deck answered the call throughout its many products, including the fourth edition of the high-end Ultimate Collection – one of 19 sets Upper Deck produced in 2003, a nearly 20% increase from the year before. Thirty-eight players enjoyed /250 Rookie Autos in the base set, but those players’ cards got an added boost when it came to the /25 Limited parallel. Those Rookie Autos turned into elegant hard-signed RPAs, such as this BGS 9 example of LeBron’s offering. Its hardstruck, 10-grade blue auto pops off the card’s clean design, just as James himself appears ready to soar into the start of one of the greatest sporting careers of all time.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 01/16/2024.
