Bronny James’ jersey from his NBA Summer League debut with the LA Lakers sold at auction for $38,400 on Friday. The jersey was originally estimated to sell for $6,000-$10,000.
James, who was selected with the 55th pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Lakers — the team his father, LeBron James, also plays for — made his debut on July 6 in a 108-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings. James scored four points on 2-for-9 shooting in 21 minutes of play.
The jersey was part of Sotheby’s “Summer League Selects” auction, which also included debut jerseys for several other 2024 draft picks. No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher’s first game-worn Atlanta Hawks jersey sold for $3,360. No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard’s first Houston Rockets jersey sold for $15,600. A jersey that LeBron James wore in a Nov. 15, 2023 regular season game against the Kings, in which he had a triple double, sold for $42,000 in the same auction — just $3,600 more than Bronny’s first Summer League jersey.
The Summer League debut jersey for No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, Victor Wembanyama, sold for $62,020 last year. Wembanyama’s regular season debut jersey went on to sell for $762,000, far surpassing an original estimate of $80,000-$120,000.
James went pro after playing one year of college basketball at Southern California, averaging 4.8 ppg in 19.3 minutes last season after suffering a cardiac arrest in July 2023. He average 7 ppg on 32.7% shooting across six Summer League appearances.
“The Lakers are still determining their plan for Bronny next season, according to team sources,” Jovan Buha wrote for The Athletic in July. “He is expected to play part of the season in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, though how much time he spends there will be decided by the context of the Lakers’ season and how Bronny continues to develop. He’s willing to play in the G League as much as the Lakers want.”
James has a strong collectibles market given his family name and the public scrutiny that has followed him from a young age. A one-of-a-kind 2023 Bowman U Chrome trading card autographed by both Bronny and LeBron James sold for $114,000 in March and a 1/1 Bowman University Sapphire card featuring just Bronny James sold for $9,150 in June. If/when Bronny and LeBron James make NBA history by being the first father and son to play together in the league, it will only further fuel the market for his collectibles.
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Required reading
- Bronny James is now a Los Angeles Laker. Here’s what lies ahead in his NBA career
- Why the Lakers set out to make history by drafting Bronny James at No. 55
- The hoops case for the Lakers’ Bronny James pick
(Top photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
