A 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph LeBron James card sold for $1.159 million, including buyer's premium, at Goldin Auctions on Saturday night. It's the second James RPA from this set to eclipse the $1 million plateau with Goldin Auctions in five weeks.
In the same auction, Caitlin Clark's 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card -- numbered 1-of-1, receiving a perfect 10 grade with a 10 autograph grade from grader Professional Sports Authenticator -- sold for $366,000, including buyer's premium.
It set a record for a women's sports card, shattering the previous mark of $266,400 paid for a 2003 NetPro Serena Williams RPA in May 2022.
The 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection -- one of the most lucrative NBA sets of all time, featuring RPAs of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and James -- features base Exquisite Rookie Patch autographs numbered to 99, parallels numbered to the rookie's jersey number and a rainbow parallel numbered 1-of-1.
The $1.159 million James card is numbered to 99 while the James RPA sold five weeks ago -- for $1.22 million -- is numbered to 23. According to population reports, there's only one James Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph in the base, parallel or rainbow versions with a higher grade than the 9.5 grade the $1.159 million James RPA received from Beckett Grading Services.
In early 2021, a numbered-to-23 parallel James RPA from this set sold for $5.2 million privately via PWCC Marketplace (now owned by Fanatics, rebranded as Fanatics Collect), which set the still-standing record for most expensive basketball card ever sold.