2005-06 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Autograph Patch #6-AP LeBron James - BGS 8.5/Autograph 10 | 2-Color Patch | On-Card Autograph | 1 of 1

Among the irreplaceable gems in the hobby of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, the Exquisite 1 of 1 Auto Patch is one of the most significant LeBron James cards ever created.

This one-of-a-kind card represents an extraordinarily rare opportunity. LeBron was, until recently, an Upper Deck exclusive athlete for signed trading cards, and as a result autographed trading cards of LeBron in his iconic Cavaliers, Heat, or Lakers gear have not been released in packs since Upper Deck’s license with the NBA expired following the 2009-10 product year. This makes any 1-of-1 patch autograph of LeBron with NBA marks highly coveted, and the Exquisite Collection name adds even greater allure.

The card features a multi-color All-Star event worn patch as well as an on-card autograph commemorating LeBron’s third season in the league, when he took home his first All-NBA First Team honors and set a lasting career high averaging 31.4 points per game. 

LeBron also made his NBA playoff debut in 2006, where his Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards in the first round before falling to the back-to-back defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons in seven games. James averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in his maiden playoff voyage and at the time of cataloging, nearly two decades later, he holds career playoff records in a variety of areas including points, steals, games, minutes, and wins. With the 2005-06 season, LeBron left NBA fans with no doubt about his superstar status. Before the next season, NBA GMs picked James as the runaway favorite for MVP ahead of Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, and his rival for the title of best player in basketball, Kobe Bryant.

The Exquisite Collection brand, in many ways built entirely around LeBron’s entry into the league, has just celebrated its 20th anniversary and is a giant in the hobby to this day.

This card has been authenticated and deemed to be in Near Mint-Mint+ condition, receiving a grade of 8.5 from Beckett Grading Services (BGS). The autograph was graded and received a 10 from BGS. Given the thickness of the card and on-card nature of the autograph, its 8.5 grade is an impressive feat. The front of the card features a script "1 of 1" stamp in the bottom right corner to emphasize its unduplicated nature.

The BGS certificate number for this card is: 0013429102.

Going Deeper - LeBron James

The King

LeBron’s legacy began in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. As a high school phenom at St. Vincent-St. Mary, LeBron, and his teammates, dubbed the 'Fab Five', led the school to three state championships in four years. During his high school career, LeBron garnered national attention, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior in 2002 with the headline 'The Chosen One,' and achieving honors such as the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2002, and the McDonald’s All-American MVP in 2003.  

At 18 years old, LeBron James was selected first overall in the 2003 NBA draft, directly from high school, by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. Immediately making an impact upon entering the league, LeBron became the first player in franchise history and the youngest player in NBA history to win the Rookie of the Year award, doing so at 19. In his first seven seasons in the NBA, James led the Cavaliers to 50 or more wins on four separate occasions, including a franchise record 66-win season in 2008-09. He was twice named NBA MVP and led the Cavaliers to their first trip to the NBA Finals in 2007. Though LeBron and the Cavaliers would fail to bring a championship to Cleveland that year, this would not be his last attempt to bring his hometown team an NBA championship.

After a four-year stint in Miami, dramatically launched by “The Decision” and culminating in two titles and four straight runs to the Finals, LeBron returned to Northeast Ohio in 2014 and made a bold promise: he would make the Cavaliers a champion. This mission set up the NBA’s next great cross-conference rivalry between Lebron’s Cavs and Steph Curry’s “Splash Brothers” Golden State Warriors. In 2015, Cleveland and Golden State met for the first of what would be four straight NBA Finals matchups, a remarkable feat that even the famed Lakers-Celtics rivalry has never matched. It was a tightly contested series, however the Cavaliers would fall in six games to the ascendant Warriors. 

The following season, the Warriors looked downright unstoppable as they set the mark for the NBA’s best regular season record at 73 wins to just 9 losses and returned to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the Cavaliers. After four games, the series stood at 3-1 Warriors, a deficit that had so far proven insurmountable in NBA Finals history. What followed was the greatest comeback ever achieved in the NBA’s championship round. LeBron led an unprecedented comeback, and set up the game winning shot in Game 7 with likely his most lasting and poetic career highlight, a thunderous block against the backboard of the previous season’s Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. Fighting tears as he donned his NBA champions gear, LeBron exclaimed to the largest TV audience for an NBA game this century: “Cleveland, this is for you!”

After completing his 21st NBA season and helping to lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, LeBron James continues to further cement his legacy of excellence as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.