2008-09 SkyBox Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems PMG Green #2 LeBron James | LeBron PMG Debut

LeBron has entered rarified air.

The legends of many greats that came before him continue to find themselves overshadowed by the stature of “the King” and his lengthy resume. Truly, it is difficult to say any basketball player (better yet athlete) has remained at such a high level for as long as he has. His greatness has endured long enough for him to take on fathers and their sons while in their primes such as Jabari Smith & Jr. and Rick & Jalen Brunson. It is not often that a Thanksgiving dinner can include stories of the same opponent across generations, but when it comes to LeBron we truly are all witnesses.

As a result it is rare to encounter any piece of basketball memorabilia in recent memory that has only featured LeBron once, yet that is what Sotheby’s is thrilled to present here. Featured is one of the finest examples of LeBron’s only appearance in the legendary Precious Metal Gem (PMG) line featuring NBA insignia. After a decade, Upper Deck revived Skybox’s iconic PMGs, and harkened back to their first release where parallels were red and green, although this time instead of 100 printed copies, they were serialized to just 50. Like their first issue, green was reserved for just the first 10, and like that first run they are extraordinarily condition sensitive. In a BGS 9, this represents one of the finest representations of LeBron’s only appearance in the PMG history books while suiting up in his NBA uniform. Joining the ranks of both childhood idols like Michael Jordan and contemporary rivals like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, this card marks a collecting history milestone.

The card, one of only ten ever produced, commemorates LeBron’s sixth season in the league and his first NBA MVP campaign. Averaging 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, James logged his fifth All-NBA honors and earned his first entry onto the NBA-All Defensive Team. The next season, LeBron would do it all over again by repeating each of those honors. In the midst of a five year run where he claimed four MVPs, a feat only matched by Bill Russell, James at this point was as dominant as anyone in NBA history.

This card has been authenticated by Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and is encapsulated in a BGS 9 holder. The back of the card is stamped “10/50” to denote its place in the print run and differentiate it as the final Green PMG to be serialized.

The BGS certificate number for this card is: 0006597935.

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.