LeBron James’ high school jersey from famous Sports Illustrated cover going up for auction

The St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey that LeBron James wore in his famous “The Chosen One” photoshoot for his Sports Illustrated cover back in 2002 is going up for auction in Hong Kong in September. It is expected to fetch between $1 and $2 million, per The Athletic, which would make it the most expensive high school jersey ever. 

In previous auctions, the jersey sold for $187,500 in 2019 and $512,200 in 2021. 

Michael LeBrecht, the photographer for that Sports Illustrated shoot, spoke to Julien’s, the auction house running the upcoming event, which is set for Sept. 28. 

“You come back to something you photographed, usually you say ‘what’s up, how you doing? It’s been a minute.’ This doesn’t talk back. But it’s so iconic,” LeBrecht told Julien’s. “The last time I saw this jersey was probably the time that I shot it in the locker room at St. Vincent-St. Mary. 

“This was the first time I shot LeBron. Just kind of a simple set up. I had him dunk the ball at least 40 times. Got him praying to make the NBA, and then I just felt like, ‘OK, let’s get a little bit more animated.’ He’s posing, I’m like ‘just reach out like this,’ and then I’m like, ‘give me a woo!’ And he’s like, ‘woo!’ 

“You look back and you don’t realize, it was a real turning point. It’s surreal. What’s f—ed up is I didn’t ask to take the jersey home after the shoot.”

The now-Lakers star scored 32 points the night of the shoot, and wore that jersey for the majority of his junior season. The next year, he declared for the 2003 NBA Draft and was selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Over the past two decades, he has exceeded the sky-high expectations that started in earnest with that Sports Illustrated cover story, and remains one of the best players in the game. James, 39, just won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics and is entering his 22nd NBA season.