In the history of basketball, no player has made the jump from high school to the NBA with more media hype and eager anticipation than LeBron James. When he was just a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s in Akron, Ohio, Sports Illustrated put LeBron on the cover and called him “The Chosen One.” Selected #1 overall by his native Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft, the 18-year-old started his professional career with a 25-point performance against the Sacramento Kings to set an NBA record for most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut. He was eventually named Rookie of the Year for 2003-04, finishing with averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. In doing so, he became the first Cavalier to receive the honor and joined Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average 20-5-5 in their rookie year. The Cavaliers did not make the playoffs, but their 35–47 record marked an 18-game improvement over the previous year. Now LeBron is back with the Cavs after winning two titles in Miami, and he is determined to get Cleveland that elusive NBA Championship.
This lot features LeBron’s actual game-worn road jersey from that memorable rookie campaign. The jersey was originally obtained directly from a member of the Cavaliers equipment department. The Cavs revised their look for the 2003-04 season, introducing a new logo and a variation on the wine and gold color scheme used by the club during the 1970s. Dark blue was also added as a trim color. This wine-and-gold colored jersey sports the revamped look and shows ample game use with signs of stretching and a subtle aroma of sweat. The size 50 Reebok mesh jersey includes all proper tagging on the front left tail including the manufacturer’s tag, as well as the Cavaliers' team logo and NBA logo. Two strip tags are attached reflecting the season ("2003-2004") and the size ("50 2 LB"). Pilling is evident along the gold elastic sides. Fraying is evident on the white tackle twill jersey numbers ("23") front and back outlined in gold, as well as the white lettering in "Cleveland" and "JAMES" outlined in gold. The embroidered NBA logo patch is positioned on the left shoulder area with the Cavaliers embroidered "C" patch located both on the bottom of the jersey’s V-neck top as well as centered on the shoulders. An incredible piece of sports memorabilia from a player who will go down as one of basketball's greatest ever.
Letter of Authenticity from MEARS graded A5. Letter of Provenance from collector Bruce Tennen. Includes email correspondence from previous owner stating that he got it directly from a longtime member of the Cavaliers equipment department who is still with the team in a different capacity and, understandably, wishes to remain anonymous. It should be noted that the email sourcing the jersey's provenance from the Cavaliers was deemed not official enough for MEARS to grade the jersey above A5. They would need an official team letter for the jersey to be eligible for A10 grading.
A Michigan native, Bruce Tennen began his sports business career in the late 1970's covering Arizona teams as an AP journalist. He spent the early 80's working in the front office for the San Diego Clippers before eventually settling down near his hometown of Detroit and building a successful career in financial services. Bruce has facilitated credit and acquisition funding for numerous Detroit Pistons players and executives. These unique experiences and connections have helped him build an impressive memorabilia collection. Part 1 of the Bruce Tennen Collection was featured in SCP's 2014 Fall Premier Auction.