LeBron James Just Set a $1.8 Million Record Without Trying
Dating back to his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High, LeBron James has made it his mission to shatter records in his quest to become the greatest basketball player to ever walk the Earth. Since taking the NBA by storm with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, King James has accomplished nearly everything possible on and off the court.
Recently, though, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar set a $1.8 million record by doing absolutely nothing. It just goes to show the power The Chosen One possesses. And if he continues to play at a high level as he approaches 40, the four-time MVP will likely smash the NBA’s ultimate record.
LeBron James is no stranger to setting records
When the Cavaliers made LeBron James the face of the franchise way back in 2003, he faced enormous pressure to live up to all the hype. After all, many viewed him as a legitimate threat to one day threaten Michael Jordan’s GOAT status. Even MJ loyalists can agree that James has changed the game forever and deserves to at least be in that conversation.
It didn’t take long for the 6-foot-9 freakishly talented forward to start setting records. In fact, by scoring 25 points in his first regular-season game, James set the record for most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut. Of course, the high-school prodigy has gone on to set many more records since entering the league as a 19-year-old.
LeBron’s 12 All-NBA first-team selections represents a league record. And considering he still plays at an elite level, he should only continue to add to that number. His playing statistics look absolutely insane and include numerous records, too. The Ohio native is the only player in NBA history to score at least 34,000 points and record 9,000 rebounds and 9,000 assists.
Recently, the three-time NBA champion set another record. And it had nothing to do with anything he has done on the court. In fact, LeBron James set a $1.8 million record by doing absolutely nothing.
LeBron destroys Mike Trout’s $900,000 record
Apparently the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t stop people from spending obscene amounts of money. In the last few months alone, several interesting pieces of sports history have sold for ridiculous sums. A baseball signed by an 8-year-old Derek Jeter and his teammates sold for $36,000 in May.
That same month, one of Michael Jordan’s game-used Chicago Bulls uniforms fetched nearly $300,000 at auction. Of course, The Last Dance probably helped boost the price.
But thanks to one collector, LeBron James can say that he set another record by doing absolutely nothing. Leore Avidar, whose Twitter bio says that he is the CEO and co-founder of Lob.com, spent $1.8 million to get his hands on a rare James rookie card through GoldinAuctions. That set the record for the most money ever paid for a trading card.
Before King James took the title, Mike Trout briefly held the honor. Months earlier, a Trout rookie card sold for $900,000, which shattered expectations and set a record until James’ rookie card fetched double the price.
While LeBron James didn’t have to do a single thing to set the sports trading card record, he won’t have such an easy path to breaking the NBA’s biggest record before he retires.
Can King James break the NBA’s biggest record before he retires?
With multiple NBA titles and MVP awards on his resume, LeBron James could retire today and still be considered one of the two or three best basketball players to ever live. But as he enters the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, he still has one more record to set.
Currently, James ranks third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. His 34,087 points put him behind only Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387). The 16-time NBA All-Star needs 4,301 points to take over the No. 1 spot. Based on his track record, James should accomplish the feat within the next two seasons. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help.
Ultimately, it seems like a foregone conclusion that LeBron James will surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. As long as he can stay healthy and continue to average 20-plus points per game, expect King James to rise the top. But will that be enough to throw Michael Jordan off his GOAT throne? That’s an entirely other debate that will take place once he retires.
