LeBron, Bronny to appear on card in Fanatics deal

LeBron James and his eldest son, Bronny, might not have graced the same basketball court for an NBA game yet, but they’ll soon appear on the same basketball card.

The 1-of-1 card features images of James in his St. Vincent-St. Mary’s high school uniform and Bronny in his USC Trojans jersey with dual on-card autographs from the father-son pair. It will be included in the 2023-24 Bowman University Chrome Basketball set, which will be released later this month. All-Americans Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Paige Bueckers of UConn will also have cards in the set.

James signed the collectible as part of a new multiyear trading card partnership with Fanatics Collectibles, a representative for Fanatics told ESPN on Wednesday.

James is partnering with Fanatics after previously working with Upper Deck his entire career.

The 21-year veteran teased the announcement on his Instagram account earlier this week.

“As someone who appreciates all the moments — big and small — along the journey, I’m excited to share more with my fans through this partnership with Fanatics,” James said in a statement. “In sports there is so much greatness to celebrate and I’ve always been one to take a moment to recognize that in athletes at the top of their games. It’s all about celebrating the journey and enjoying those moments, with many more to come.”

A James ‘Triple Logoman’ card from the 2020-21 Panini basketball card set sold at auction for $2.4 million in June 2022. And one of James’ Upper Deck rookie cards, an autographed 2003-04 Exquisite Rookie Patch numbered 14-of-23 in existence, sold at auction for $1.8 million in June 2020.

After the 2020 auction, James revealed that he diversified his investment portfolio by holding onto some of the cards he appears on.

“I have two [of those] rookie cards of my own,” James said on an off day during the 2020 NBA Finals. “So I’ll be good for a very, very long time. No matter what happens, I’m good.”