Key Deal Facts
The 2003 Topps Chrome Black Refractor LeBron James Rookie Card is considered one of the crown jewels of one of the greatest basketball players of all time. James has already secured his spot in history among the greats, and he continues to add to his achievements.
The card is graded BGS 9.5 Mint, and carries elite subgrades. Centering 9.5, Edges 9.5, Corners 9.5, Surface 9.5. Only 27 cards have received a 9.5 or higher from Beckett (26 9.5’s, 1 10). The last BGS 9.5 sold in 2016.
A 2003 Topps Chrome Black Refractor LeBron James PSA 10 sold for $145,300 in August 2020 through PWCC. Since then, LeBron James has captured another title with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2003 Topps Chrome LeBron James Black Refractor PSA 9 (pop 68) sold for $36,355 in October 2020.
The 2003 Topps Chrome Black Refractor LeBron James PSA 10 has exhibited a 135.8% compound annual growth rate over the last 4 years. Collectable used the PSA 10 version as a market gauge due to more recent comps and higher transaction volume.
Black Refractors are notoriously difficult to source in high grades. For example, the % of Black Refractors graded a 9.5 or better is 10.4% (26/249). By comparison, the base has 44% graded 9.5 or better (3,354/7,565) and the Refractor has 42% graded 9.5 or better (453/1076).
The Black Refractor series features fragile black borders, making a card in this pristine condition nearly impossible to find. This has caused pricing on these cards to become very sensitive to condition.
A LeBron James Rookie Patch Auto Parallel numbered to 23 and graded BGS 9 sold for a record breaking $5.2 million, the highest price for a basketball card ever.
A 2003 Topps Chrome Black Refractor LeBron James PSA 10 sold for $461,250.00 in Goldin Auction in March 2021.
