In 2010 Cavs fans across Ohio burned LeBron James' jersey in effigy when he "took his talents to South Beach." Six years later those same haters are kissing the ground he walks on. Down 3-1 in the 2016 NBA Finals to the greatest regular-season team ever LeBron not only fulfilled his destiny to "get one for the 'Land" he did so in historic fashion. Other-worldly performances in three straight elimination games delivered Cleveland the elusive championship the city has longed for after 52 years of heartache.

Drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003 no player made the jump from high school to the NBA with more media hype and anticipation than LeBron James. He was just a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary's in Akron Ohio when Sports Illustrated put him on the cover and called him "The Chosen One Drafted #1 overall by his native Cleveland Cavaliers the 18-year-old kicked off his pro 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. James was an easy choice for 2003-04 Rookie of the Year becoming just the third player (along with Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson) in history to average over 20 points 5 assists and 5 rebounds as a rookie. Featured here is an incredible LeBron James game-worn road jersey from his iconic rookie season.

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 jersey with gold knit elastic sides sports the revamped look and displays light-to-moderate game use with minor but consistent fraying puckering and stretching. 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"). LeBron’s number “23” appears front and back in white tackle twill outlined in gold. “CLEVELAND" across the chest and "JAMES" arched on the upper back come in the same format. The embroidered NBA logo patch is positioned on the left shoulder area with the Cavaliers embroidered "C" patch located at the base of the jersey’s V-neck as well as the upper back.

This jersey would go well with LeBron's rookie sneakers in Lot 203. Both can be style matched to his first regular-season game and dunk.

Letter from MEARS graded A5. [Note: this is the highest grade a post-1988 jersey can achieve without documented team or player provenance.]