LeBron James has been accused of artificially inflating the price of his son’s jersey at an auction as the youngster prepares to make his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024/25 season.

The James are already billionaires but that didn’t stop them commanding a fee of $38,500 for one of Bronny James‘ Summer League jerseys with the four-time NBA champion even being accused of purchasing it himself.

“Jersey was originally estimated to sell for $6K-$10k,” J. E. Skeets told the No Dunks podcast. “Bronny’s Summer League jersey. game in which I think he scored two points (4 points, 2-9 FG). He struggled.”

His co-host, Trey Kerby then made the suggestion that Bronny’s dad bought it himself by saying, “This will look sweet in LeBron’s man cave. $38,000 is a lot of money unless you’re a billionaire.”

The suggestion seems to be that James’ alleged decision to purchase at $38,000, far above the rate for an upcoming talent, would inflate his son’s stock and improve his value which could lead to stronger sponsors and endorsements.

For example, the $38,000 Bronny jersey dwarfed that of the Atlanta Hawks‘ first pick Zacharie Risacher‘s Summer League Jersey, which sold for $3360.

However, the price of Bronny’s jersey is not even close to what some other names in the NBA can command. For example, Michael Jordan‘s 1998 NBA Finals jersey sold for almost $10.1 million dollars.

Whilst the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama‘s regular season debut jersey sold for $7.62 million dollars, becoming one of the most expensive auction pieces in NBA history as he went on to secure sponsors with the likes of Louis Vuitton.

Who do the LA Lakers play in Week 1?

Bronny, selected in the second round as the overall 55th pick in the 2024 Draft, will have the chance to kick off his NBA career alongside his dad on Tuesday, October 22.

The Lakers welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Crypto.com Arena at 22:00 ET/19:00 PT to start the 2024/25 NBA season as LeBron James chases a fifth career ring.