The Search is Over: LeBron James “Triple Logoman” Pulled on Friday

The hunt for one of the most coveted sports cards in history is finally over.

If you’ve been living under a rock – or if you’re just not that into sports cards – you may not be aware of one of the greatest treasure hunts in recent memory. Each year, Panini releases its Flawless set for basketball, which is one of the highest-end products on the market. It features 10 cards in each box – including multiple on-card autos for the game’s biggest stars and rookies – and it will cost you upwards of $20,000.

One of the most desired “hits” in this product is the NBA Logoman. It is a jersey patch card that features the NBA logo, and they are almost always 1/1. That means just one copy of each card is produced for each player, making them extremely rare. Rarity is always a plus in the sports card market, especially for massive superstars. These cards will also occasionally feature autographs, making them even more desirable.

There are also dual logomans and triple logomans, which feature game-used patches for multiple players. If both players are superstars, those cards can reach astronomical price tags. For example, there is a dual logoman from 2019-20 featuring both Zion Williamson and Ja Morant that is currently for sale for $500K on eBay. There’s no guarantee it sells for that much, but it goes to show how much value these cards hold in the market.

Logoman cards are desirable every year, but the 2020-21 Flawless set took things to another level. There is one particular card that has excited every collector in the hobby and even attracted the attention of Drake: The LeBron James triple logoman.

This 1 of 1 card featured three logoman patches from LeBron all on the same card: one from his tenure with the Cavs, one from the Heat, and one from the Lakers. It’s arguably the most important card for the game’s most influential modern player. LeBron James does not sign autographs for Panini – the exclusive card producer for the NBA – so the logoman is as big as it gets for The King.

Drake’s interest in the card created a feeding frenzy for Flawless. The prices of the boxes absolutely skyrocketed, and breakers of all sizes were trying to get their hands on the product. Two of the biggest breakers in the hobby – Layton Sports Card and Blez Sports Cards – put together a 25-case break (50 boxes in total). They ultimately came up short. Drake opened up 10 cases of his own, and the LeBron triple logoman remained hidden.

Arguably the biggest hunters were found on WhatNot. If you’ve never heard of WhatNot, it’s a community marketplace that sells sports cards, trading cards, and other types of collectibles. Tons of sports card breakers are live 24/7 ripping boxes for collectors who are looking to get in on the action.

WhatNot took things to another level over the past week, offering up a Lamborghini Huracan as a bounty for any breaker who pulled the triple logoman.

After weeks of searching, Backyard Rips was lucky enough to strike gold on Friday. Backyard JMo – the self-proclaimed King of WhatNot – hit the monster card during a stream, sending the sports card hobby into a frenzy:

https://youtube.com/shorts/LjaQhEm4Crk?feature=share

The card has been estimated at anywhere between $3 and $5M, and it will likely set a new record for a modern sports card when it eventually goes to auction. The current record is also held by LeBron, with one of his rookie patch autos selling for $5.2M in April of 2021. The current record for a logoman is the 2018 rookie logoman for Luka Doncic, which sold for $4.8M in a private sale in February of 2021.

Given the popularity of LeBron and the hype over this card, I would bet on this sale clearing at least $5M. It’s a piece of history, so expect the demand to be massive. After all, Drake’s got plenty of money to burn.