LeBron’s HS car to drive hard bargain at auction

FILE PHOTO: High School basketball star LeBron James strikes a pose in front of his Hummer H2 for photographers outside St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in
Akron, Ohio, April 25, 2003. REUTERS/Jason Cohn

LeBron James obviously wasn’t an ordinary high school senior. His car wasn’t a run-of-the-mill model, either.

James drove a 2003 Hummer H2, and it is going up for auction on Monday before being sold on Dec. 8.

So what’s the price of the vehicle that LeBron drove while he attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio? A piece of his past won’t come cheap.

According to Goldin Auctions president Ken Goldin, the car is “definitely a six-figure piece.”

James’ mother Gloria took out a $50,000 loan to pay for the car that she gave him for his 18th birthday. That led to an investigation by Ohio basketball officials before questions of LeBron’s eligibility were cleared.

Four days after he was cleared, though, the Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled James ineligible for accepting two throwback jerseys valued at $845 from an urban clothing store in exchange for posing for pictures.

After taking the state’s governing body to court and winning the appeal, James led St. Vincent-St. Mary to a third state championship in his four seasons. He was the No. 1 overall pick right out of high school by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.

James installed a custom sound system, three TVs and a Sony PlayStation 2 when he had the car, undoubtedly increasing its current Kelley Blue Book value of $18,000.

Put up for auction on eBay in December 2013, the Hummer could have been purchased for $64,800, which was the “Buy It Now” price listed then by Cleveland Autos Direct Online. It was sold for an undisclosed amount, and went on display at the Greater Cleveland Auction.

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source: reuters.com