LeBron James, the undisputed king of the basketball court, boasts a collection of timepieces as impressive as his trophy case. Sure, everyone knows “The King” for his dominance on the court, but his passion extends beyond the game. James is a multifaceted individual – actor, investor, philanthropist, and yes, a watch aficionado. His collection features exquisite pieces from some of the most prestigious names in horology, including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille. Get ready to be dazzled by 18 of the King’s most prized wristwatches.
LEBRON JAMES’ PATEK PHILIPPE WATCHES
No watch collection is truly complete without a touch of Gerald Genta’s genius. LeBron James, a true connoisseur, understands this well. Among his prized possessions are several Patek Philippe Nautilus models – a testament to Genta’s iconic design.
One such watch is the Patek Philippe Nautilus chronograph Ref. 5980/1R-001, crafted from luxurious rose gold. Interestingly, LeBron isn’t the only athlete with an eye for this beauty. UFC fighter Conor McGregor has also been seen sporting the same timepiece. The Nautilus 5980/1R-001 is a true head-turner, but be prepared to shell out over $280,000 USD if you want one for your own wrist.
LeBron isn’t done flexing his Nautilus collection. Beyond the rose gold chronograph, he owns another that’s become the hottest watch on the planet – the limited-edition Tiffany Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711-1A-018. (We even have a tracker to show you who else is lucky enough to own one!)
Now, here’s where things get even more exclusive. Out of these 170 watches made, only one has been publicly sold – and it went for a whopping $6.5 million USD at a charity auction by Phillips. While the initial winner couldn’t complete the purchase, the underbidder stepped in, securing the watch at a slightly lower price.
The last Patek Philippe I am going to feature from LeBron’s collection is one of the brand’s “Grand Complications”, the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Celestial Ref. 6102R. The watch has a decorated black sapphire-crystal dial with a rotating chart of the heavenly bodies which provides an image of the night sky in the northern hemisphere on any given day. You can pick up the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Celestial on the secondary market for around $360,000 USD.
LEBRON JAMES’ ROLEX WATCHES
While Rolex does not make up the brunt of Lebron’s collection, he has been pictured in a few different pieces. LeBron’s Rolex collection is split between higher-gold pieces and the entry-level Oyster Perpetual. This is quite the contrast for a Rolex collector. As for gold Rolex-Day-Dates, James has been spotted wearing a 41mm 18k yellow gold Rolex Day-Date II with Roman numerals Ref. 218238. The Day-Date 41 is now discontinued (but you can buy a 40mm version) but you can purchase Lebron’s watch on the secondary market for around $55,000 USD.
LeBron’s other Rolex Day-Date is one of the more sought after model. He owns a Rolex Day-Date 40 Ref. 228235 in Everose gold (rose gold) with green dial. This piece retails for $40,350 USD and is selling on the grey market for $84,000 plus USD. Why is this variation of the gold Day-Date selling for $30,000 more than similar models? The green dial effect is real (similar to the blue dial effect in Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe watches). Indeed, the yellow gold Rolex Daytona with green dial is selling for around $150,000, 4 times higher than retail price.
LeBron’s Rolex collection also includes some of the most affordable pieces Rolex has to offer. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual is as entry level as you can get for a Rolex, and James has a couple. James was spotted wearing the 41mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual with coral red dial (Ref. M124300-0007). This piece retails for the affordable price (for Rolex) of $6,150. The Oyster Perpetuals have recently skyrocketed on the secondary market, however, where this piece is selling for $23,000 USD and over.
LeBron has also been spotted wearing another Rolex Oyster Perpetual, the variation in turquoise blue (Ref. M124300-0006). This 41mm Rolex also retails for just $6,150 USD, but is selling on the secondary market for around $40,000 USD. This is because the color variation is similar to the Tiffany Blue on the extremely rare Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711. Apparently watch collectors that will never get their hands on the Nautilus are opting to buy the Oyster Perpetual instead, causing the price to skyrocket (along with secondary sellers marketing it as a “Tiffany Blue Rolex Oyster Perpetual”). Well, LeBron doesn’t need to settle for one or the other as he has both watches.
Lebron apparently has an appreciation for the baby blue/turquiose/Tiffany blue dials. In addition to owning the the Tiffany Blue Nautilus and the now discontinued turquiose “Tiffany” blue 41mm Oyster Perpetual, Lebron was spotted on April 8, 2022 wearing a very rare platinum Rolex Day-Date with Arabic numerals, ice blue dial and baguette cut diamonds. This piece, Ref. 228396TBR is only available for sale at retailers in the Middle East for $119,000 USD. The secondary market price on this piece is around $430,000 USD.
Photo of Lebron James Courtesy of Getty Images.
LEBRON JAMES’ AUDEMARS PIGUET WATCHES
LeBron also has quite the collection of Audemars Piguet watches. Perhaps James’ interest in AP’s began in 2013 when he teamed up with the brand to create the Royal Oak Offshore LeBron James limited edition. Even though LeBron is a large guy at 6′ 9″, the watch comes in at only 44mm in diameter. The watch is made of both titanium and gold, a combination not often seen on a watch and includes a single diamond-set chrono pusher that is not visible while looking at the watch straight on. The watch is limited to 600 pieces and originally retailed for $51,500 USD in 2013. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore LeBron James is currently selling selling on the secondary market for between $80,000 and $100,000 USD.
One of my favorite AP’s that LeBron owns is the Royal Oak Chronograph in pink gold with blue dial (Ref. 26331OR.OO.D315CR.0). The case size on this piece is a modest 41mm and the watch has a highly sought after blue dial. While the retail price on this piece is close to $40,000 USD it is currently selling on the secondary market for around $120,000 USD.
While LeBron does not have many “iced out” watches, he was recently spotted wearing a diamond-adorned piece. The piece in question is an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore with factory diamonds on both the dial and case (Ref. 26067BC.ZZ.D002CR.01). The watch has a white gold case with 341 brilliant-cut diamonds on both the case and dial. While retail price on this piece is $118,000 USD you can get it for $97,940 USD on the secondary market.
One of the more surprising moves by Audemars Piguet recently was their collaboration with Marvel. The result of the collaboration was the Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon (Ref. 26620IO.OO.D077CA.01). This futuristic piece has pops of purple as well as the Black Panther on the dial. Well, LeBron James has one of the 250 of these pieces made and was seen wearing the rare and somewhat controversial piece. If you want your own Black Panther AP, you can find a couple pieces on the secondary market for between $380,000 and $500,000 USD.
In addition to his Black Panther Tourbillon, James also has a couple of other AP tourbillons. One of these pieces is the Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon 25th anniversary in steel (Ref. 26421ST.OO.A002CA.01). This piece is limited to only 50 pieces worldwide and is currently available on the secondary market for $425,000 USD.
If you really like a watch, why not get it twice, right? Well LeBron also has the pink gold version of the Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon 25th anniversary (Ref. 26421OR.OO.A002CA.01). Like its steel counterpart, this piece is also limited to 50 pieces and is currently available on the secondary market for $572,000 USD.
Lebron has been out and about sporting a couple new Royal Oaks recently and I felt compelled to add these two pieces to the article. Lebron was recently spotted wearing a 41mm Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in black ceramic with a skeletonized dial. The slate gray dial features pink gold applied hour-markers and the case is bracelet are made of black ceramic. This piece (Ref. 15416CE.OO.1225CE.01) is currently selling on the secondary market for around $600,000 USD.
James was also recently spotted wearing the brand new 50th Anniversary Audemars Piguet Royal Oak yellow gold Jumbo Extra Thin with a smoked yellow gold toned dial. This piece, Ref. 16202BA, retails for $70,500 USD but sells on the secondary market for around $550,000 USD.
Lebron keeps on improving his Audemars Piguet collection. While injured, he was spotted courtside of the Lakers-Suns game wearing an 18k rose gold Audemars Piguet Tourbillon Ref. 26521OR. The bezel of this Royal Oak is set with 32 baguette-cut sapphires. The blue dial features a stunning Tapisserie Evolutive pattern with emerald hour markers. This piece has a price-tag of around $190,000 USD.
LEBRON JAMES’ RICHARD MILLE WATCHES
While LeBron doesn’t have as large a Richard Mille collection as someone like Jay-Z or Drake, he does have a couple of pieces. One of the pieces is the Richard Mille RM011 Felipe Massa. This watch was named after Brazilian Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa and has numerous complications, including a flyback chronograph, a 60-minute countdown timer, and an annual calendar. While the watch retailed for around $130,000 USD it is currently selling on the secondary market for over $300,000 USD.
LeBron’s other Richard Mille is also an RM011, but an RM011-03 “Jean Todt” with a blue case made of NTPT blue carbon and black carbon. Jean Todt is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver, so with this RM011, Richard Mille is keeping its racing heritage. While this piece has the same complications as the Felipe Massa mentioned above, it is selling for 2.5 times the price of that watch. You would have to spend an astronomical $750,000 USD to pick one up on the secondary market.
