When LeBron James takes the court tonight for the Los Angeles Lakers, his uniform will look a bit different than that of his teammates.
James will debut a new jersey patch celebrating his record-breaking 23rd NBA season against the Sacramento Kings Monday night. The occasion will also mark James’ return to the city where he played his first NBA regular season game on October 29, 2023.
Beyond that, James’ patch will also be incorporated into Topps trading cards down the line.
BREAKING: LeBron James will wear a special-edition 23rd season jersey patch beginning tonight in Sacramento; the city where he began his legendary career in 2003.
The patches will be removed from his jersey after each game, and some will be placed into ultra-rare trading cards. pic.twitter.com/zzOEJyiFUK
— Topps (@Topps) January 12, 2026
LeBron’s new patch contains several key details
The decal, which you can see above, incorporates four different colors representing the three NBA franchises James has played for, the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
The silhouette in the middle features an outline of James doing his signature pregame “chalk toss.”
What is the connection between the patch and Topps?
LeBron signed an exclusive trading card deal with Topps in 2024. Now, his new jersey patch will be included in future trading cards.
After each game, Lakers team staffers will remove the patch and document it by date, on video. The patch will then be sent to a Topps production facility to be used in cards down the road. We’re going to guess the cards will be hot commodities once they launch as well.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, LeBron will wear the patch throughout the remaining 46 games on the Lakers’ schedule. LA is currently 23-13 on the season, good for fifth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
As for James, he has played in 19 of those games and is averaging 21.9 points, 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 51% from the field and 70.9% from the free throw line.
The Lakers and Kings will tip off at 10 p.m. ET Monday night.
