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LeBron James continues to lean into branded content this season.
The 41-year-old will wear a patch on his Lakers jerseys to commemorate his record-setting 23rd NBA season. The patch will be removed after each game and inserted into a Topps trading card, the company announced Monday.
James will wear the patch for the Lakers’ final 46 games of the 2025–26 season, starting Monday when the Lakers visit the Kings. The 21-time All-Star made his NBA debut in Sacramento in October 2003.
“Need some of these for my own collection @Topps!!! So dope,” James said on X/Twitter after the announcement.
Fanatics Collectibles, which owns Topps, is the exclusive trading card licensee of the NBA and NBA Players Association. The two sides have worked on several special jersey patches in recent years, including the Rookie Debut Patch this season.
The collaboration with Topps is James’ latest foray into branded content in recent months.
Weeks before the 2025–26 season, James released a teaser on social media for “The Second Decision,” a call back to “The Decision” in 2010 when he announced he was leaving the Cavaliers to join the Heat. The post led many to speculate that James may be announcing his retirement from basketball.
Instead, James revealed on Oct. 7 that “The Second Decision” was a Hennessy ad. The original teaser has 34.3 million views on Instagram as of Monday, while the reveal has 15.4 million.
The Lakers star also works with sports betting platform DraftKings, even as the NBA is facing several gambling-related issues. James’s DraftKings promotions have focused on the NFL, including an Instagram post on Christmas Day where he says that the holiday season is a time for “family, food, and football.”
The NBA has faced stiff competition on Christmas, a holiday historically associated with basketball, from the NFL in recent years. James and the Lakers were in action against the Rockets on Christmas Day this year around the same time as the NFL game between the Lions and Vikings.
Last year, after the Lakers defeated the Warriors on Christmas, James defended the NBA’s hold of Christmas.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” James said.
James has had a subpar season relative to his standards. He has averaged 21.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, the lowest since his rookie season.
He’s also dealt with injuries that have kept him out for 17 games. If he misses any more games this season, James is in jeopardy of losing All-NBA eligibility and missing the NBA All-Star Game, both of which he’s achieved for a record 21 straight years.
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