Father-Son Get LeBron Superfractor Auto
Brett Sagray won’t forget his 14th birthday surprise anytime soon.
A couple of weeks ago, the middle schooler who lives in the San Antonio, Texas, area was gifted a case of 2023/24 Topps Chrome Basketball by his dad, Jeremy. The father-son duo started collecting together two years ago and ripped all 12 boxes the following day after school. About halfway through the case, Brett opened a pack to unveil a hit.
“I saw it was a redemption card, and it said LeBron James auto,” Brett said. “I was just going crazy. We were running around — just in disbelief.”
It wasn’t just a hit; it was the hit. Brett had pulled the product hit: James’ 2003-04 Time Machine Autograph Variation Superfractor Parallel. Decked out in his flashy white suit he wore on draft night 20 years earlier, the card will feature James with an on-card auto.
Since it was a redemption, Brett and Jeremy didn’t quite realize what they had in their possession. However, the pair knew it was guaranteed to be a great card since it was James.
“When Brett pulled the card, we looked at each other and said, ‘That’s got to be something good,’” Jeremy said. “We did a little research and still can’t believe it. You dream about hitting a card like that.”
From James to Wemby
Jeremy purchased the case of 2023/24 Topps Chrome Basketball from the hobby shop Sportscards Plus in San Antonio. It’s the same shop Jeremy frequented two decades earlier when he collected as a kid.
Jeremy’s collecting days tailed off in 2000, just a few years before King James came onto the NBA scene. Getting back into collecting with his son has been memorable. And now they have a cool card and story to highlight their journey.
“What’s amazing is to hit that card 20 years later,” Jeremy said. “It brought back a lot of memories because of the timing, my age, and LeBron. I’ve followed him for 20 years now.”
Being big Spurs fans, the Sagrays have become captivated by Victor Wembanyama. They love chasing cards of the young NBA superstar after his fantastic rookie season.
“It’s kind of fitting that we open the Chrome product to get a Victor and then get the number one chase card,” Jeremy said.
After the adrenaline rush of pulling the monster James card, Brett and Jeremy finished ripping the rest of the case. Not expecting to get any other great cards, they continued their good luck. They hit a Rock Star Superfractor of Karl-Anthony Towns, a David Robinson on-card auto numbered /50, and a Wembanyama Blue Lava numbered /149 in their final few boxes.
Plan for the Card
Along with collecting basketball cards, Jeremy enjoys football cards, with Patrick Mahomes and Brett Favre being his favorites in his PC. Jeremy named his son Brett after the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback.
Since James isn’t one of the players that Jeremy and Brett typically collect, they are willing to take offers on their card of the King. They are not quite sure if they will sell the rare piece of cardboard, but in the meantime, it will serve as the centerpiece of their collection.
Brett knows pulling the James Superfractor is a once-in-a-lifetime event, which has made his experience in the hobby extra special.
“It makes collecting so much more fun and puts our collection at another level,” Brett said.
With the James card being a redemption, Jeremy is looking into how to get his hands on it. The Sagrays wouldn’t mind taking a little road trip—a little father-son bonding—to pick up the card in person and then hand deliver it to PSA.
“You rarely would hit a card like this, so now the fun part begins with having the experience of going to get the card graded,” Jeremy said. “It’s going to be fun to spend time together doing that as father and son.”
