CLEVELAND — A bottle of grip powder that LeBron James used during the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28 sold for $2,150 at the first official auction held by The Realest and the Cavaliers. The bottle was the highest-selling non-jersey item among the 44 collectibles sold in the auction.

A prospective buyer offered $3,000 for the grip powder bottle through the secondary market the day after the auction closed. The Realest manages a secure secondary marketplace that allows owners to accept, decline or counter any offer.

"What is the image that was plastered in downtown Cleveland for so many years? This is a tangible artifact of that." said Scott Keeney, founder and CEO of The Realest, referring to the appeal of the item.

James Harden's first home Cavaliers jersey, worn against the Washington Wizards on February 11, sold for $10,525, a record for the most expensive game-worn Harden jersey ever sold. Donovan Mitchell's game-worn classic edition jersey from the January 28 Lakers game sold for $7,500, his city edition jersey against the Orlando Magic on March 24 sold for $6,050, and his association jersey against Philadelphia on March 9 sold for $3,250.

Harden's game-worn association edition jersey against Philadelphia sold for $4,006 and his city edition jersey against Orlando sold for $3,250. Jarrett Allen's game-worn classic edition jersey from the January 28 contest sold for $3,000, Jaylon Tyson's classic edition jersey from the same game sold for $2,830, and Evan Mobley's statement edition jersey against the Detroit Pistons on March 3 sold for $2,400.

Other items included a Lakers bench seat from the January 28 game that sold for $1,905, a game-used rim and net from the same game that sold for $2,305, and Max Strus' city edition game-worn warmup pullover from March 24 that sold for $1,505. Fans bought 12 game-used warmup shirts and a game-used ball from the Cavaliers' game against the Boston Celtics on March 8 for $2,543. Lower-priced lots included an Allen pin at $57, a Mobley bobblehead at $50 and a Harden mockup beard at $30.

"We don't want to sell only $10,000 items. That's not accessible for the kid that's growing up. We need to onboard a new generation and demographic of collectors." Keeney said.

The auction coincided with the Cavaliers' fourth annual "Bow Tie Game," held in honor of Nick Gilbert, who died in May 2023 from NF1-related complications. Proceeds will be donated to NFX, the nonprofit founded by Dan and Jennifer Gilbert to fund medical research related to NF1.

The Realest partners with professional athletes, teams and leagues directly to authenticate sports collectibles, marking every item with patent-pending covert markings and tamper-resistant holograms and recording every sale on a blockchain. The Cavaliers are considering more auctions after the playoffs and during the 2026-27 season.

"We were kind of losing our minds. We weren't sure where the demand was going to be. But I think this world, specifically in sports memorabilia, continues to grow." said Chris Kaiser, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Cavaliers.