'King James' debuts with Miami Heat tonight

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

The NBA season starts tonight with one of the most anticipated games of the year, and it doesn’t include the current champions.

The Miami Heat travel to the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m., which will air on TNT.

Even the most casual of NBA fans want to get a look at LeBron James in his first regular-season game with the Heat. Plenty of hype surrounded Miami in the off-season, which began with a few simple words this summer.

“I’m taking my talent to South Beach,” James said in an hour-long show on ESPN in July.

He signed with Miami, which already had Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

James received plenty of criticism over his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers especially with the way he presented his decision.

Nike is using the change in fans as part of a commercial that will air on TNT tonight.

But how will collectors react toward James’ jump?

According to trends tracked by Beckett Media, James’ 2003-04 Finest Rookie Card low-value was at $50 in May 2009. The low has jumped to $80 with the high-value for the card going for double the amount at $160.

Since July 2009, James cards have only gotten pricier. There was spike in his cards in April of this year, and most of his cards follow a similar trend.

So what happened this Spring to cause collectors to chase James once again?

James was on the verge of free agency, but in March he became the youngest player to reach 15,000 points.

The questions loom on how will this season change James’ image and how will that affect his collectability?

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.