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Basketball player LeBron James spotted wearing Rolex

LeBron James stepped onto the Jimmy Kimmel Live stage to promote Space Jam: A New Legacy wearing one of the most unapologetically bold references in the Rolex Daytona family — the 116588TBR in 18KT yellow gold, its bezel set with 36 trapeze-cut diamonds straight from Geneva. It was a deliberate choice: maximum presence for a maximum-profile moment.

The Rolex Daytona 116588TBR sits at a rarefied altitude within the Daytona lineage. Built on the 40mm Oystersteel-derived yellow gold case, it houses Rolex's calibre 4130 — a column-wheel, vertical-clutch automatic chronograph movement with a 72-hour power reserve and a reputation for long-term reliability that has made it the benchmark of the genre since its introduction in 2000. The dial on the 116588TBR is itself diamond-paved, continuing the jewellery-forward philosophy across every surface. What distinguishes this reference is the trapeze-cut diamond bezel, a factory specification rather than an aftermarket addition — a distinction that matters enormously to serious collectors.

The Oysterflex bracelet, Rolex's proprietary high-performance elastomer strap reinforced with a titanium and nickel alloy blade, adds a counterintuitive athletic edge to what is otherwise a piece of wearable jewellery. That tension between sport and luxury is precisely what defines the modern Daytona's appeal, and the 116588TBR pushes it to its logical extreme. Rolex produces this reference in very limited numbers, and it rarely appears on the secondary market without a significant premium attached.

LeBron James has long maintained one of the most serious watch collections in professional sport, with a well-documented affinity for Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille. His choice of the 116588TBR for a national television appearance reflects both his comfort with high jewellery-grade pieces and an understanding of how watches function as cultural signifiers — this is not a watch worn accidentally.

At retail, the Rolex Daytona 116588TBR carries a list price of approximately $120,000. On the grey market, demand consistently pushes examples to around $180,000, a reflection of the reference's scarcity, its all-factory diamond specification, and the enduring commercial strength of the Daytona name across collector and luxury fashion audiences alike.