Victor Wembanyama’s Debut Game Jersey Shatters Estimates to Sell for $762,000
Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut was highly anticipated by basketball fans, and now they’ve put their money where their mouths were.
The French hooper’s rookie debut game jersey just hammered down at auction for a whopping $762,000—more than six times its high-end estimate. Several bidders tried to get their hands on Wemby’s gear over 13 minutes, with 62 bids in total.
More from Robb Report
This 1968 Ferrari Spent Over Four Decades in a Garage. Now It's Heading to Auction.
Lewis Hamilton's First Mercedes F1 Car Just Sold for a Record $19 Million
The jersey was the highlight of Sotheby’s inaugural sale in partnership with the NBA, for which it now serves as the league’s official source of game-worn memorabilia. The Tip-Off auction featured more than 60 jerseys from this season’s NBA Tip-Off and games from prior seasons. The lots were 100 percent sold and brought in $1.2 million in total.
“We are thrilled with the results of our inaugural sale in partnership with the NBA,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited about this new chapter in our history, as Sotheby’s cements its place at the forefront of the sports memorabilia market, and we look forward to the future opportunities and innovations this partnership will bring next year.”
While Wemby’s jersey stole the show, other items brought in respectable totals. LeBron James’s tip-off jersey from this season fetched $50,800, and one of the GOAT’s jerseys from last season hammered down for $40,640. Damian Lillard’s jersey from his debut as a Milwaukee Buck earned $30,480—about double its high estimate—and Brandon Miller’s rookie debut jersey totaled $27,940, almost three times its upper estimate. In all, the Sotheby’s auction had interest from almost 200 bidders in 14 countries, and it saw more than 1,500 bids overall.
As a rookie, Wenbanyama has a long way to go to compete with some of basketball’s greats when it comes to auction totals. Gear worn by the sport’s stars of yesteryear regularly bring in millions of dollars when they go up for auction: Last year, Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” finals jersey sold for a record-breaking $10.1 million. And earlier this year, jerseys worn by the likes of Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain were expected to fetch $7 million and $4 million, respectively.
Wembanyama likely looks up to those names when it comes to his play on the court, and now he can aspire to be like them on the auction block, too.
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
