Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut jersey sells for record price،
A jersey worn in the second half of Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut against the Dallas Mavericks sold Tuesday for an astonishing $762,000, according to fine arts company Sotheby’s.
Pre-auction estimates were between $80,000 and $120,000. The sum is a record for any NBA rookie first jersey and one of the highest tallies in the modern era.
A month after his 2020 NBA debut, a Zion Williamson jersey worn in the first half of that game sold for $80,040. The all-time record for a rookie uniform is $3.69 million, spent in May 2021 on a Kobe Bryant jersey.
According to Sotheby’s, recently named the NBA’s official source for video games, the auction had 176 bidders in 14 countries, with an average of 24 bids per lot. The first batch of Wembanyama jerseys alone attracted 62 bids. This is one of the “highest participation levels for a sports memorabilia auction at Sotheby’s.”
The previous auction record for Wembanyama memorabilia was $62,000, paid for a jersey the San Antonio Spurs rookie wore in his summer league debut.
In total, Tuesday’s auction, made up of 64 lots, brought in $1.249 million. Other notable rookie debut jerseys included Brandon Miller’s No. 3 overall pick ($27,940) and Scoot Henderson’s No. 2 overall pick ($19,050).
