Following the sale of his debut basketball jersey, San Antonio youngster Victor Wembanyama has made history. On November 21, 2023, the jersey reportedly sold for a whopping $762,000, a record for any NBA debut rookie jersey and one of the greatest totals in contemporary history.
He donned the jersey against the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN. The site also stated that pre-auction estimations ranged from $80,000 to $120,000. The auction was held by Sotheby’s, a fine arts auction house.
In a post on its website, Sotheby’s listed the jersey and noted; “This ‘Rookie Debut Game’ jersey was worn in the first game of Victor Wembanyama’s NBA career. It was also the first home game of his career, and additionally, he registered his first Slam Dunk in this jersey.
“Worn on Oct. 25, 2023, when the San Antonio Spurs played the Dallas Mavericks, ‘Wemby’ finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. The Spur lost to the Mavericks, 126-119. This jersey was worn during the 2nd half of the game.”
The auction house also stated that 176 bidders from 14 countries participated in this auction, with an average of 24 bids per item. The San Antonio rookie’s debut jersey lot, on the other hand, drew 62 bids, making it one of the “highest levels of participation for a sports memorabilia auction at Sotheby’s.”
In the meantime, the previous auction record for Wembanyama memorabilia was $62,000, which was paid for a jersey worn by the San Antonio Spurs rookie during his summer league debut.
According to ESPN, Kobe Bryant leads the all-time rookie uniform record. His rookie jersey was auctioned for $3.69 million in May 2021.