Victor Wembanyama's Spurs debut jersey rakes over $700,000 smashing unique NBA record

Victor Wembanyama is probably the most interesting rookie this season due to his exceptional skills and towering height, and the resulting hype has led to him setting a rookie record for the most expensive debut jersey sale.

His game-worn jersey from his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs was sold for $762,000 at a Sotheby's auction, which was significantly higher than the initial estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.

Victor Wembanyama made his NBA debut against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 25, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and adding five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in about 23 minutes of play.

The auctioned jersey was worn by the 7-foot-4 rookie in the second half of the game.

In the same auction, plenty of other game-worn jerseys from superstars like Steph Curry, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic were sold, but none went for more than $50,000, according to NBA writer Tommy Beer.

Although Victor Wembanyama's rookie jersey fetched a significant amount, it was not enough to break the record held by Kobe Bryant for the most expensive rookie jersey ever sold, at $3.69 million.

Goldin Auctions sold the jersey to Bob Duggan of Genius Inc. Pulse Biosciences and Summit Therapeutics in May 2021. It was worn four times by the Mamba during his rookie year, including the rookie photoshoot.

How Victor Wembanyama became ‘The Alien’

Victor Wembanyama has said that he doesn't like being referred to as a "unicorn" and would rather go by “The Alien,” the nickname given to him by LeBron James.

“I mean, that nickname has been used over and over, so I’m not really a big fan of it,” the Spurs rookie said. “Just like LeBron said: ‘Everybody has been a unicorn.’ There’s just one alien, right?”

James referred to Wembanyama as "more like an alien" in October 2022, praising the French talent for his exceptional skills and unique attributes on the basketball court.

"Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien. No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor," James said.

Wembanyama has averaged 19.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 13 games this season.

The Spurs are on a nine-game losing streak and are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 3-11 record.