During his appearance at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago on Saturday, Giannis Antetokounmpo shared that he’s looking to add Victor Wembanyama rookie cards and memorabilia to his personal collection, citing his lofty expectations for the 2023 No. 1 pick.
“I want Wemby’s first rookie card ever,” Antetokounmpo said during an appearance alongside his brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex on an eBay Live stream with Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin. “I think he’s gonna be one of the best players in the league in the next couple of years. I think he will have a very great career moving forward, so — maybe like a jersey, his first jersey or his first basketball shoe when he played his first NBA game, or the first ball that he played with and scored his very first point. You gotta go with Wemby, Steph (Curry), LeBron (James), MJ (Michael Jordan). Those are great investments.”
“Michael Jordan, hands down,” Thanasis Antetokounmpo added. “I don’t care if it’s a shoe, the hat, the card, the jersey. Michael Jordan, hands down.”
They then both agreed that Kobe Bryant should be added to the list too.
The highest public sale of a Wembanyama rookie card came in February when his one-of-a-kind 2023-24 Panini Prizm Nebula sold for $860,100 in a Goldin auction days after a blood clot in his shoulder brought his season to a premature end. One of the three jerseys Wembanyama wore in his first NBA regular season game sold for $762,000 in a Sotheby’s auction in November 2023, far exceeding the auction house’s initial estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.
In July, Wembanyama was cleared to return to the Spurs following his injury.
Antetokounmpo has a sizable collection of his own trading cards, which he has previously shown off on social media. On Saturday, he refused to divulge exactly how many of his own “logoman” cards — which include the NBA logo patch from a jersey — he owns. His most valuable card is his 2013-14 Panini National Treasures autographed rookie logoman, which sold for $1.8 million in 2020.
In addition to sharing his belief in Wembanyama’s future, Antetokounmpo also explained why his autograph has changed since his rookie season. He started by signing his full name until he realized how difficult that would become over the course of what he hoped would be a long career, so he shortened his signature to just his initials.
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