Victor Wembanyama is bound to change the NBA. His size and skill set have made people call him the best prospect since LeBron James, even though it doesn’t look like Wemby is as polished a prospect as ‘Bron was. Nonetheless, Wembanyama is being pegged for greatness as his jersey from his NBA debut has already been auctioned off for $762,000.
JUST IN: A jersey Victor Wembanyama wore in his NBA debut just sold at @Sothebys for $762,000. pic.twitter.com/u8p5EGIPc1
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 21, 2023
The jersey was made available on Sotheby’s auction block and far exceeded the $80,000 to $120,000 expected sale price that experts thought it would go for. This aggressive bidding also shows that people have extremely high hopes for Wembanyama.
If a Luka Doncic card from his rookie season can sell for $3.12 million before he’s even won an NBA title, this Wembanyama jersey could be worth even more in a few seasons if he continues to live up to his potential. Funnily enough, Wembanyama’s debut jersey is from a game against Doncic and the Mavericks.
Victor Wembanyama Not Leading In The Rookie Of The Year Battle
Victor Wembanyama is seeing fans change their opinions of him after a middling start to the season. The Spurs are not playing well, with Wembanyama struggling to be an efficient scorer at the NBA level. He’s averaging 18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks this season on 42.4% from the field and 26.9% from three. His potential remains sky-high, but there’s a real argument to be made that he’s losing the Rookie of the Year race to Chet Holmgren through the first month of the season.
Holmgren is averaging 17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks on 56.5% from the field and 46.0% from three so far this season, playing an integral role in the OKC Thunder pushing for the top spot in the Western Conference. The stats between Holmgren and Wembanyama are not far apart, especially when you look at the efficiency Holmgren is playing with. Arguments about defensive coverages for Wemby being harder to navigate than Chet are valid, but it’s hard to say Chet hasn’t looked like the best rookie in the NBA this season.
Chet is technically not a rookie, getting drafted into the league last season and spending the season sidelined with injury. But we’ve seen Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin win ROTY in their second season in the league because they missed their rookie year, so Chet is definitely in the running.
We have a long season still ahead of us. Both players have to remain healthy and contribute at a high level to beat the other one out for this award. Given the hype that is behind Wembanyama, Chet will have to outplay Wemby throughout the season to stand a chance at the award. That won’t be easy, as Wembanyama has already shown his all-time potential in flashes. If he can sustain form like that, the league is in trouble.
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