A heartfelt moment from December got cashed out Saturday night.
In late December, after a Spurs-Nets game in Brooklyn, Victor Wembanyama granted the wish of a young fan holding a sign asking whether he could swap jerseys with the French giant.
The photo of Wembanyama holding a kid-sized jersey with the little boy holding the 7-foot-4 center’s game-worn jersey, which was nearly as big as the boy, instantly went viral.
Best jersey swap ever 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mcJxJQXlJI
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 28, 2024
A few weeks later, the jersey went to auction. Wembanyama reacted to the news on X with a crying face emoji. The auction—done through Goldin—ended Saturday night with a closing price of $73,200, which included the buyer’s premium. The jersey opened at a price of $10,000.
Wembanyama’s season ended Thursday after the Spurs announced he was diagnosed with a blot clot in his shoulder. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the 2025–2026 season.
Despite the injury news, his memorabilia market hasn’t been impacted in the short-term: A rookie card of his sold for a $860,100 record price Saturday night on Goldin in addition to the jersey.
Wembanyama went for 19 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks in the game he wore the auctioned jersey in. It was a solid performance, but the comical photo with the child drew more headlines than anything from the game.
The decision to sell the jersey so quickly raised the possibility that the child’s parents planned to sell the jersey all along. Goldin declined to go into specifics of the seller or how long the company has been in discussions to sell the item.
“We respect the privacy of our clients,” a Goldin spokesperson told Front Office Sports in an email in January. “Goldin’s commitment to consignors and collectors is to bring authentic and iconic items to market.”
