A jersey worn in the second half of Victor Wembanyama's NBA debut against the Dallas Mavericks sold for an astounding $762,000 on Tuesday, according to fine arts company Sotheby's.
Pre-auction estimates were between $80,000 to $120,000. The sum is a record for any NBA debut rookie jersey and one of the highest tallies in the modern era.
A month after his NBA debut in 2020, a Zion Williamson jersey worn in the first half of that game sold for $80,040. The all-time record for a rookie uniform is $3.69 million, spent in May 2021 on a Kobe Bryant jersey.
Per Sotheby's, recently named the official game-worn source of the NBA, the auction boasted 176 bidders across 14 countries with an average of 24 bids per lot. Wembanyama's debut jersey lot drew 62 bids alone. It was one of the "highest levels of participation for a sports memorabilia auction at Sotheby's."
The previous auction record for Wembanyama memorabilia was $62,000, paid for a jersey the San Antonio Spurs rookie wore during his summer league debut.
In all, Tuesday's 64-lot auction brought in $1.249 million. Other notable rookie debut jerseys included No. 3 overall pick Brandon Miller's ($27,940) and No. 2 overall pick Scoot Henderson's ($19,050).