Overview
- A one-of-one 2023–24 Panini Prizm Black rookie card of Victor Wembanyama traded in a private, Fanatics Collect‑brokered deal for about $5.1–$5.11 million, a sale reported Tuesday that is the highest known for a non-autographed NBA card.
- The buyer spoke to The Athletic anonymously for security reasons and said he paid the sum because he believes this card will remain Wembanyama’s best rookie piece for the long term.
- The card carries a Gem‑Mint PSA 10 grade, a status that dramatically increases value for high-end collectors and helped push the price into the sport’s top sales ranks.
- The sale’s scale was driven in part by licensing dynamics: Panini held the NBA trading-card license in Wembanyama’s rookie year while he had an exclusive autograph deal with Fanatics, leaving no officially licensed autographed rookie cards and concentrating demand on rare non-autographed one-of-ones.
- The transaction follows community scrutiny over a video and comments filmed at PSA’s California office that raised questions about possible card treatment before grading, though PSA has not reversed the grade and the hobby’s trust in grading remains a key watch point for second-order effects on prices.