The New Ohtani? Wemby's Card Prices Soar as Spurs Head to the NBA Finals

No one, other than Josh Hart, left in the playoffs, has seen their card market go up more than Victor Wembanyama over the last week, according to Card Ladder. A massive grain of salt should be taken there, as Wemby has 40 cards being tracked, compared to four for Hart. Regardless, Wembanyama's market is up 102% over the last month as the Spurs took out the Western Conference en route to the NBA Finals.

If you zoom out even further, no one left in the playoffs is up more than Wembanyama over the last three months - he's up massively at 222.17% over the last three months. The consistency is the key for Wembanyama. No matter the timeframe, Wembanyama is up—and big.

The Wemby Card Market

Line go up! Literally.

Obviously, the sample size is a bit limited by what Card Ladder tracks, but with 39 cards, it is a decent sample size of the Wemby market as a whole. What we are seeing right now is face-of-the-league-type hype from the market for Wembanyama.

His market slowed down over his first two years due to the lack of licensed autos in Panini and injuries, but now that he has been fully unleashed, on the court and on cardboard, we've seen his market hit a new level. His appeal isn't just limited to the United States either. Being on a small market team does not matter when you have global appeal. Like Giannis before him, his superstar potential and recent playoff breakthrough have his card market in high gear.

The Wemby-Ohtani On-Field Comparisons

If you have spent any amount of time on social media over the last week or two you have seen the debates. Or tried to ignore them, but regardless, they are happening.

Is Victor Wembanyama the new Shohei Ohtani?

Before you think to yourself that it is ridiculous, it is worth remembering a few things. First, the considerable hype Wembanyama had prior to even entering the league, and the fact that he's lived up to the hype. Second, he has the same global appeal as Ohtani, with the game and the name recognition to match.

Now, I will gladly concede that the two-way ability of Wembanyama does not come close to the two-way ability of Ohtani, and what Ohtani is doing is otherworldly. Wemby looks otherworldly doing things a man that tall should not be able to do, but they aren't in the same stratosphere in terms of accomplishments so far.

The Wemby-Ohtani Card Comparisons

2023 Panini Prizm Victor Wembanyama 1/1 Black Prizm PSA 10 | CardLadder

As you may have seen last week, Wembanyama not only had his first million-dollar sale but also became just the eighth athlete to join the 5-Million-Dollar Club.

While Wembanyama has the advantage in the top sale, his solo million-dollar sale is bested by Ohtani's three.

Ohtani's top sale is this 2025 Topps Chrome MVP Gold Logoman 1/1 Patch Auto, which sold for $3 million in December of 2025, however, there may be a new top Ohtani sale before the end of the month of June.

Shohei Ohtani 1/1 Superfractor Rookie at Goldin Auctions | Goldin Auctions

With 27 days to go, this is already the third-highest-selling Ohtani card of all time at $1.25 million. This already tops a few of his other rookie superfractor sales. Given the state of the Ohtani market, this could potentially be his top sale.

Final Verdict

The NBA Finals will make things unpredictable, but since Wemby already has the higher sales of the two, it does seem like a fair comparison. Now, if you're debating whether to buy, sell, or hold, I think it depends on your personal financial situation. Now maybe it isn't the best time to buy a big Wembanyama card, but it is fair to say that for the last five or so years people have also been saying the same thing about Ohtani.

The prudent move, as Gio said in the podcast last week, was to take your wins where you can with Wembanyama and then buy back in the off-season.

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