Victor Wembanyama Joins $5 Million Club With Record-Breaking Card Sale
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Victor Wembanyama is not only making history on the court, but his sports card market has been on an upward trend comparable only to one Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers in recent months.
From his unanimous DPOY win to a potential NBA Finals appearance as one of the best players in the whole world, anything Wemby is really hot right now.
For the longest time, only a handful of athletes had cards that even breached the $1 million mark, and even fewer had sales over $5M. Just two days ago, Wembanyama broke into both those clubs with a historic rookie card sale.
1/1 Wemby Black Prizm Sells For $5.11M
Prior to May 27, 2026, the most valuable Victor Wembanyama card ever was a Nebula Choice 1/1 from the 2023 Panini Prizm. It sold for $860,100 on February 2025 through Goldin, and at the time, it didn't look like any other card would come close.
That is, of course, until the Black 1/1 came to the market. It's everything you'd expect from a record-breaking card: it's a one-of-one, it's from Wemby's rookie season, it's graded a PSA 10, and it perfectly color matches the San Antonio Spurs' colors.
The card sold for $5.11 million through a private deal via Fanatics Collect, making it not only the most expensive Wemby card of all time, but the most valuable non-autograph sports card in history.
Other Athletes With Cards That Sold For Over $5M
While Wemby's 1/1 Black RC was enough to make the list (albeit as a subject of controversy to some), it's still only eighth in the all-time sports card rankings.
1. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
When this card was sold last year, it became the single most expensive collectible card in history. After all, how do you really even beat $12,932,000?
While that record now belongs to Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator, this MJ/Kobe Dual Logoman Auto remains the most valuable sports card ever, and it's hard to imagine that changing anytime soon.
2. Mickey Mantle
When this card was sold in 2022, it was the first time a sports card had broken the $10M threshold, and given its history, it's not surprising. Everything from how pristine the card looks to its connection to "Mr. Mint" Alan Rosen added up to a then-record $12,600,000 sale.
3. LeBron James
LeBron James actually has two cards that sold for more than $5 million, but, as with Michael Jordan, we'll be featuring the more valuable of the bunch. If the MJ/Kobe Dual Logoman Auto takes the top spot among basketball cards, this is easily #2.
Once LeBron's career is all said and done and this card resurfaces, who knows what numbers it will do. For now, this is the answer for what $10,000,000 gets you.
4. Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner is on this list with, of course, the legendary T206 card. As noted in a couple of entries here, at the time of sale, it became the most valuable card in existence. These days, $7,250,000 only keeps it at fourth on the all-time sports card sales ladder.
5. Babe Ruth
Baseball cards have been king for well over a hundred years, and the amount of vintage products in this list is a clear indicator of that being true.
Babe Ruth, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players to have ever lived, takes the #5 spot on this list with his 1914 Baltimore News rookie card worth $7,200,000.
You could argue that it's visually unimpressive compared to everything else here, but how often will you even see a piece of cardboard from more than 100 years ago reach the present time in such a condition?
6. Aaron Judge
From one baseball legend to another, a recent Aaron Judge sale from last March places him sixth on this list. His 1/1 Superfractor Auto from 2013 is the most valuable modern baseball card in the world at $5,200,000, and yes, it beats even Ohtani's most expensive card by over $2M.
Judging by how the global card market has been moving lately, and Judge's consistency as a contender for AL MVP, a future sale might just bump this card up a couple of spots.
Now, Victor Wembanyama makes eight.
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Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.