Spurs EXCLUSIVE: Victor Wembanyama's Pre-NBA Rookie Card Auctions For Record Amount

Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama may not have played a regular season game yet, but that hasn't stopped his memorabilia from selling for tens of thousands of dollars at auction, with the latest being his "ultra-rare" SuperFractor rookie card.

How much value can be assigned to an NBA rookie who hasn't played a single regular season game yet? 

The question is an interesting one, especially because San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has been assigned a value — and a rather high one at that. The 7-4 forward's rookie contract spans for the next four years and will be worth over $55 million dollars, which is a high mark for a first-year prospect.

But, contracts aside, there is another level to Wembanyama's expected value, and no, it isn't a direct brand deal. 

In one of Goldin Auctions' most recent business endeavors, an exclusive Wembanyama rookie card sold at auction for over $67,000 on Wednesday night. 

The sale marked the most expensive dollar value for any Wembanyama card to date — and the most expensive "pre-NBA" card as well. 

So, what makes this card so valuable?

"You have to realize what's special about [it]," Goldin Auctions CEO Ken Goldin told InsideTheSpurs.com "It's a pre-NBA card."

Added Golden: "If this was an NBA-licensed product, and it had the Spurs logo ... the card would have gone for five to 15 times this amount, but right now, those cards don't exist."

Since Wembanyama would need to have played his first official game in the NBA that wasn't Summer League, no cards — which will also likely find their way through Goldin Auctions — have been manufactured of the rookie with Spurs gear on. 

But aside from it being a card from Wembanyama's days in France playing for Metropolitans 92, the collectible also has another aspect to it that makes it "ultra-rare."

"There were [Wembanyama] rookie cards of various levels [out there]," Goldin said. "Some are more common than others, but the key card that everybody looks for is called the SuperFractor." 

Sure, a Wembanyama card with his signature is not only valuable and unique, but it's also a dream for a collector, especially if came from before he was officially on NBA-licensed cards. But the SuperFractor status takes it a step further. 

Not only is Wembanyama's signature on it, but it was specifically manufactured to be the only one of its kind — fitting for "The Extraterrestrial" isn't it? 

Wembanyama's SuperFractor card also included a small hand-written message from the rookie himself, pictured just to the left of his signature reading: "1st Ever," adding to the uniqueness of the card that a majority of collectors sought out to find. 

But to make the card even sweeter, it wasn't pulled by a big corporation or a multi-faceted operation aimed at uncovering the card at all costs. 

It was pulled by a local collector with a passion for collecting NBA cards.

"Our consignor pulled it out of a live break," Goldin explained. "He probably payed a couple hundred dollars, and he pulled the card in Germany. He was so excited and wanted to meet me, so he actually flew the card from Germany personally to meet me and hand me the card at the National Sports Collectors Convention." 

Goldin is a well-known figure in the sports collectible world. Not only has he been in the business since he was 12 years old, but he's also gotten his own Netflix TV series entitled "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch."

Photo provided by Goldin Auctions

The show highlighted Goldin's life and his passion for collectibles, which he says stems from the idea of "capturing moments" throughout sports history. 

"Sports cards are always going to be desirable and collectible," Goldin said. "They really capture a moment in time. Think about it this way: [For the Spurs], the best case scenario is that Wembanyama brings San Antonio back into prominence. He wins a couple of MVPs, they win a couple championships. 

"You know [Wembanyama] is going to have tons of NBA cards [by then], but this will be this will be his first card and it's a one-of-one." 

However it shakes out, Wembanyama will go down as one of the most unique prospects in basketball history. The Spurs only hope that he pans out in the coming years and becomes a true cornerstone of the franchise's return to glory. 

But for now, that's all they can do: hope. Them and Goldin both, as the "King of Collectibles" now serves as the face of Victor Wembanyama's exclusive card, his likely increasing off-court value and a big piece of Spurs history.