This should a banner time in the collecting hobby, especially for those that collect basketball cards. The NBA Finals saw the Knicks, with their massive and long-suffering fanbase, getting to celebrate a championship and collecting darling Victor Wembanyama putting up crazy numbers in defeat. Unfortunately, that isn't exactly how things have gone so far. Sure, Jalen Brunson collectors are having the time of their lives right now, but Wembanyama has lost a decent amount of shine off of his previous superstar status.
The numbers are what they are. Wembanyama put up big-time numbers, but the Spurs lost in convincing fashion. Moreover, Wembanyama put on quite the display of dirty play throughout San Antonio's playoff run that was roundly criticized by pretty much everyone and his interactions with the media made him look, among other things, immature and like a very sore loser.
While Wemby's attitude recently may not end up impacting his play on the court, it is absolutely impacting the prices that collectors are willing to pay for his cards...to a point.
Victor Wembayama playoff-long temper tantrum has hurt his market among collectors on a budget
Look, whether you love him or hate him, Wembanyama is a generational talent and one that collectors on the high end are going to continue to place bets on. Five days ago, one of his rookie Downtowns from Optic sold for $8,500 and Wemby's Silver rookies from 2023-24 Prizm are still fetching close to a grand raw. There may be more volatility at the top of his market than usual, but Wembanyama isn't scaring the big money away yet.
However, that may not be as true among those whose wallets aren't as deep. Take his base rookie from Prizm, for example. At the beginning of May, raw versions of the card were selling near all-time highs at roughly $84. Now, after all of the drama, they are routinely selling in the $65-70 range. The effects on his other base rookies have been less pronounced mainly due to lower sales volume, but that is notable in itself.
In short, Wembanyama is going to have to do some serious career rehabilitation and/or put together the historic performances of other all-time greats to regain his former glory. This stretch has been a bad look to be sure, but it isn't going to destroy his market. However, this whole saga is a reminder that when it comes to card collecting, no player's market is invincible.
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