Yahoo Finance Sotheby's Completes Its Second Round Of Game-Worn NBA Jersey Auctions, Including Christmas Day Jerseys
Sotheby's auction house, which raised a lot of eyebrows in late 2023 when it inked a deal to become the exclusive outlet for NBA memorabilia, recently completed its second auction of game-worn NBA jerseys. This most recent auction, known as the Capsule Collection, included numerous limited-edition jerseys from both the NBA's Christmas-day games and the inaugural NBA in-season tournament.
The last auction was headlined by the jersey from highly touted rookie Victor Wembanyama's first game in the NBA, which sold for $762,000. Although none of the jerseys at the Capsule Collection auction reached that price, some unique jerseys from some of the league's top young stars have the potential to significantly appreciate in the years to come. Benzinga looks at some of the auction's highlights.
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Highlights From Sotheby's Most Recent NBA Jersey Auction
The NBA features a jam-packed schedule on Christmas Day, which has become as synonymous with the league as the NFL's Thanksgiving Day contests. These Christmas Day games feature matchups between the league's most visible teams and famous stars. Until recently, the games were the only draw, but then the league began outfitting players in special jerseys with unique color schemes.
Originally, the plan was to market these limited-edition jerseys to the fans who could supplement their typical home and away jersey collections with the Christmas Day jerseys. The success of the NBA's first auction with Sotheby's illustrated the high demand for game-worn jerseys. So, this year's Capsule Collection included an appealing mix of jerseys with upside potential, which included:
The Double-Double: The 2023-2024 Christmas Day Jersey worn by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and the jersey he was wearing when he scored his 10,000th point as a pro — $50,800.
In-Season Tournament Debut Jersey: Victor Wembanyama's jersey from his first appearance in the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament — $85,500.
The Triple-Double: Doncic's jersey from the 2023-2024 Kia tip-off (opening day) — $13,970.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Jersey worn by Oklahoma City Thunder all-star guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the night he scored a career-high 43 points — $25,400.
The Most Recent Auction Was All About Upside
The final sales totals, which were provided by Auction Report, are not the astronomical numbers you see when icons like Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth jerseys are up for sale but that's the entire point. By the time players like Jordan become globally recognized superstars, their game-worn jerseys are worth millions of dollars and beyond the reach of all but the most well-heeled collectors.
The Jordan game-worn jersey from his first game in the 1991 NBA finals sold for a record $10.1 million. This most recent auction, especially the $85,500 for the Wembanyama jersey and the Doncic Christmas/10,000-point jersey package for $50,800, represented an opportunity for sports collectors to get in early on tomorrow's eight-figure jersey auctions.
Doncic has already established himself as one of the NBA's best players, and at only 26, he has years to grow into a bona fide legend. Wembanyama is known as a unicorn because the league has never seen a player like him before. He's 7 foot 4 inches but handles the ball and shoots at an elite level and his potential appears limitless. Experienced NBA observers predict both will eventually be Hall-of-Famers.
The NBA And Sotheby's Are A Match Made In Heaven
The NBA's partnership with Sotheby's is beginning to look like one of those perfect business partnerships that benefit both sides and their respective customer bases equally. Sotheby's gets a huge foothold in the multimillion-dollar sports collectibles market. The NBA gets an opportunity to market some of its greatest memorabilia in one of the world's most famous and well-respected auction houses.
NBA fans and sports collectors get an outlet where they can be 100% certain the items they buy are the real deal and not counterfeit. The guaranteed provenance and authenticity will make their purchases easier to appraise, insure and resell when the time comes. So, if you're a hoops collectibles fan, keep your eye on Sotheby's. It's your one-stop shop for high-end NBA memorabilia auctions.
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