NBA Star Victor Wembanyama NFT Sells for $110,000+ in Record-Breaking Auction

An NFT trading card based on NBA rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama sold for over $110,000 on Thursday, far surpassing the $67,333 that an individual paid for his physical trading card back in August.

The card, released by the officially licensed fantasy basketball game Sorare, went for 61.182 ETH, or about $110,120 at the time of the auction’s conclusion. The NFT is a unique single-edition card, meaning that auction winner “YNWA” is the only person to possess it.

“It is a milestone for the digital collectibles market that the highest amount ever paid for a Wembanyama card is now for a 1 of 1 digital Sorare Unique card,” a Sorare spokesperson told Cryptonews over email. “It is a testament to Victor Wembanyama’s enormous talent and popularity as a rising star of the league, as well as the core advantages of a digital Sorare card over a traditional physical sports collectible – proven ownership and real utility.”

According to Sports Illustrated, Wembanyama’s record physical trading card sale was sold in August at a price of $67,333 on Goldin, an auction platform for collectibles. The physical card was a “pre-rookie” card, released ahead of his official NBA debut.

The record-breaking sale can be attributed to Wembanyama’s fast-growing reputation as one of the most talented young players in the league. Yesterday, the 7-foot-4 center posted a monstrous statline of 38 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks to help his San Antonio Spurs topple the Phoenix Suns by a score of 132-121.

Sorare is a cryptocurrency-based fantasy sports game. Collectors purchase NFT digital player cards with Ethereum to create a virtual team of five players in soccer, basketball or baseball. Based on their players’ real-life performances, collectors can earn rewards such as cryptocurrency and additional NFTs.

According to CryptoSlam data, Sorare has amassed over $713 million in NFT sales across its platforms thus far. In 2021, the company secured a significant Series B funding round of $680 million, valuing Sorare at $4.3 billion.

Sorare NBA achieved its highest NFT sale record in February when an NFT featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks was sold for 113.9 ETH, equivalent to approximately $187,000 at that time.

The platform is rapidly growing in popularity amongst athletes as well. Last year, soccer superstars Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi as well as tennis legend Serena Williams all joined Sorare as an investor and brand ambassador.