The NBA season is off and dribbling and we take a look at the top rookie basketball cards to buy. The nickname “Wemby” will become familiar with collectors if it hasn’t already. And no, Wemby is not a McDonald’s restaurant cartoon character! Read on to learn about the hot rookie sports cards collectors are seeking out heading into 2024.
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Victor Wembanyama | Center | San Antonio Spurs
Wemby has arrived! And basketball card collectors throughout the globe are fervently buying and collecting Victor Wenbanyana rookie cards this holiday season.
Victor Wembanyama is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wemby was selected first overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft and widely considered one of the greatest basketball prospects of his generation. He has already recorded several impressive performances, such as scoring 40 points and grabbing 15 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets on November 10, 2023.
Victor Wembanyama NBA Stats
Wembanyama is averaging 19.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game in the 2023-24 NBA season. He is also shooting 42.9% from the field, 28.4% from the three-point line, and 77.8% from the free-throw line. He leads the league in blocks and ranks 16th in rebounds.
Victor Wembanyama Basketball Rookie Cards
Demand is high for Victor Wembanyama rookie cards. Vic is a highly anticipated NBA rookie that has sports cards collectors clamoring for his cardboard. Early supply has been scarce, but Wemby has a few basketball cards available before his official debut in the 2023-24 season.
Some of the best Wembanyama rookie cards to collect are:
- 2023 Sports Illustrated for Kids Victor Wembanyama #1053. This is his first and most sought-after card, featuring him with Metropolitans 92. It came as part of a nine-card sheet in the January/February 2023 issue of the magazine.
Collectors are in love with this card and bidding up to obtain it! The PSA 9 version of this card recently sold for on eBay for $10,100.00. Due to the nature of card sheet edges it’s likely going to be hard finding many of these rookie cards in PSA 9 or PSA 10. - 2022-23 Bowman University Inception Autographs Victor Wembanyama #BIA-VW. This is his first card from Topps(eBay) and his first autograph card. It is a redemption card that comes in various foil parallels.
- 2022-23 Bowman(eBay) University Chrome Victor Wembanyama #101. This is his first Bowman base card and a short print in the product. It does not have any refractor parallels, just the base version.
These are some of the most popular and valuable Wembanyama rookie cards on the market. Many Panini Victor Wembanyama rookie cards in a San Antonio Spurs uniform release in 2024.
Chet Holmgren | Power Forward | Oklahoma City Thunder
Chet Holmgren is a rookie power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was drafted in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft as the second overall pick. He played college basketball at Gonzaga, where he won the national championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in 2022.
Chet Holmgren was a lock last year to contend for the 2022 NBA ROY until an early season injury ended his season. Holmgren’s basketball cards went ice cold. Holmgren is now back. And picking up where he left off. Basketball card collectors are jumping back in to collect and buy Holmgren rookie cards.
Holmgren currently ranks second (+450) in the NBA 2023-24 Rookie of the Year chase. Chet is behind the clear favorite Victor Wembanyama, but is not disappointing sports card collectors with his early season performance. Although Wembanyama has almost half the overall cash handle at 48.8%, it’s interesting to note Holmgren has a higher ticket share at 28.3%. Holmgren also has closed the gap a bit on Wemby. And both these rookies are worth watching and collecting.
Victor Wembanyama NBA 2023-24 Rookie of the Year Rank
| Odds | Opening Odds | Tickets | Handle |
| -350 | -225 | 16.4% | 48.8% |
Chet Holmgren NBA 2023-24 Rookie of the Year Rank
| Odds | Opening Odds | Tickets | Handle |
| +450 | +500 | 28.3% | 19.9% |
Chet Holmgren NBA Stats
As of November 15, 2023, Holmgren is averaging 15.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game in the 2023-24 season. He is shooting 52.9% from the field, 44.2% from the three-point line, and 91.1% from the free-throw line. He ranks among the top 100 players in the league in each of these categories.
Holmgren is a versatile and skilled big man who can score inside and outside, pass, rebound, and defend. He is one of the most promising young players in the NBA.
Chet Holmgren Basketball Rookie Cards
- 2022 Topps X Chet Holmgren Curated Basketball Cards. This is a Topps exclusive limited edition set. The set includes nine cards featuring Holmgren in different artistic styles by three Topps artists: Blake Jamieson, Mikael B, and Jacob Rochester. The cards come in various parallels, including silver framed artist proof (/20), gold framed artist proof (/1), and autographs (/99).
- 2022 Prizm Monopoly Collab. This is a new variation of the popular Prizm set that features Holmgren and other rookies in Monopoly-themed designs. The cards have different parallels, such as Boardwalk (/299), Park Place (/199), Chance (/99), Community Chest (/49), and Go To Jail (/25). The Prizm Monoply variations trend high with collectors and are some of the most valuable Prizm rookie cards in the sports card market.
- 2022 Hoops Tribute. This is a classic Hoops card that pays homage to the 1990-91 Hoops design. It features Holmgren in his Thunder jersey with a blue border. The card has several parallels, such as Teal Explosion (/199), Purple (/25), and Artist Proof Gold (/10).
As always, Baseball-Trading-Cards.com serves as your go-to source for current sports cards price history and PSA pop guides and hobby trends.
Happy Holiday Collecting!
