Victor Wembanyama’s Biggest Card Hasn’t Been Found and No One is Looking For It
It’s safe to say that San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is one of the biggest stars currently in the NBA. Just recently, Victor reached 200 3-pointers in 94 games played. This is surprising since he’s a big man, achieving the milestone five games faster than Steph Curry, the sharp-shooting guard.
In the collectibles space, the biggest stars from the NFL, MLB, NBA, and WNBA command a premium for their early Rookie or Bowman "1st" cards. Last year, Topps announced an event where lucky collectors had a chance to acquire one of Victor Wembanyama’s most significant cards. This card, from the 2022-23 Bowman University Chrome Basketball set, was the 1/99 Autographed Green Parallel, inscribed with “First Card Ever Signed.” Currently, all of his autographs in the product are redemptions, meaning collectors needed to redeem the card prior to the event to participate.
However, this might not be his best card ever—or even his best card from that product—and I’ll explain why.
It’s well known that certain cards are more desirable, particularly Bowman’s "1st" on-card autographs, as they are often a player’s first autographed card. These cards can feature a variety of parallels, with the Superfractor 1-of-1 always being the most sought after. However, in the case of Victor Wembanyama, the focus was so heavily on the green parallels out of 99—due to the chance to meet him and potentially obtain the inscribed card—that it seemed like everyone overlooked the Superfractor Autograph. Fast forward a year, and we’ve now seen numerous products featuring his autographs and parallels, including a high-end release exclusively centered on Victor Wembanyama called "Mercury."
In April 2024, Topps announced that all redemptions from 2021-22 to current products would have their expiration dates extended by an additional 10 years. Could one of the reasons for this decision be tied to Victor Wembanyama’s Bowman’s "1st" autographs being redemptions? If he’s the new face of both the NBA and Topps, I believe that’s a strong possibility.
What’s even more intriguing is the prevalence of bounties offered for specific cards in almost every product these days. However, this Superfractor On-Card Autograph 1-of-1 has never had a bounty placed on it. It feels like this card might eventually be lost forever, joining the ranks of other legendary sports cards that have yet to surface over the years.
The 2022-23 Bowman University Chrome remains a relatively affordable product compared to other basketball releases, yet it features Bowman’s "1st" autographs of rising stars like Caitlin Clark, Brandon Miller, and USC standout JuJu Watkins. Often, products linger on shelves due to lackluster checklists, but with this lineup, that doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.
This brings up some intriguing questions: Where is the Victor Wembanyama 2022-23 Bowman University Chrome Superfractor Autograph? Should it be considered his best card to date? And why isn’t anyone actively searching for it?
