It's hard not to love Victor Wembanyama. Not only is the San Antonio Spurs standout a blast to watch on the court, but he's just as much fun outside of normal working hours. Take the time he swapped his comically large jersey for a comically small one at the request of a young fan, then organized an impromptu chess meet-up not even 24 hours later, for example. Two unrelated actions, yes, but both awesome.
Best jersey swap ever 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mcJxJQXlJI
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 28, 2024
Thanks for everyone who pulled up in the rain 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/qblm9xzOfL
— Wemby (@wemby) December 28, 2024
As for that first gesture, though—turns out that kindhearted and spontaneous swap has now taken somewhat of a cynical turn.
The new owners of that jersey, which was donated fresh off the center's back after the team's 96–87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, reportedly put it up for auction at Goldin auction house. The starting price? $10,000, with bidding set to begin on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m.
"Wembanyama, who has swiftly developed a reputation as a man of the people due to positive interactions with fans, immediately stripped this offered San Antonio Spurs City Edition basketball jersey from his back and exchanged it with the young fan, with the two even standing side by side for a quick photo op (with the massive height difference making for an incredible image)," the description on the listing reads.
Well, at some point, Wemby caught word of this cash grab and responded to the news on social media with a simple but telling emoji reply:
— Wemby (@wemby) January 15, 2025
There's bound to be interest in the listing given the virality of the interaction, so those auctioning it off are in for a nice windfall; i.e. you can see why they chose to do it. Still, it definitely stinks for Wemby that something he did with presumably pure intentions is being used for financial gain.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Sad to See Jersey From Viral Swap Up for Auction.
