Cooper Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks rookie debut game-worn jersey sold privately for $1 million earlier this month through Sotheby’s, the company announced Thursday. It’s the highest known sale of a Flagg collectible to date.

“I think people see Flagg with the potential for an American icon,” said Brahm Wachter, head of modern collectibles at Sotheby’s. “I’m not quite sure that, at least in my time handling sort of young rookie memorabilia, that I’ve seen anything quite like this demand since LeBron (James).”

Flagg wore the jersey during the first half of his NBA regular-season debut, when Dallas played the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 22, 2025. The Flagg sale surpassed a Victor Wembanyama debut jersey sale in November 2023 for $762,000 through Sotheby’s NBA Auctions program. Flagg and Wembanyama both wore multiple jerseys during their rookie debut games.

Flagg’s jersey was sold privately for $1 million. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)

Wachter said the choice to sell the Flagg jersey privately rather than through an auction like the Wembanyama jersey happened organically.

“There are some clients that are very interested in rookie debut jerseys,” Wachter said. “I think in many ways, things from athletes’ rookie seasons, we’ve seen tremendous demand. There’s always been demand for it in the collectible community. That’s why everyone’s always chasing rookie cards. But given the strong interest that we had and the price that we were able to get for the jersey, we just decided it was time to let it go.”

Michael Jordan still holds the record for the most expensive rookie jersey sold. An autographed 1984 Chicago Bulls jersey worn during Jordan’s rookie year sold through Sotheby’s for $4.2 million in March 2025.

The Flagg jersey did not include the Rookie Debut Patch he wore on it during that first game. The patch was removed from the jersey after the game and will be put into a one-of-one autographed Topps trading card that may be the next item to challenge both his top card and overall collectible record sales. (To date, Flagg’s highest publicly known card sale was his 2025-26 Topps Chrome Silver Pack autographed 1/1 Superfractor rookie card, which sold for $180,000 on Dec. 19.)

Topps hasn’t announced which set will include its first round of NBA Rookie Debut Patch cards. The program began in baseball, where the Paul Skenes Debut Patch card holds the record for the highest price within the concept’s history, selling for $1.11 million last year to Dick’s Sporting Goods. The company has the card on display in a Pittsburgh-area store.

“They (Flagg’s NBA rookie debut jersey and upcoming Topps Rookie Debut Patch card) are related, but they’re not quite siblings,” Wachter said. “I would say it’s very hard to extrapolate the value of that card without it going to auction. Having said that, I think it will be one of the most hyped modern cards that has ever come out. It wouldn’t surprise me if we were talking about multiple millions for that card.”

Sotheby’s will hold an NBA rookie debut jersey auction, presented in partnership with the league, with bidding from March 17 through March 23. The auction will contain jerseys from several rookies not named Cooper Flagg, including the Philadelphia 76ers’ VJ Edgecombe, Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel, San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper and New Orleans Pelicans’ Derik Queen.

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