On his first day of collecting basketball cards, Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams pulled a Luka Dončić RPA rookie card potentially worth more than $100,000 at Fanatics Fest NYC on Friday afternoon.
Williams, who is a Pokemon collector, pulled Dončić's 2018-19 Panini National Treasures Dončić RPA Gold Rookie Patch Autograph from a box he purchased for $10,500 earlier in the day from dealer Mojo Breaks.
Hornets forward @Grant2Will, on his first day collecting basketball cards, bought a box of National Treasures for $10,500.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 16, 2024
He pulled a Luka Dončić worth at least $100,000. pic.twitter.com/ZOJANbK9sg
“I just erupt,” Williams told cllct, recounting his reaction to opening the box. “Everyone around me goes crazy, too.”
The last sale of the card came in March, when a PSA 9/Auto 10 sold for $117,120 at Goldin Auctions. During the market peak in 2021, a BGS 9.5 copy fetched an astonishing $666,000.
Williams says he has already received multiple offers, including one for $500,000.
“I gotta give Luka first right of refusal because he would buy this for like a million I bet,” said Williams, who played alongside the Slovenian star for part of last season on the Dallas Mavericks. “I FaceTimed him twice, he didn’t pick up.”
Williams is submitting the card for on-site grading through PSA and will receive a grade this weekend.
The unbelievable odds of an active NBA player pulling one of the most expensive and sought-after modern basketball cards on his first day of collecting is not lost on Williams.
“This is absurd.”
Realizing his luck, Williams said he might put his hot streak to the test by buying another box.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.