Teenager finds lucrative trading card worth $160,000 in Adelaide shop

An 18-year-old trainee pilot is the envy of the sports trading card community after plucking a one-of-a-kind NBA collectible in South Australia.

When Johnny Li walked into Adelaide’s Sport’s Card World immediately after completing a training flight, he could never have known his life was about to take off.

Already, he’s been inundated with offers so lucrative, he could pay off his tuition in one swoop - but he’s not yet certain whether to sell it or keep it.

“It’s a hard decision, it’s 1 of 1 only 1 copy of this card in the world,” Li told 9News.

It started with the teenager’s idolisation of NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama, who at 7′4″ already transcends the sport.

In search of Wemby, as he’s also known, Li purchased a pack of NBA trading cards on the spur of the moment.

It turned out to be a winning lottery ticket, scoring a unique card collectors the world over would dream of plucking.

“I was tripping at the time, shocked,” he recalled.

Nick Dimasi was the one who picked out the specific pack for the 18-year-old.

“It was an instant, screaming, hands on head moment, couldn’t breath for about five seconds, then remembered I’ve got a job to do, and that was to get the card safe,” the Sports Card World employee told 9News.

Once word spread of his prize, the offers flooded in - one of $US115,000 ($160,000)

“It’s pretty big, we’ve been in business for 32 years, we’ve had some pretty good cards pulled over the years - Michael Jordan autographs, Lebron James, but this would be up there with one of the biggest and most expensive cards for sure,” Sports Card World Owner Matt Maloney told 9News.

The global hobby has exploded further since COVID, with many traders believing Australia misses out on the best cards. This slice of luck bucks that trend.

For someone to actually walk into Australia and pull a card like that, it gives everyone hope that they’re going to be the lucky ones next time,” Maloney said.

And as much as he loves Wemby, Li is on the verge of sealing the sale.

“It changes his life so I would say sell it, personally,” Dimasi said.