The proud owner of Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg's 1-of-1 numbered rookie debut patch autograph card has come forward.
Fifty-year-old Jason Williams of South Carolina acquired the card after spending $515 to purchase a spot on the stream of RhodyBreakers, a division of the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island retail shop that opens boxes of trading cards on a livestream for clients. On Monday night, Williams had the stream up on a big screen as his wife and son were getting ready for bed.
"They slid that card over and I just slid to the floor crying," Williams told ESPN on Friday. "... It took me about five seconds to realize what I was looking at on that screen."
A machine shop owner and father of five who lives in Clover, Williams has been collecting cards on and off since he was 12 years old. Prior to this, his most valuable card pull was a card of Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal that he sold for $4,500 -- although, he said, a year later he saw it for upward of $70,000 at auction.
Williams' Flagg card will almost certainly be worth significantly more. A similar card featuring Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes fetched $1.1 million last year. The Mavericks have offered a bounty to the winner that includes season tickets for 32 years, a signed game-worn Flagg jersey and a photograph with the star.
Williams says he has not yet decided what to do with the card.
"It's in a safe place for right now," Williams told ESPN on Friday. "I'm just sort of trying to lay low."
As a passionate card collector, Williams is aware of the enormity of his find, but he's still coming to terms with it.
"Who would have thought?" Williams said. "It still hasn't really sunk in. I know what I got, but I dunno, it's surreal."
