‘Patience is a virtue.’ The Milwaukee Bucks fanbase lives by this line. They showed patience when their team picked up a lanky 190 lbs Greek dude, who not many people knew much about. They showed patience when he was still settling into a new country and getting up to speed with the pace of the league. And in return? Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years, en route to becoming the greatest player in the history of the franchise. But there was one fan who lacked this virtue. And he paid a heavy price for it. $1.8 million, to be exact!

And no, this wasn’t in a bet. It’s a decade-old incident that still haunts this fan. So what exactly happened? In 2014, a collector bought Giannis’ most valuable rookie card from an auction on eBay for just $7000. The card had a small stain on the back, which prompted this collector to return the card. The kicker?

Seven years later, the same card was sold for an eye-watering sum of $1.8 million! The exact amount of the sale was reportedly $1,812,000, leaving its previous owner in disbelief. In fact, at the time, it even broke the record of being the most expensive basketball card in history.

Even Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions, was surprised at the final amount. “The fact that we were able to achieve a new basketball card sale record for a player named something besides LeBron or Jordan shows the depth of the hobby.” Fun fact: this hobby is also shared by Giannis himself.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and his backup plan after the NBA

While the question marks still remain over Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks, there is one thing he will not have to worry about in the future. Money. Of course, he is one of the highest-paid players in the league, and deservedly so, with a player option in his contract kicking in next year, worth $62 million. Translation: Giannis’ future is secure financially.

But, just in case, were he to go broke suddenly. What then? Giannis has already planned for that possibility. And it involves his favorite hobby: Collecting Cards. In a highly unlikely scenario, if he needs urgent funds, his plan is to get these cards signed and sell them. “BP [Bobby Portis], he’s going to sign this. This is going to be worth a lot one day. And Donte [DiVincenzo]! I’m looking for Pat [Connaughton] and Grayson’s [Allen]. Yeah, if I ever go broke, I’m going to sell them. Just to have a backup plan. You know, your parents always told you to have a backup plan? This is my backup plan,” Giannis revealed.

And with Giannis changing his signature recently, the cards bearing his old signature became even more expensive and invaluable. Don’t bet against these cards being sold for even more than $1.8 million!