Latest news with #PrizmSilver
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton cards jump in value as collectors seek next NBA megastar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton have become focal points of the NBA trading card market as the young Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers stars have guided their teams to the NBA Finals. Outside of aging veterans like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the injured Victor Wembanyama, and the still massive shadow cast by Michael Jordan, the NBA card market lacks bonafide box office draws, resulting in WNBA cards selling for more than comparable NBA cards for the first time ever. Advertisement With the NBA Finals starting Thursday, this will be prime ground for SGA and Haliburton to prove they belong in the spotlight. The two stars, both making their first trip to the NBA Finals, have been two of the more heavily transacted players in the last 30 days in terms of total card sales, according to Market Movers, which tracks card sales across multiple marketplaces. The Pacers guard ranks seventh among all basketball players with more than 4,100 individual card sales. The Thunder guard and newly crowned league MVP ranks eighth with more than 3,400 card sales. SGA's cards have commanded a much higher price tag than Haliburton's lot, though. Through the past month, SGA ranks eighth in total dollars as his cards sold for nearly $667,000 all together. Haliburton sits 10th on this list with nearly $331,000 in sales. For perspective, Michael Jordan ranks No. 1 on this list with $5.6 million. Let's use the players' Panini Prizm Silver rookie cards with a gem mint 10 grade from PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) as the baseline to gauge their markets, as they are popular cards that are frequently transacted but are more scarce than the base versions. SGA's 2018 card — with the Los Angeles Clippers — stands as one of the most expensive Prizm Silver rookie cards yielding an average price of $1,200 within the last 30 days. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic carry Prizm Silver rookie cards, and that's thanks in most part to a small population count for rookie cards with those two players. The $1,200 price tag is nearly double where it was at the beginning of the year, when this card averaged sales of $675. One SGA rookie card sold for as much as $1,400 during the last 30 days. His current card price has jumped 300 percent in the past two years, only carrying an average price tag of $300 in May 2023. Advertisement By the Thunder eliminating Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, the door feels wide open for SGA to take a firmer grasp at becoming one of the next big things in the basketball card hobby. Edwards' card market launched in last season's playoffs, specifically his 2020 Prizm Silver rookie in a PSA 10. In April 2024, Ant Man's card only sold on average for $597. His monster on-court run during the next month, during which searches for his name on eBay shot up 1,850 percent compared to the start of the season, launched this card into orbit with average sales on May 9 up to around $1,840. One week later, Edwards' cards drastically dipped in value to average sales of $1,120. The Silver rarely reached or topped that daily average ever since. Once this year's postseason commenced, we were right back where we started with Edwards. His 2020 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 was even lower in mid-April this year than where it was before his sharp uptick, selling for $561 on April 15. His market shot back up in May, with the Timberwolves' run to the Western Conference finals, as average sales reached as high as $1,090 as of May 20. Now with Minnesota falling to Oklahoma City, Edwards' gem mint Prizm Silver card is already dropping again, averaging $870 as of Sunday. The card market for Haliburton, the league's most overrated player according to his peers in this season's anonymous player poll by The Athletic, flourished from an immediate boom shortly after the Pacers landed a spot in the NBA Finals. Haliburton's 2020 Panini Prizm Black Finite one-of-a-kind rookie card with a PSA 10 grade sold for nearly $120,000 last Saturday, which is about $35,000 more than his highest selling card of any kind. This is quite the turnaround after Haliburton's market sank to an all-time low early this season. Advertisement Once selling for as high as $700 in September 2021, his 2020 Panini Prizm Silver PSA 10 graded rookie card only commanded an average price of $161 in mid December. This occurred five months before The Athletic published the poll. Haliburton's rookie card — with the Sacramento Kings — rarely commanded a sale of more than $200 until May. The card is now selling for an average of around $413 as of Sunday, with a high sale of $450 in the past 30 days. Had the New York Knicks toppled the Pacers, the NBA trading card world's eyes would've been glued to Knicks guard Jalen Brunson instead. His card values during the past year have been on a very similar plane as Haliburton. Brunson's 2018 Prizm Silver rookie card — with the Dallas Mavericks — in a PSA 10 sold on average as high as $318 in mid-May. After the Eastern Conference finals loss, the card now only averages $247 as of Sunday. Last season's NBA Finals felt the same way for a potential card value boom for Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. But he didn't play up to superstar level even though the Celtics won the title — so much so that teammate Jaylen Brown won the series MVP. Unfortunately for Tatum and his collectors, the forward ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Eastern Conference finals this year and will likely miss much of next season. His 2017 Prizm Silver rookie card with a PSA 10 grade went from averaging $979 in early June 2024 down to $585 as of Sunday. So even if you're the top star of an NBA championship winning team, it's no promise the player's card value will not only vault but maintain a new heightened price. But if SGA or Haliburton play to an NBA Finals MVP level, maybe one of the two, or even both players, could propel themselves into a higher trading card price bracket. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Four stars who could be in line for a NBA Playoff trading card value boost
LeBron James and Stephen Curry don't need a momentum boost within the sports card world. A robust, lucrative market continues to run strong and will remain intact for a long time to come. But who will be the next big NBA player with unflinching trading card hobby staying power to emerge? Victor Wembanyama was a popular pick, but his injury has put the brakes on his rapid ascent. Advertisement During playoff time last year, the hobby latched on to the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards. His most recognizable rookie card — 2020 Panini Prizm #258 — in the popular Silver parallel with a gem mint PSA 10 grade sold on average for $597 via Market Movers, which tracks card sales across multiple marketplaces, as of April 15, 2024. A monster run during last year's playoffs by Ant-Man during which searched for his name on eBay shot up 1,850 percent compared to the start of the season launched this card into orbit with average sales on May 9 up to around $1,840. One week later, Edwards' cards drastically dipped in value to average sales of $1,120. The Silver rarely reached or topped that daily average ever since. In fact, we're right back where we started with Edwards. His 2020 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 is even lower than where it sold one year ago before his sharp uptick. This card sold for $561 on Monday. So again, a hungry sector of the industry will watch this year's NBA Playoffs salivating for the next undeniable superstar. Let's take a glimpse at a selection of players who could be in line for a playoff bump if results go their way: The Oklahoma City Thunder guard could be hoisting his first regular season NBA MVP award after this season, and his card market is responding accordingly. SGA's 2018 Prizm Silver rookie card in a PSA 10 went from an $831 average price on Feb. 9 to a $1,550 average on March 13, a 107 percent increase. The price has fluctuated since then, but stood with a $1,180 average price as of April 13. It certainly appears expectations for Gilgeous-Alexander are reaching fever pitch with his market building up to this point for the last few years. What will it take for SGA to maintain this height? Or build even further on this? Probably an NBA Finals appearance and a title, respectively. After all, the Thunder enter the postseason as the oddmakers' favorite to capture the crown. Los Angeles' next cornerstone superstar represents the closest candidate to eventually enter James and Curry territory. This started well before the forward's seismic trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers a couple of months ago. Moving across the country to the NBA card hobby's version of the New York Yankees should only accelerate his market. Still, Dončić's rookie cards received an NBA Finals bump about a year ago. Advertisement His 2018 Prizm Silver parallel in a PSA 10 built average sales of $1,120 on May 21 last year. The Mavs' trip to the finals against the Boston Celtics propelled the card's sales as high as $2,060 on June 1. The loss to Boston probably didn't aid in maintaining prices close to the peak, however, with sales falling as low as $991 three weeks later. Then came the Lakers' bump for Dončić. The card jumped to as high as a $1,770 average price on Feb. 3, leveling off to a $1,410 average price as of Monday. It would be hard to imagine a massive dropoff for the forward if the Lakers flounder in the playoffs since it's clear he's the next face of the franchise, though. An increase up to last year's peak and even higher wouldn't be a shock if Los Angeles navigated its way to this year's finals. Apologies to the Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell and the Celtics' Jayson Tatum. An Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks playoff resurgence in the Eastern Conference could re-energize a once flourishing card market for the Greek Freak. Sales for Antetokounmpo's 2013 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 will always be far less frequent given the card's small PSA population count of just 88. For perspective, Dončić's version has a pop count of 2,375. That's also why the price for the Bucks star's cards will be much higher. The last sale for Antetokounmpo's version went for $6,370 on March 25. That's down 26.7 percent from a year ago. And in February 2022, the two average sales for the card were $34,700. The card's current value is at its lowest point since 2019. Given the Bucks rank fifth to win the Eastern Conference via BetMGM at +6000, the likelihood of an NBA Finals run probably seems slim. But maybe any sort of playoff heroics could provide a shot of adrenaline into his card market. This feels like a potential Ant-Man 2.0 situation. The 2021 No. 1 pick will make his NBA Playoff debut when the Detroit Pistons challenge the New York Knicks in the first round. Cunningham is in the midst of the best season of his career, and the Knicks feel vulnerable. In mid-November, his 2021 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 averaged only $203. The price popped as high as $660 in early March and now averages $561. That's right along where Edwards' version landed last year at this point. Any sharp upward turn could be sudden and the staying power might be quick like Edwards last year since this Pistons group carries no playoff history at all. The addition of Cunningham and the Pistons into the playoff picture has at least brought a budding star player into the conversation. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
New York Times
23-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Victor Wembanyama card sells for record $860,100 despite season-ending injury
A one-of-a-kind Victor Wembanyama rookie card sold for $860,100 on Saturday night, setting a new record for one of his trading cards despite his season-ending injury being announced earlier in the week. Wembanyama's 2023 Panini Prizm Nebula Choice 1/1 card was sold at auction by Goldin. The final sale exceeded the previous record for a Wembanyama card — his 2023 Prizm Black Shimmer 1/1 rookie card, which sold for $516,000 last April — by a considerable margin, particularly notable given the uncertainty around his health. The latest sale suggests that Wembanyama's high-end card collectors remain bullish on the 21-year-old's long-term career prospects even after Wednesday's news that his season is likely over due to a blood clot in his right shoulder. GO DEEPER The collectibles impact of Victor Wembanyama's season-ending injury When the news was first reported mid-day on Thursday, bidding was at just over $400,000 (including the buyer's premium). Following the announcement, it more than doubled to set a new record. GO DEEPER The best Victor Wembanyama cards to collect While this sale sets a new benchmark for Wembanyama's cards going forward, his more attainable rookie cards are starting to show the effects of his injury on the market. Earlier in the week, his popular 2023 Prizm Silver parallel was selling for around $850 in a gem-mint PSA 10 grade. After his injury, it dropped to around $650-$700. Since his layoff will be lengthy, that figure seems likely to go even lower in the coming months. However, buyers of super-rare, 1/1 cards often don't have the luxury of timing the short-term market for the bottom. Specific one-of-a-kind cards usually go to market so rarely that buyers feel the need to take the opportunity when it comes, even if it's just after a development that could potentially add further risk to the long-term value of the purchase. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
