Big news in the sports world this week as LeBron James finally made his decision about where he is going to play next year, and as you know he decided on the Philadelphia 76ers. So, what does that mean for his sports card and collectibles market?
Shrug emoji.
His cards were already starting to go up-up-up over the last few weeks or so in anticipation of not only his latest decision but in response to the massive Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant card market boom that has happened in the last few months. It seemed only right that the nostalgia and fomo would carry into the LeBron market.
And while many of his flagship Topps rookie cards are in the thousands of dollars, there are still some fun LeBron collectibles on the market that I think are worth grabbing and holding for the long run.
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The Campioni di Futuro (mini) rookie card is maybe my all-time favorite. It’s odd, it’s adorable and it’s under $100 for a raw. There’s also numbered and different color variations, and while it may not bring you generational wealth, it certainly remains relatively rare for a LeBron rookie.
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It’s crazy to me that these LeBron James rookie card mini Hummers are still affordable. It not only includes a rookie card but you also get a toy car!!
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Oddly the market is hot on LeBron’s “Prizm rookie card” from 2012-13, the first year of Panini Prizm, is exploding. The PSA 10’s are well over $1,000 but you can still grab a PSA 9 or a raw version for under $500. I’m not fully sure how this card will hold up in the long-run but collectors seem to be digging it.
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The 2014-15 NBA Hoops “Lights…Camera…Action” insert might be the most underrated card of his – it has maybe the coolest shot of his famed chalk toss and it can still be had for under $50 raw. And there’s only like ~10 copies of the card graded. It’s a fun one!
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I still love the second-year LeBron James playing card officially licensed by the NBA. This card used to be $30-$40 raw a few years ago, now it’s over 10x that… but that doesn’t mean I love it any less.
Related, but unrelated, this is so dumb but I love it: a LeBron James hanger. It’s a good bit, too, when he retires and you, alone in your closet, putting your clothes on hangers, look at the LeBron hanger and say “Hey, LeBron, time to hang it up…”
See, there’s lots of dumb, fun and affordable LeBron James cards and collectibles out there. I imagine we’ll see a record-breaking print run on his Topps Now 76ers card which would ultimately deem that worthless, but if you like to gamble and chase the auto then by all means.
Speaking of potential markets that might “pop off” – you have to think on the heels of the Jordan, Kobe and LeBron markets going way up that guys like Shaq, Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan might not be too far behind. Yes, we’re getting into massive print runs but as we’re seeing with Jordan and Kobe, specifically, inserts are what collectors are hunting for.
The ‘next-man-up’ of it all seems ripe.
Speaking of Kobe Bryant, there’s an interesting rookie card that is starting to make some noise. It’s the Topps 1996-97 rookie card with the “50th Anniversary” foil on it.
It’s “foil” which means it’s not “paper” but it’s not quite chrome either. What’s interesting about it is the SP nature of it – the fact that there are over 67,000 graded copies of his base Topps rookie and only about 3,500 graded copies of the “50th Anniversary” parallel. The Topps Chrome version of the same card has over 10,000 cards graded.
The prices for the 50th parallel feel very much undervalued – for example, a PSA 9 version of the Chrome (which has over 4,000 graded copies in a 9) goes for about $4,000 while the PSA 9 version of the parallel (which has less than 1,000 graded copies in a 9) goes for about $1,900.
You see what I’m getting at?
Speaking of dudes who might retire soon… let’s not forget about Steph Curry. When he retires in the next few years his cards will go on the post-announcement run.
Speaking of, um, basketball, don’t look now but the Sophie Cunningham “I said what I said” market boom is in full swing! She’s rivaling the likes of Michael Jordan and Dylan Harper in market increase over the last 14 days, according to ALT.
Now, we won’t get into the politics of “why” but I do want to remind you “not to get caught holding the bag.” People are buying less on talent and more on the fact that she said what she said. Saying things can be good for short term investments, but it never works out in the long run.
Finally… Speaking of something else other than basketball cards, you should take a look at what Kimi Antonelli is doing in F1. He’s the latest to enter the “generational talent” area at just 19 years old. His card market is already taking off with his 2025 Topps Chrome rookie cards heating up.
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