The hobby of collecting NBA trading cards is booming just like that of other major sports trading cards. As the sports card industry continues to see a boom in sales of individual sports cards as well as hobby boxes and retail boxes, prices will continue to rise. The boom in the sports card industry has created sales at All-Time highs including many of the top tier cards selling for extreme prices landing them on the Top 10 Most Expensive Basketball Cards 2022 list.
As the Top 10 Most Expensive Baseball Cards include multiple vintage cards, many of the top selling basketball cards feature stars that are currently playing or have played within the 1980’s to current day. Leading that charge is LeBron James who has multiple sports card sales of at least $1 million dollars. Meanwhile some of the other most expensive Basketball cards include Michael Jordan, Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If you are new to sports cards, take the time to read our beginners guide to sports cards while also taking the opportunity to learn more about sports card grading with our sports card grading guide. Looking for the next wave of Top Tier Basketball cards to invest in? Look at our 2022 Hot Basketball Rookie Cards to collect piece for basketball cards to invest in.
Top 10 Most Expensive Basketball Cards 2022
As you continue to read on, you will learn more about the most expensive basketball cards in the world as well as deeper look into the various items impacting the value of basketball cards. Whether you are a fan of basketball cards, a basketball card collector, or a sports card investor watching these record sales prices is exciting.
Items Impacting the Most Expensive Basketball Cards
When you look at sport cards in general many single items have the potential to decrease or increase the value of the card. That same can be said for basketball cards as a wide range of items play a key factor in how a basketball card will do during auction or in a sale. These various items include the year of the basketball card, the ERA of the basketball card, the rarity of the basketball card, whether the basketball card is graded, and how the basketball player is trending.
With that said, here are the various items impacting the value of all sports cards including the Top 10 Most Expensive Basketball Cards All-Time.
ERA & Year of Basketball Card – Most Expensive Basketball Cards
While basketball cards have not been around or produced as consistent as other sports including baseball cards, some products were still produced at various points in 1948, 1957, and the early 1960’s. As sports card investors have turned to the high-end basketball sports cards of modern days, many of the top tier vintage rookie cards have a potential to bring top value as well.
Rarity of the Basketball Card – Most Expensive Basketball Cards
In today’s crazy sports card market, how rare a basketball card is will determine how high it will sell on the sports card marketplaces such as eBay and Check Out My Cards as well as within major auctions. While the rarity of the card can be factored on a few different items including how many cards were produced of that single card, how difficult the card is to receive a grade of 10 by top tier sports grading companies such as BGS and PSA, and whether the card is autographed.
Many of the hottest selling basketball cards and the most expensive basketball cards feature 1/1 or 1 of 1 cards that only have one card produced of that player.
Type and Quality of Basketball Card – Most Expensive Basketball Cards
As the rarity of the card plays a key impact on how much a basketball card will sell for, the type of basketball card and the quality of the basketball card product also plays a factor. The type of basketball card can play a key role for example a standard Basketball Rookie Card of a Luka Doncic will sell for much less than a variation or parallel of the same card. One example would be a Panini Prizm Luka Doncic rookie card vs a Panini Prizm Silver Parallel Luka Doncic Rookie Card.
In addition to the type of card, the quality of the basketball cards also plays a role. When we talk about quality, we mean whether the product is a lower product like Panini Hoops Basketball or Panini National Treasures. Panini Hoops Basketball is a low-end basketball card product whereas Panini National Treasures is high end with boxes ranging above the $1,000 mark. Read our guide on the different types of sports cards to learn more.
Graded Baseball Card or Non-Graded Basketball Card – Most Expensive Basketball Cards
Like all of sports cards and basketball cards in general, having a card graded compared to a non-graded basketball card has the potential to drive the sale price up. For example, having a rookie card of a top tier rookie might bring you $300 because of the chance it can bring a lower grade, where the same rookie card graded a 10 may bring $1,500 to $2,000. Before having your basketball cards graded take the time to learn what goes into grading because spending money on a card to receive a grade of 8.5 or 9 may not be worth it.
In addition, grading vintage baseball cards can also drastically drive the value of the card up based on the population report of each specific card. Not sure what sports card grading company is better? Read our articles comparing BGS VS PSA, PSA VS SGC, CSG VS BGS, and BGS VS SGC.
Basketball Team of Basketball Player featured on Card
The team the basketball player plays on can also have impacts on the card as more sports card collectors may collect a top tier team compared to lower tier markets. The more people looking to buy that single player the demand for the card increases and the basketball card prices skyrocket.
Current Basketball Trends (Hot, Cold, Awards, Call Up, Etc.)
Lastly any basketball trends that might play a direct role or relationship to that player has the potential to increase the basketball cards value. For example, a deep playoff run, and eventual NBA Finals Championship could increase a cards value. Whereas a player who struggles in the playoffs might see their value of their sports cards take a stumble. Other trends that could impact basketball cards include hot/cold streaks, major awards like the MVP, and even a trade to a larger market team.
Top 10 Most Expensive Basketball Cards 2022
#10 2003-04 Exquisite Collection Rookie Parallel LeBron James RPA BGS 8.5
$1,572,000 sold by Goldin Auctions on January 8th, 2022
#9 2006-07 Exquisite Collection Triple LOGOMAN Michael Jordan/LeBron James/Kobe Bryant 1 of 1
$1,680,000 sold by Goldin Auctions on August 6th, 2022
#8 1996-97 Topps Chrome Kobe Bryant RC BGS 10 Pristine Black Label
$1,795,800 sold by Goldin Auctions in March 2021
#7 2013-14 Panini National Treasures Giannis Antetokounmpo 1/1 LOGOMAN BGS 9
$1,857,300 sold by Goldin Auctions in September 2020
#6 1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Kobe Bryant BGS 8.5
$2,000,000 sold by PWCC marketplace on February 22nd, 2022
#5 2003-04 Exquisite Collection Rookie Parallel LeBron James RPA BGS 9
$2,100,000 sold by Goldin Auctions in August 2020
#4 2020-21 Panini Flawless Triple LOGOMAN LeBron James 1/1
$2,400,000 sold by Goldin Auctions on June 25th, 2022
#3 2018-19 Panini National Treasures Luka Doncic 1/1 LOGOMAN (Ungraded)
$4,600,000 sold in February 2021
#2 2003-04 Exquisite Collection Rookie Parallel LeBron James RPA BGS 9
(Maybe featured for another BGS 9)
$5,200,000 sold by on April 26th, 2021
#1 2009 Playoff National Treasures Stephen Curry 1/1 LOGOMAN PSA 8
$5,900,000 sold by on July 6th, 2021
Looking for the Most Expensive Sports Cards in other top sports? Read our Top 10 Most Expensive Hockey Cards, Top 10 Most Expensive Baseball Cards, Top 10 Most Expensive Football Cards, and Top 10 Most Expensive Soccer Cards.. What basketball cards do you think have the potential to top these most expensive basketball cards?
3 Comments
Seeking Most Valuable Basketball Cards, All, up to 2022
Hello, Kenneth. Jim here. I see you are looking for cards. I have probably 400 basketball, including lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Larry bird, Michael Jordan, and many others. If you could send me a specific list of what you are looking for, I will check my collection. I have some value here, and I’m sure we can come to a mutual agreement on some of the cards. Thank you for your time.
Into: 1,456 Basketball Cards. Picked up All, Twenty Seven Years Ago! Over Twenty, By Michael Jordan, Some Cards, looking New, but from my Birth Year, 1948. Have 1950, 60, 65,70,75, A lot of Years. Want to submit, send photos/ Front and Rear. BUT! How, and How Many. If limited, which ones.