Pop Report: Morant Tops Jordan in Latest PSA Returns

PSA graded 173,544 cards last week — a 16% decrease compared to the prior week — while Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant rose to the top spot among the most-graded basketball cards.

Read this week’s Pop Report from GemRate for the latest trends in PSA grading.

From a category perspective:

• Results across categories were much more mixed this past week. The top two sports – basketball and baseball – declined while football and soccer showed modest increases. Hockey was down double digit percentages.

The mix of the top 50 players (and characters) graded during the period were as follows

21 – Basketball

13 – Baseball

9 – Football

7 – TCG

Below you’ll find a list of the top players graded for each category. 

An important consideration is what to make of this list. In the current situation where fears of junk slabs dominate the hobby, ranking high on this list likely is negatively correlated with price as that signals a meaningful number of slabs could move into the market in the near future. However, under normal circumstances, it could potentially be a leading indicator of positive price correlation as the list more accurately represents forward looking activity (i.e. bets being placed on players) and price potential.

BASKETBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Coby White, Trae Young, LaMelo Ball
• DOWN: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant
• OUT: RJ Barrett

BASEBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP:  Fernando Tatis Jr., Kyle Lewis, Yordan Alvarez, Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Jasson Dominguez
• DOWN: Randy Arozarena 
• OUT: Derek Jeter, Gavin Lux

FOOTBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Mac Jones, Justin Jefferson
• DOWN: Tom Brady, Kyler Murray

SOCCER

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Youssoufa Moukoko, Pele, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford
• DOWN: Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham
• OUT: Neymar Jr., Ansu Fati

Note: Hockey and soccer lists are more volatile because grading activity is lower. Much smaller moves in grading activity can have a big impact on these lists.

HOCKEY

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Connor McDavid, Mario Lemieux, Auston Matthews, Alexis Lafreniere 
• DOWN: Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr 
• OUT: Kirby Dach, Bobby Orr, Jack Hughes

Note: Hockey and soccer lists are more volatile because grading activity is lower. Much smaller moves in grading activity can have a big impact on these lists.

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