Zion Williamson’s Card Market Rallies Back During Dominant December

A history of injuries has made Zion Williamson’s card market quite volatile, but the hobby favorite is back on top this week while cruising through a fantastic December.

Williamson and the Pelicans sit in second place in the Western Conference, and after cooling following a hot start, his card market is trending back up with the playoffs in reach. Read about Williamson and other trending stars in this week’s NBA Market Movers update.

Cards listed below are PSA 10s with a minimum average of $30 and 10 sales over the last 30 days.

PRICE GROWTH PERCENTAGE RISERS

1. Deandre Ayton 2018 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📈 197%

2. Zion Williamson 2019 Prizm Fireworks PSA 10 📈 115%

3. Zion Williamson 2019 Prizm Draft Picks Silver PSA 10 📈 103%

4. Ja Morant 2019 Mosaic Reactive Blue PSA 10 📈 85%

5. Zion Williamson 2019 Hoops Premium Stock Base PSA 10 📈 79%

WILLIAMSON TRENDS UP: While most of the NBA market has struggled to remain positive, Zion Williamson has ticked up over the last month. He’s been putting up incredible numbers for the Pelicans this season — New Orleans is second in the West — and has bumped his 25-7-4 season averages up to 30-9-5 in December.

Williamson’s key rookies across Prizm, Optic, Donruss and Select are all up over the last 30 days, with his 2019 Donruss Base PSA 10 leading the way in price growth at +101% and his 2019 Prizm Base PSA 10 leading in sales volume with 259 sales over that same period.

The recent positive trend for Williamson comes just two weeks after his market had corrected some following a strong start, and this new adjustment just continues to show how quickly the market reacts to Williamson specifically.

Most don’t expect the Pelicans to stay second in the West, but it’ll be interesting to see what his card market goes if New Orleans can do some damage in the playoffs.

PRICE GROWTH PERCENTAGE DECLINERS

1. Keldon Johnson 2019 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 62%

2. Jayson Tatum 2017 Prestige Base PSA 10 📉 52%

3. Ja Morant 2020 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 52%

4. LaMelo Ball 2020 Mosaic Green PSA 10 📉 49%

5. Luka Doncic 2018 Chronicles Phoenix PSA 10 📉 49%

TATUM OUTLIER: Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-level season, and it looks like his appearance here with the 2017 Prestige Base PSA 10 is a bit of an outlier. Of the stars here, Tatum is the only to remain positive collectively on his PSA 10s tracked by Market Movers over the last 30 days — Morant, Doncic and Ball are all negative over that same period.

Not all of Tatum’s other cards are up, of course, but a good indicator for his market health overall is the 30% price growth on his 2017 Optic Base PSA 10 and the 26% growth on his 2017 Prizm Base PSA 10 over the last month. Key rookies like his 2017 Donruss Base PSA 10 and 2017 Select Concourse PSA 10 are down, but this is a good reminder that cards aren’t all created equal, and a large dip on a less popular card shouldn’t outweigh positive growth elsewhere on signature products with much higher sales volume.

DOLLAR GROWTH RISERS

1. LeBron James 2003 Upper Deck MVP PSA 10 📈 $237

2. Steph Curry 2009 Upper Deck PSA 10 📈 $202

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo 2013 Prizm Base PSA 10 📈 $192

4. Kobe Bryant 1996 Topps Base PSA 10 📈 $97

5. Zion Williamson 2019 Optic Holo PSA 10 📈 $95

VALUE DEALS: For the second week in a row, the hobby has put a priority on snagging value rookies of all-time greats. LeBron James‘ 2003 Upper Deck MVP is back at the top as a strong alternative to his 2003 Topps Base and 2003 Topps Chrome Base. Steph Curry‘s 2009 Upper Deck has also made an appearance here as a lower-priced option compared to his 2009 Topps Base.

DOLLAR GROWTH DECLINERS

1. LeBron James 2003 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10 📉 $752

2. Ja Morant 2019 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 $319

3. Kobe Bryant 1996 Topps Finest Bronze Base PSA 10 📉 $291

4. Luka Doncic 2018 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 $257

5. Donovan Mitchell 2017 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 $221

PREMIUM DECLINES: The emphasis on value plays referenced above makes this list make a lot of sense — if value plays are in right now, some of these more premium options for key stars are taking an expected dip.

When comparing the Base Prizm to the Silver Prizm for Luka Doncic and Ja Morant, one thing that does stand out is how Doncic’s 2018 Prizm Base PSA 10 has been able to maintain positive price growth over the last month. His 2019 Prizm Silver PSA 10 is down 17% over the last 30 days, and both of Morant’s key Prizm cards are down, too. The Basketball 2018-2020 Market Pulse Index is down 9% over that same period, but Doncic’s Base Prizm has managed to dodge that dip despite over 200 sales.

Doncic’s PSA 10s tracked by Market Movers are down 3% collectively over the last 30 days, but his collectors and investors will at least be happy to see his key rookie remain mostly unharmed.

SALES VOLUME LEADERS

1. Zion Williamson 2019 Prizm Base PSA 10 📈 263 sales

2. Luka Doncic 2018 Prizm Base PSA 10 📈 224 sales

3. Ja Morant 2019 Prizm Base PSA 10 📈 213 sales

4. Zion Williamson 2019 Optic Base PSA 10 📈 161 sales

5. Zion Williamson 2019 Mosaic Base PSA 10 📈 125 sales

POPULAR SEALED WAX (HOBBY BOXES WITH MIN. 10 SALES OVER LAST 30 DAYS)

1. 2022 Chronicles Draft Picks Basketball 📉 23%

2. 2021 Panini One and One Basketball 📈 4%

3. 2021 Select Basketball 📉 5%

4. 2022 Revolution WNBA Basketball 📉 39%

5. 2021 Topps Inception OTE Overtime Elite Basketball 📈 5%

MARKET PULSE INDEXES OVER LAST 30 DAYS

Basketball 2018-2020: 📉 9%

• KEY RISER: Luka Doncic 2018 Prizm Mosaic Base PSA 10 📈 30%
• KEY DECLINER: Luka Doncic 2018 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📉 17%

Basketball 2010-2017: 📉 5%

• KEY RISER: Jayson Tatum 2017 Prizm Silver PSA 10 📈 30%
• KEY DECLINER: Giannis Antetokounmpo 2013 Select Base PSA 10 📉 21%

Basketball 2000-2009: 📉 8%

• KEY RISER: LeBron James 2003 Upper Deck MVP PSA 10 📈 73%
• KEY DECLINER: LeBron James 2003 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10 📉 11%

Basketball 1990-1999: 📉 1%

• KEY RISER: Kobe Bryant 1996 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10 📈 60%
• KEY DECLINER: Kobe Bryant 1996 Bowman’s Best Base PSA 10 📉 23%

Basketball 1980-1989: 📉 5%

• KEY RISER: Bird/Erving/Johnson 1980 Topps Base PSA 8 📈 46%
• KEY DECLINER: Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer Base PSA 8 📉 25%

Basketball 1979 & Older: 📉 2%

• KEY RISER: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1969 Topps Base PSA 7 📈 4%
• KEY DECLINER: Spencer Haywood 1971 Topps Base PSA 8 📉 18%

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