12/12 NBA Rookie Card Report: Stock Rising and Falling

This season's NBA rookie class lived up to the considerable hype this past week as many lottery pics earned major playing time. For the stock up and stock down, only 2025-26 Topps Flagship cards are available for analysis.

The No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg, has been playing well but took it to another level this week. The same could be said for New Orleans' Derik Queen, who continues his ascent. The No. 2 pick, Dylan Harper, returned from injury a few weeks ago and while things haven't been great he did some some late-game heroics. With the upcoming release of Topps Chrome and the rookie class playing this well prices should be high upon release.

Stock Rising

Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

It hasn't been easy going for the No.1 pick, but after being asked to do too much coming out of the gate, Cooper Flagg is looking like the player that was drafted with the top spot. His card market is also starting to reflect that success. After coming out hot at the release of 2025-26 Topps Flagship, Flagg's market took a dip as his play didn't quite match the hype. However, now that we've seen Flagg moved out of the point guard spot and into his more traditional wing role, he has started to flourish. This /50 Throwback auto sold for $2300 on Nov. 28th before hitting $3650 on Dec. 2nd and now $4249 on Dec. 11th. That's a big jump, but his play on the court has necessitated a big jump in his market after such a big dip.

Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Derik Queen took the week off last week from the stock rising and falling portion, but he's back in a big way this week. On Monday, Queen had 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and added 4 blocks. He's just the fifth player of all time to have a 30-point triple-double before the age of 21. An all-time performance from a guy not many had high hopes after the trade that landed him in New Orleans. That said, his market has exploded over the last month. This /99 auto sold for just $16 right after release. After his big breakout in mid-November, another /99 sold for $150, but hit a new this week at $180 on Dec. 9th after his big game.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Hornets

We had mentioned Ryan Kalkbrenner earlier in the season when his prices started to rise a bit, but as a defensive big who isn't a big scorer he tends to fall off the hobby radar. However, he's seen his market pick up since the dip in November. He had a Topps Chrome Silver Pack /25 auto sell for $76 on Nov. 25th, but just had a base /25 auto sell for $100 on Friday Dec. 12th.

Stock Falling

Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

Jeremiah Fears is one of the few top players without autos in the 2025-26 Topps Flagship set so we'll have to track his base cards. Fears had a down week last week, just as he started to emerge alongside Derik Queen. He hit a shooting slump last week going a combined 6-for-24 against Brooklyn and San Antonio. The market has reflected his rough week as his /50 base card that had been selling for $190-200 on Thursday Dec. 4th is now down to $140 on Dec. 8th.

Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

Unfortunately, Dylan Harper has to make the stock falling list this week. He's had enough time since returning from injury to accurately gauge his market and it looks like despite the improved play this week, his stock is still dropping. This /50 throwback auto sold for $1300 on Dec. 2nd and sold again for just $950 on Dec. 11th. This came after a decent game against the Lakers with 13 points in 20 minutes. He also had a game on Monday against the Pelicans where he had 22 points in 26 minutes and added 6 assists. Hopefully, things can turn around in his market as he play continues to improve.