Jayson Tatum Is Back: Should You Invest in These Cards?
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It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to be this fit or this good so early. Jayson Tatum was supposed to be out for at least a year after his achilles injury, one of the most devastating setbacks a basketball player can experience. As news came in that he was on his way back, most assumed he'd start off slow - maybe 10-15 minutes a game - and take a while to look like his old self. Tatum has proved the doubters wrong - he's already putting over 20 minutes a game and looks great, playing with no fear. What's more, the Celtics are a strong contender in the East with him back in the mix.
PANINI CORNERSTONES DOWNTOWN 2017 JAYSON TATUM
The Downtown series is one of the most popular sets every year with collectors. The first release of these now iconic cards was in 2016 and was called "From Downtown". In 2017 it became just "Downtown" and coincided with Tatum's rookie year. True to form, the card shows off not just Tatum, but a grinning lobster as homage to Massachusets.
PANINI PRIZM SILVER 2017 JAYSON TATUM
For many years now, Panini's Prizm cards have been the go-to rookie base cards of the NBA. While that will change now that Panini's lost its NBA license, for many of the stars playing today, their Prizm rookies are still the standard. For those wanting to invest in a parallel that is somewhat obtainable, the silver version has been the way to go. The silver parallel isn't serially numbered but looks great and is definitely more limited than the base card.
PANINI DONRUSS OPTIC AUTOGRAPH 2017 JAYSON TATUM
There's a lot to like about this rookie autograph card of Tatum - a great pose of the superstar with the classic "Rated Rookie" logo included. The nice, big on-card autograph is fantastic, but potential buyers should be aware that this particular card has both the on-card auto and a sticker auto. If you're partial to on.card signatures, please make sure you give a close look before adding to your collection.
PANINI FLAWLESS PATCH AUTO 2017 JAYSON TATUM
As most collectors know, Panini's Flawless product is part of their super premium push into the market. Tatum's patch auto rookie card is what we've come to expect from Flawless - a nice photo, on-card signature and a jumbo multi-color patch to top it off. In this particular case, it certainly looks like a piece of the "C" in Celtics.
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.