Jokic vs Shai: Valuing Cards & Trends of the NBA's MVP Frontrunners
Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic are considered as not only two of the best players in the league, but in the whole world. They also just happen to occupy the top ranks on NBA's MVP ladder for the 2025-26 season, with each passing week making it harder and harder to find a clear winner.
As both players hit the peak of their careers with championship pedigree to their names, it won't be so farfetched to call both SGA and Jokic rivals not only for individual accolades but for NBA title contention as well.
While the winner of this year's MVP award still yet to be determined, in the meantime we can analyze just how well their respective card markets are performing in comparison to the other — from who's had the highest peak so far to the biggest growth since draft season.
Market Cap Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Based on information from CardLadder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($28.5M) has a higher market cap than that of Nikola Jokic ($19.03M). While not indicative of the exact prices of every single card in circulation for both players, this means that generally the market is more interested in SGA's collectibles.
Gilgeous-Alexander's RPA /99 from 2018 National Treasures makes up $3.41M of his total market cap based on a CardLadder value of $34,420. On the other hand, Jokic's Base RC from 2015 Panini Prizm in a PSA 10 grade takes the top spot in this category with a market cap of $1.32M.
Highest All-Time Growth Rate: Nikola Jokic
When you take into consideration the early careers of both Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this one shouldn't be all that surprising. SGA, to his credit, was drafted pretty high at 11th overall. Jokic, on the other hand, was selected by the Nuggets in the second round during a Taco Bell commercial.
Jokic wins this part of the comparison, especially given that even his rookie autos once upon a time went for less than a meal at a nice restaurant. The Joker's market has grown +6,364.03% since 2016, while SGA's has gone up +2,105.83% over the past eight years.
Most Valuable Rookie Card: Shai GIlgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 1/1 RPA Logoman from 2018 National Treasures is not only his most expensive rookie card, but it's also sold for more than any Nikola Jokic card ever. This piece, which received a SGC 9 AUTO 10 dual grades, sold for $228,000.00 on March 2023 and even has a CardLadder value of $1M.
The Joker's most expensive card, which is a 1/1 on-card RC Auto from 2015 National Treasures, went for $61,200.00 all the way back in 2021. Given what he's accomplished since that time, there's no doubt that it would fetch a significantly higher price should the card resurface in 2026 or beyond.
More Expensive Flagship RC: Nikola Jokic
For this instance, the comparison will be between Nikola Jokic's cards from 2015 Prizm and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's from 2018 Prizm in Raw condition. SGA benefits from having significantly more parallels compared to Jokic, however the Joker is the clear winner when it comes to the mid-to-lower end of the scale.
An ungraded copy of Jokic's Base RC from 2015 last sold for $186, a higher price than seven of SGA's lower-end parallels and his Base RC from the 2018 Prizm set. The Joker's least expensive numbered RC parallel, a Ruby Wave /350, recently sold for $860.
For that kind of money, you'd already be able to afford multiple SGA numbered parallels like his Fast Break Purple /75 and Purple Ice /149.
Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.