Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Cards Plummet in Value Despite Championship Win
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Yes, you read that right. Most people would think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s cards would go up in value after winning the championship and Finals MVP, or at the very least that his market would stay where it was; but that’s not what happened. Since winning the title, Shai’s cards have dropped sharply in value, as shown in the chart below from Card Ladder, a popular platform for tracking card prices.
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So what can we make of this? The truth is, this pattern is nothing new to sports card collectors. Whether it’s Aaron Judge’s cards dropping after his MVP season or Saquon Barkley's market correcting after a Super Bowl win, the common factor is hype. In the modern sports card world, values don’t usually spike after a player reaches the peak. They spike during the hype, in anticipation of the peak. By the time a player wins a title or an award, the excitement has already been priced in. Generally speaking, if a card is surging because of hype, the window to buy has likely passed.
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— Card Ladder (@CardLadder) March 17, 2025
The 2018 National Treasures Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rookie Patch Autograph (RPA) /99 #121 PSA 10 (pop 5) set an all-time high when it sold for $91,842.00 (Mar 6, 2025) via Auction with Alt. pic.twitter.com/hNze1H5tHQ
The sports card market, like any other, is driven by supply and demand. With that in mind, let’s take another look at what happened with Shai. Before winning the championship, his cards had been rising for months as collectors anticipated his big moment. Once he reached the mountaintop, many collectors looking to cash in flooded the market with his cards. This created a surplus of supply and not enough demand, which pushed his card values down.
Now it’s important to remember this isn’t always the case. Shohei Ohtani, for example, saw his cards spike and then continue to rise. But cases like his are more the exception than the rule. Investing in a young player hoping they’ll become the next Mahomes or Ohtani will likely cost you more than you expect.
Jason is a dedicated basketball card collector who recently transitioned into writing and educating others about the sports card industry. Find him on Instagram @jeancardz