Stephon Castle Rookie Cards of the Year
Last Sunday, the finalists for NBA Rookie of the Year were announced. Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs is joined by Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks and Jaylen Wells of the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Despite a strong end to the season for Risacher, the top overall draft pick in last year's NBA draft, Castle is still considered the favorite to take home the hardware. As Castle started separating himself from the pack in the second half of the season, his card market responded. Can Castle get another push among collectors if he wins Rookie of Year?
To give a sense of Castle's card market, let's look at his upper-echelon cards. The top Castle sale of all-time per Card Ladder, at writing, is $4,500 for a Prizm Gold Shimmer /10. The card sold on March 21. Two days later a Green Shimmer /5 fetched $4,250. For comparison, Top overall draft pick Risacher's top sale comes in at $3,800 for a Prizm /5. As the Rookie of the Year race tilted toward Castle, collectors were taking more chances on higher end Castle offerings.
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At the top-end, there's more depth in Castle's market as well. Card Ladder registers 58 four-figure sales, to Risacher's 38. Risacher has nine sales of two grand and up. Castle? 21. These are hardly earth-shattering numbers, but it appears as though Castle has emerged as the hobby frontrunner in his class. A Rookie of the Year trophy could enhance his status as Top-of-Class in the eyes of collectors.
Castle's offering in the popular Prizmania short-printed Case Hit has sold twice since release, bringing in $3,000 in the most recent sale on April 10. For comparison sake, Wembanyama's Prizmania sold for as much as $10,000 in March 2024. Scoot Henderson's sold for just over $2,000 on April 11 of last year.
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Castle's rookie season was effective if not sensational. He averaged 14.7 PPG, 3.7 RPB, 4.1 APG. He shot only 42.8% from the field, but was solid getting into the paint and getting to the line. He needs to improve his outside shooting, but that should come with time. He's a winning basketball player with a versatilie skill set on both ends of the floor. Moreover, he's playing with potential MVP-level youngster Victor Wembanyama.
Another high draft pick will come to the Spurs this year, and no doubt San Antonio is quickly becoming a destination for free agents. The franchise should get a ton of national attention as Castle grows into his game, which should only help his prospects in The Hobby.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.