Top Rookie Cards for early NBA MVP candidates

Basketball fans are blessed with an incredible depth of talent currently in the NBA. There is the old guard still playing at an elite level (Stephon Curry and LeBron James), the current "now" crop of superstars (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and Nikola Jokic), and the future of the league (Victor Wembanyama, Cooper Flagg, etc.). All of these generations playing out at the same time has made for some incredible times in collecting circles, but we were let down as collectors as Topps and Panini fought over licenses.

With the season a few weeks in, we wanted to look at the top rookie cards of some of the top MVP candidates this year. After looking at the MVP odds, we get a nice representation of all three generations in the NBA right now. It really is an incredible time in basketball and it coincides with NBC getting the broadcast rights back and making the games feel big and important.

-The MVP Favorites

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

It's not the biggest sale for the reigning MVP, but it is the biggest recent sale and took place before the Thunder even won the Championship. At a whopping $180,000, this is the third-largest sale of an SGA rookie card ever, but, notably, it surpasses many of his 1/1 autos that sold after the NBA Finals. A monster card befitting the MVP favorite. Also of note, over the last three months, his market is up 1.6%.

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

I wanted to use a non-licensed card for Victor Wembanyama, and thankfully I didn't have to scroll too far down Card Ladder. I do think it is notable that he has multiple cards over $500k, but his biggest Topps autograph is under $175k. The power of licensed cardboard at work. Wembanyama has been fantastic to start the season with multiple highlights per night during his games. Not shockingly, his market is up 31.8% over the last three months as everyone is getting a better look at him.

-The Second Tier of NBA MVP Favorites

Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers

Nothing is going to compare to the Luka Doncic sales of the 2021-22 era of collecting, but one of his top 25 sales of all time happened right after the trade to the Lakers, as this PSA 10 Gold Prizm RC went for $341,600. There are so many big Doncic sales, and so many big Doncic cards, but this recent big sale is one of his more iconic cards. He has the Lakers at 5-2 without LeBron James, and unsurprisingly, Doncic's market is up 6.91% over the last three months.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

It is wild looking back at the Giannis Antetokounmpo market from 2020-22, and deservedly so. It is stark how big the sales were then in comparison to now. Since the start of 2024, there has not been a sale close to as big as this BGS 9 National Treasures Gold RPA /25 that sold for $90,000 in March of 2023. Since 2024, there have been three sales totaling over $50,000. You might be shocked to learn, as I was, that his market is up 6.92% over the last three months -- could this be the start of the Giannis Renaissance with the East beaten up?

-The Longshot

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

After the top five in MVP odds, there is a steep drop to the next person and then another steep drop after that. That person in the middle? Tyrese Maxey. He is a longshot to win, but he could make a push into the top 5. While his market isn't historically as high as the others we've discussed, his play is up there this year. With the Eastern Conference beat up, Maxey and the Sixers are sitting atop the Conference right now. Despite that, his market over the last three months is stagnant as it is up just 1.17%.