Trae Young Market Value Down Over 80% Since 2021 Peak
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With the playoffs well underway and some great matchups happening between Wemby and the Spurs vs Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, there hasn't been any reason to talk about players on teams outside of the playoff picture, except for Cooper Flagg winning Rookie of the Year.
Trae Young and the Washington Wizards also missed the playoffs, but the recent sale of a Trae Young rookie card has made hobby headlines for dropping over 80% from its 2021 peak.
Panini Prizm Trae Young Nebula rookie card 1/1:
— lememe_james (@LememeJames) May 6, 2026
In 2021, sold for $391K
In 2026, sold for $69K
That is a $322K loss (82% decrease) 😞 pic.twitter.com/rCCwaOW3SB
On April 23, 2026, a one-of-one PSA 10 2018 Panini Prizm Nebula Trae Young rookie card sold for $69K. A very respectable price tag, until you look back and see that the same card sold on August 10, 2021, for just shy of $400K. Unfortunately for that Trae Young Nebula seller, they learned the hard way that not all basketball cards trend up and to the right, after absorbing a $322K loss with that rookie card losing 82.4% of its value in 5 years.
The Trae Young Market is Down Sharply
The 82% drop is staggering, but it's actually right in line with the five-year trend, according to Card Ladder. In fact, the 5-year trend is slightly worse, as Young cards have fallen nearly 84% since May 2021. The year-over-year trend also hasn't been kind to the Wizards' star guard, down roughly 30%.
The Nebula Prizm rookie card is telling, but so too are PSA 10 Silver Prizm rookie card sales, which sold for as much as $7,500 back in 2021. Today, those same Silver Prizm rookies are selling for under $100, including the two most recent sales, which went for $91 and $90 in late April and early May.
The recent sub-$100 sales represent a 98.8% drop from their all-time high. So, what happened?
Trae Young in 2021 vs 2026
Back in 2021, Trae Young was doing all the right things, trending upward, and proving he could rise to the occasion in the playoffs. He averaged 25.3 points per game in 2020-21 and helped the Atlanta Hawks finish first in the Southeast division, with a 41-31 (.569) record.
But what really caught everyone's attention was how well Young was cooking in the playoffs. He elevated his game and proved to be the star the Hawks needed in order to make a deep playoff run that year. Although they ultimately lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Milwaukee Bucks (who went on to win the title), Young was playing at an elite level.
He became just the second player in NBA history to average 28+ PPG and 9+ APG in a single playoff run, the other player was LeBron James back in 2018. Young also tied LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki for the fourth-most points scored in a Conference finals game with 48 against the Bucks.
In addition to Young playing on another level, the hobby was in the middle of a wild buying frenzy in 2021. Everyone was stuck at home and buying up sports cards (and Bored Ape NFTs) like there was no tomorrow. Many of the highest prices for certain players still tie back to 2021, including the record $840K sale for a Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rookie card back in August 2021.
But fast forward a few years, and the optimism around Young has shifted as his shooting efficiency started to slide and his defensive limitations became more and more of an issue. Eventually, the Hawks traded Young to the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 15.2 points in just 20.8 minutes per game.
Trae Young is still pretty young. He turns 28 in September, so he has the potential to rebound and even win a championship or two if he can find the right team. The Nebula sale makes one thing clear: collectors have shifted their attention from Young to the hobby’s newest breakout names.
Trae Young Market is a Harsh Hobby Reality Check
This incredible free fall in the Trae Young market is a harsh but extremely important reminder to every collector that there is significant risk involved in collecting, especially when it comes to unproven players without any rings or significant accolades, as was the case for Young in 2021 and still remains today.
For better or worse, the hobby is brutally connected to optimism, and once that fades, prices can quickly plummet. The shift in Trae Young card sales is proof that in modern card collecting, hype can disappear almost as quickly as it builds.
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Conor is a life long sports card enthusiast who started collecting in the early ’90s, inspired by hometown heroes like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, and David Ortiz. Like many ’90s hoops fans, he also started building (and continues to build) a modest Michael Jordan collection.