Caitlin Clark Tops LeBron and Steph Curry in Trading Card Popularity
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has already proven to be extremely valuable in the sports trading card community.
Last December, high-end sports collectibles company Goldin announced that a 2024 Select WNBA Caitlin Clark Signature Gold Vinyl One of One card was sold for $234,850, which was the second-highest sale of any women's sports card in history (only coming up short of a Serena Williams card that sold for $266,400).
This came at the end of a historic 2024 for Clark. This historic 12-month stretch included her setting the record for all-time points scored in Division 1 basketball, her taking the Iowa Hawkeyes to the 2024 NCAA championship game, getting drafted No. 1 overall by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and then producing a record-breaking rookie season that culminated with her winning the league's Rookie of the Year award.
Clark's 2025 wasn't as successful, at least regarding what she accomplished on the basketball court. Various soft tissue injuries limited her to 13 WNBA games. However, that doesn't mean her stardom (or value) has diminished.
Caitlin Clark Becomes Most Card Collected Active Basketball Player
A December 12 article from USA Today Sports' Cydney Henderson revealed that Clark was the most-collected active basketball player of the year, with over 136,700 cards graded, according to Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). Getting a card "graded" means that someone has assessed the card's value and graded it on a scale of 1-10. If the card gets an adequate grade, then it's typically sealed in a protective case to preserve its value.
Clark also has three of the 10 most-graded cards this year, and her 136,700 metric was more than the combined totals of LeBron James (59,000), Stephen Curry (33,000), and Anthony Edwards (30,000). The only basketball player with more cards graded this year was the legendary Michael Jordan, who had 206,000. San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama came in at No. 3 after Clark, with 110,200.
oh hey caitlin🙂↔️ pic.twitter.com/qsOEttaqbC
— drafts (@drafts95452567) December 24, 2025
For those keeping score, the most-graded athlete out of every sport in 2025 was Washington Commanders star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who had 236,100 cards graded.
PSA President Ryan Hoge was quoted in the article as saying, “Collectors can’t get enough of Caitlin Clark. Clark’s cards have generated record-breaking demand since entering the collectibles market 2.5 years ago. She’s risen to the No. 1 most-collected (active) basketball player, up from No. 6 in the top 10 in 2024. This kind of momentum in the hobby is only seen from the most elite athletes."
Perhaps Clark can surpass Michael Jordan and Jayden Daniels if she has a healthy and successful 2026 WNBA season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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