Taking Stock: NBA Trade Deadline and SBLIX Collectibles

That was some NBA trade deadline - and with the whole Mark Williams-Hornets debacle the deadline is still sorta deadline-ing. 

What then were the implications for collectors at the deadline? Glad you asked. 

Stock up: Luka Doncic because, well, duh. There’s a mighty and powerful contingency of Lakers collectors out there who went from “dude is overrated” to calling him Earvin “Magic” Doncic real quick. In the last week his cards are up over 15.7%, according to Alt’s Market Trends. 

Stock out-of-pocket-costs: Mark Williams went up really quickly… before the market course corrected itself because of a failed physical. Ouch! He might actually end up being the next Dwight Howard after all, in that he may be playing for the Taoyuan Mustangs in Taiwan pretty soon. 

Stock back up, baby: Dalton Knecht is back, baby! I remember where I was when my parents told me that the Lakers had sent Knecht to live off the rest of his days on a farm in upstate North Carolina… only to have them tell me that Knecht had, instead, returned home. Good boy, Dalton! 

Stock GTFO: This isn’t an NBA trade deadline thing nor is it even basketball related but holy hell have you seen Panini phoning it in with the Downtown artwork? I mean…Yikes. Someone needs to toss Panini in the back of their car and drive them to a farm upstate.   

Stock Okaaayyy, I’m listening: It’s no surprise that I’m all-in on Victor Wembanyama, so to see De’Aaron Fox get to run point alongside him now puts the Fox market on Wemby Watch. For all the hyperbole around what Wemby might become as he grows into his prime, he won’t get there without All-NBA help. The NBA needs at least two-of-’em to win a title, and Fox might be the sidekick that gets it done. 

Stock Ex: Jimmy Butler is making the rounds, and he might eff-around and play for every Division in the NBA before his career is over. He’s got 5 out of 6 covered after getting moved to the Golden State Warriors. He’s missing the Southwest. Here’s hoping this goes horribly wrong and he finds himself bought out and eventually reviving his career in Memphis - a la Allen Iverson. 

Although, watch, Jimmy Butler and the Warriors are about to win the title this year aren’t they?

Stock Wait James Wiseman is Still in the NBA: Wait, James Wiseman is still in the NBA? 

Speaking of “stock up, stock down” how about that Not-So-Super-Super Bowl? Not sure there’s a “stock down”-worthy conversation to be had; sure, Patrick Mahomes looked pedestrian and Travis Kelce looked like someone who is on his way out of the league, but their legacies are mostly cemented. 

When it comes to “up” you’ll most certainly see a run on Jalen Hurts cards, but what I’m very excited about is seeing Cooper DeJean listings show up with a fire emoji next to his name on eBay, along with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. 

Defensive player cards are long due for a run! This Not-So-Super-Super Bowl put the Eagles defense on the map and I swear if there were Vic Fangio autographed cards on eBay right now we’d probably see those dominate Card Hedge. 

Also, wait, Eagles fan, does it sting a bit to buy a holo Rated Rookie with Saquon Barkley making a Heisman-like pose in his Giants jersey? Has to be tough seeing the jersey of a hated rival on your desk at work.

WNBA Prizm FOTL (“First Off The Line”) came out last week and boy is that product flying off shelves. If you want to get a box of FOTL on the secondary market you’ll have to shell out over $3,000 for a box. The Dutch auction on Panini.com last week sold out “just like that.”

For the hobby box you’re looking at around $1,300 to chase Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese rookie autos. Which, by the way, is more expensive than buying a Prizm NBA hobby box, if you’re keeping score.

This chase probably won’t ever be replicated within the WNBA - hard to imagine we’ll ever see a rookie class that’s this good - but then again we said the same thing with the 2003 NBA Draft class and then along came the great Victor Wembanyama Chase of 2023.   

Still, it’s clear, WNBA sports cards are booming. 

This is pretty, pretty, pretty good. 

Shout out to Taylor Swift and, puts glasses on, Princess Diana for the boom in vintage Eagles and Chiefs gear. Still waiting on the Suns vintage NBA jersey to hit a boom.

Finally, if you’re looking for Ghostbuster news, well, you’re in luck! The fans have spoken and PCS is listening, and they’re updating the heads of Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore. That’s how it’s done. You do NOT want to piss off the Ghostbuster community.