After all the drama with the Houston Rockets and recently, the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden is finally in a situation that will allow him to thrive â the Philadelphia 76ers. Admittedly, the Beard has always placed the City of Brotherly Love as his first choice a couple of years ago. With his wishes coming true, he, Joel Embiid, and his new team can focus on the one thing that has always eluded the former MVP â an NBA Championship.
Thanks to a couple of great games for the 76ers, the chances of Harden reaching the promised land is stronger than ever. And although the sample size is still small, there's a good possibility that his time in Philadelphia will translate to a thriving stock in the market. We take a look at where the Beard has been, how he's currently doing, and the outlook on his rookie cards.
James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers
The promise of having Harden play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn was a very good one, especially for those who collect the Beard's rookie cards. With the insane amount of talent in that lineup, there'll be only a few teams who can withstand that kind of offensive onslaught. Turns out, the breakup of this trio didn't need an opposing team to happen.
In a span of this season, the Nets will only have a part-time Irving due to his vaccination stand and an injured Durant taking some time off to recover. This left Harden to carry the Nets on a nightly basis, a concern he once had with the Rockets. As it has been the case for the Beard, it was only a matter of time earlier this year when disgruntlement would set in and rumors of wanting out started to grow.
That small voice of leaving the Nets suddenly turned into a deafening cry. Without any warning, there were rumors all over the place about how Harden really felt about his teammates or crazy strip bar stories before and after games. This opened a window for the 76ers to get Harden in exchange for Ben Simmons, a young player who has caused them a lot of headaches since the offseason last year.
With three games under his belt, the gains Philly is getting from Harden are looking good so far. In those contests, the All-Star shooting guard is notching 27.3 points by hitting 59% of his shots from the field, 50% from beyond the arc, and 89% from the free throw line. Along with the efficiency, the Beard also added 9 rebounds, 12.3 assists, and 1.7 steals during those games.
While those numbers aren't exactly sustainable, how Harden is playing with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is the real key here. The 76ers' big man is thriving from all the space and passes he's getting from the Beard while the second-year guard is getting his numbers up too in the process.
To put things into context, Embiid is averaging 32.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 blocks, and a single steal per game since Harden arrived. For his part, Maxey is also thriving in the backcourt with the All-Star around. The second-year guard has been scoring 24.7 points by hitting 64% of both his field goals and three-pointers since the trade happened.
Again, what Embiid and Maxey have been doing can't be sustainable for the rest of the season. The key thing to remember here is the impact Harden brings to the table is showing up this early in his stint as a 76er. If things go according to plan, the trio of Harden, Embiid, and Maxey can compete for the top seed, and potentially represent the East in the NBA Finals.
The state of James Harden rookie cards in the market
While belonging to the same Draft Class as Stephen Curry, Harden's stock hasn't quite made the same impact as the Golden State Warriors' star has on the market. Nevertheless, his PSA 10 2009 Topps is among the best pre-Panini rookie cards out there. Unfortunately, his current stint with the 76ers has not yet reflected on the Beard's stock.
In a three-month graph by Card Ladder, the said James Harden rookie card has gone down from $1,850 to $1,550, or a 16.22% drop in value. This short-term fall occurred over seven sales on eBay for a graded card that has a population of 198 in PSA's records.
The same short-term downtrend can also be seen in James' more coveted rookie card, his Topps Chrome. In another graph covering the same period, a total of three sales occurred that saw its value go down by 10.86% from $8,750 to $7,800.
Based on the data above, it looks like Harden's impressive performance for the 76ers hasn't influenced his rookie card value just yet. It remains to be seen in the coming weeks how his tenure in Philadelphia can affect his stock.
The verdict on James Harden rookie cards
Before hunting those James Harden rookie cards, there are several key details to keep in mind. For one, he has only played for three games so far and a lot can happen between now and the postseason. It remains to be seen whether the Beard can sustain this kind of performance in the coming weeks.
Another detail to remember is that we're talking about Harden here. More often than not, there's going to be some level of controversy when it comes to this All-Star. It would be something new if there won't be new drama in Philly because of him.
On the other end of things, it's also important to take note that Harden is an MVP-level talent that can turn any franchise around. In this case, the franchise has Embiid, a rising star in Maxey, and several pieces that fit them perfectly, The ceiling for this team is definitely high and it can rub off on Harden's stock in the card market. The wisest course of action is to definitely buy low on those Topss James Harden cards so collectors can be ready for a potential run towards the Finals.
Follow Us
Subscribe
