Early this season, it looked like the Dallas Mavericks didn't have what it takes to become one of the best teams in the West. Even with Luka Doncic ascending to new heights, the pieces around him paled when compared to other powerhouses in the conference, such as the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. But in the weeks leading to the All-Star Game, something suddenly changed and we now have a Mavs squad surging through the remainder of the regular season.
While the Mavs's recent surge is mainly attributed to Doncic, fans are wondering if the All-Star will be enough to get them over the hump in a very competitive Western Conference. At the same time, will the Luka Doncic rookie cards in the market be pulled up anytime soon?
Luka Doncic’s recent rampage
It's both scary and fascinating to see a fully-realized Doncic unleashed on the court. After an offseason that saw him being criticized for taking on some weight and not being voted as an All-Star starter, the Mavs' franchise player is all fueled up and ready to bring it on as the regular season races to its end.
This is very evident in the games that followed Kristaps Porzingis' recent injury and subsequent trade to the Washington Wizards for a package involving Spencer Dinwiddie. Since the end of January, Doncic has been averaging 36 points on 48% shooting from the field, 43% from behind the three-point line, and 71% from the free throw line. Along with that improved efficiency, he's also adding 10.8 rebounds, 9.6 assists, and a single steal in an average of 37.4 minutes for those nine games.
These insane stats led to winning six games in a nine-game stretch during that period and saw the Mavericks rise to 5th place in the Western Conference. This gives them better odds to improve their record and make a good playoff run in the coming months with Doncic firmly planted in the driver's seat.
And even with the departure of Porzingis and losing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a foot injury, the Mavs are still showing a good fight. While Doncic is the main reason for their recent success, it also helps that some of his teammates are dishing out some much-deserved help to the All-Star.
For starters, Jalen Brunson's shot creation and additional playmaking are working wonders for his team. With averages of 16.3 points and 5.4 assists per game, Dallas gets to have a dynamic backcourt partner for Doncic and allows him to have more offensive options to choose from. The addition of Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Dwight Powell, and Maxi Kleber helps contain opposing squads and limit their potency on the offensive end of the court.
While the pieces surrounding Doncic aren't what many can call a championship-caliber squad, the presence of Jason Kidd to put all of these guys together and make them work like an efficient machine is helping the Mavs succeed. But of course, all of this would not work without Dallas' franchise star – Doncic.
It remains to be seen whether the All-Star guard can keep up his stellar stats until the regular season ends. If he manages to pull this off and lead the Mavs to, at least, a 4th place finish, the Luka Doncic rookie cards in the market will gain some traction in the market again.
The state of Luka Doncic rookie cards
As the hobby took off several years ago, several names set the market on fire and helped the value of these cards rise to epic proportions. Among these options were Luka Doncic rookie cards.
In this three-month graph by Card Ladder, Doncic's PSA 10 Prizm Silver, his definitive rookie card, is currently on a downward trend. What started at $4,200 late last year has now gone down to $3,000 this month. That's a -28.57% rate of growth over 103 confirmed sales of this card, resulting in an average price of $3,134. It also doesn't help that the population of this particular card in a PSA 10 slab is now at 2,112.
PSA 10 slabs of the base Prizm Luka Doncic rookie cards aren't that hot either. In another graph from the same period, it shows that the said base card has dropped from $558 to $445 in the market. This represents a -20.32% growth over 544 sales of this card, resulting in an average price of $445. And like its more coveted Silver counterpart, the base Luka Doncic rookie card's massive PSA 10 population of 18,248 isn't helping its value either.
Even with Doncic's impressive performances of late, this downward trend hasn't shown any signs of reversal just yet. It remains to be seen whether an epic playoff campaign from the All-Star can help boost his stock in the card market.
The verdict on Luka Doncic rookie cards
When looking at these figures, some collectors could entertain the thought of dropping their Doncic stock and getting a portion of their investment back. This is justified, especially if these cards were purchased during the peak of his value some time ago. But at this point in time, it can go two ways.
For one, the Mavericks could, at least, make it to the second round and have Doncic play his mind out against a formidable Western Conference team. Even if they lose, the potential performance of a lifetime can draw some heat to his rookie card stock. On the other hand, this downward trend can drop even further if they get booted out of the postseason in the first round, resulting in an early exit for Dallas.
The play here is always to buy those Luka Doncic rookie cards at their lowest and sell them when short-term prices are high due to the Mavs' All-Star is playing at his best at some point this season. If done correctly, collectors can avoid being trapped by the potential long-term downward trajectory of Doncic's cards.
On the other hand, the affordable prices of these Luka Doncic rookie cards make it an enticing option, especially when the offseason rolls in. In any case, it's always a win to get a PSA 10 slab that has a very promising player and his rookie card in it.
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