After spending years stuck in the middle, the Orlando Magic have finally faced reality by trading key players in Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier away. This has led the team to embrace their youth movement and a pivot towards a full-on rebuild. Card-wise, one of the young names who stand to benefit from this move is Mo Bamba.
Mo Bamba Cards: Finding Their Footing
Standing at seven feet, the big man from the University of Texas was drafted in 2018 by the Magic using the sixth pick. Before his first year in the league, a lot of hype surrounded Bamba due to his elite size, massive wingspan, and intriguing athleticism, causing many to be high on the then 20-year old center. Now, after, three years in the NBA, he is finally showing fans glimpses of what he can really do on the court.
We take a look below at where Bamba has been, how’s he doing in Orlando right now, and the potential his cards hold in the market.
While he was a highly touted lottery pick way back in 2018, Bamba was never given enough minutes to fully develop because of Vucevic’s presence in the lineup. During this rookie season, the young center averaged 6.2 points, five rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 16.3 minutes per game.
The following season was still the same old story for Bamba, who spent 14.2 minutes per game playing behind Vucevic. With even less playing time than his rookie year, the sophomore would see his numbers go down further. In 62 games, Bamba notched 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. His 46% from the field and 34% from downtown weren’t attention-grabbing either from an efficiency perspective.
Now, in his third year in the league, Bamba is finally showing signs of life. Right before the trade deadline, the center was posting 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game while playing behind Vucevic yet again. After the All-Star center was traded and Wendell Carter Jr. arrived from the Chicago Bulls, Bamba upped his stats by notching 11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 20.2 minutes per game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glqz_DErLX4
Proof of Bamba’s immediate improvement was on full display at the start of May when Orlando faced the Detroit Pistons. In that game, the center posted 22 points, 15 rebounds, and a single block in 28 minutes on the court. While he didn’t make any of his four attempts from beyond the arc, Bamba did connect 9 of his 15 field goals, which equates to a 60% success rate that night.
With Vucevic out of Orlando, Bamba will finally have the opportunity to develop. Whether he plays again from the bench behind Carter, or start as the Magic’s center next season, Bamba is expected to receive at least 20 minutes per game. All things considered, this is more than enough for the big man to perform and show everyone how high his ceiling can go soon.
The state of Mo Bamba rookie cards in the market
Bamba’s demand in the card market, as compared to other members of his draft class, isn’t as high. Before the trade deadline, PSA 10 copies of his Prizm rookie card can be had for as low as $39, a ridiculously low price for a high lottery pick’s graded offering. After the trade deadline has passed, Bamba’s improvement reflected positively on his stock.
The big man’s graded Prizm cards reached a peak of $90 in the middle of April. This figure has gone down now to $70 during the first week of May. Even with this drop, this kind of price can still be considered low or very affordable.
Bamba possesses a shot to get more minutes on the court next season and the physical tools needed to succeed. If he manages to make the most out of this opportunity, those who invested in Mo Bamba rookie cards will have their faith potentially rewarded with a good profit. Of course, this remains to be seen when the Orlando Magic come back to action late this year again.
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