In some ways, an impressive showing through various monster stats is not a guarantee for a player's rookie cards to succeed in the card market. One can play his mind out during the regular season but it will all amount to nothing if there's no winning record to back it up. And while Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks aren't languishing at the bottom, the fact that they're regressing from last postseason's surprise Conference Final appearance isn't doing them any favors.
Trae Young and his impressive individual performance so far for the Atlanta Hawks
To say that Young is one of the most impressive guards in the league and a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end is an understatement. Even during his first year in the NBA, Ice Trae has proven his doubters wrong by showing what he can do. In his rookie season, Young immediately made an impact by posting averages of 19.1 points, 8.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and almost a steal per game.
Even if Young's rookie campaign fell short to that of Luka Doncic, there was no doubt that the Hawks finally found its franchise player in him. And while his first season in the NBA was good, the following two raised the bar for the All-Star.
During the last two seasons, Ice Trae boasted a combined average of 27.4 points on 43% shooting from the field, 35% from beyond the arc, and 87% from the free throw line. He was also creating a lot of plays for his teammates by dishing out 9.4 assists while making 4.1 rebounds and a single assist per game. Thanks to this incredible showing on the offensive end of the court, the Hawks managed to make a surprising playoff run, which culminated in a Conference Final matchup against the eventual NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.
While his previous seasons showed how much of a star Young is, it's his performance this year that's flying under the radar. Thanks to a Hawks team that's currently 10th in the East, the All-Star point guard is being overlooked by some fans and those in the card market.
In the 53 games Young has played so far, he's notching 27.8 points by efficiently connecting 45% of his field goals, 38% from downtown, and almost 90% from the foul line. He's also adding 9.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and a steal per game to help Atlanta rise above its current standing at this point in time.
Without a doubt, Young's effort to lead the Hawks has placed the team 2nd out of 30 when it comes to offensive rating. The thing is, Atlanta's lackluster defense is the culprit to their struggles. The team is currently in 28th place with a 114.5 defensive rating. This means that Young and his teammates can definitely make a bucket but aren't that stellar on the other end of the court. It doesn't help that the front office hasn't done much before the trade deadline to address this issue.
Even with a single-season performance worthy of an All-Star starting spot, Atlanta's frustrating record is dampening excitement for his stock in the card market. If the Hawks can't find a way to get out of the play-in tournament, or completely miss the postseason, expect those Trae Young cards to slumber until the offseason ends.
The state of Trae Young rookie cards in the market
Although Young is among the hottest young stars in the NBA, his rookie cards are no exception to the market's downward trend. Just take this three-month graph from Card Ladder, for example.
As shown above, Young's coveted Silver rookie card has gone down from $1,284 late last year to its current price of $792. That's a -38.28% growth rate over 128 confirmed sales, which results in an average price of $1,004. Putting things into perspective, that's a solid downward trend without any signs of reversal as of this point in time.
Young's base Prizm rookie cards encased in PSA 10 slabs are also down, but not as much as those Silver parallels. With a graph from the same period, the numbers show that this particular card has slid down from $161 to its current price of $144. As compared to its more valuable counterpart, this base card just regressed at -10.23% over 451 confirmed sales.
With these numbers in hand, it isn't hard to see that Ice Trae's stock in the card market is being influenced more by the Hawks' performance instead of the numbers he's putting every night. It remains to be seen whether Atlanta can rise up in the rankings and if that potential development will positively affect Young's rookie cards.
The verdict on Trae Young rookie cards
Taking the Hawks' frustrating record this season aside, Young remains to be one of the NBA's best offensive players. With his ability to get buckets from anywhere on the floor and dazzling playmaking skills, collectors can count on him to produce solid numbers on a nightly basis.
The thing is, Atlanta's lack of identity on the defensive end of the court is causing more harm than good. In this regard, Young isn't entirely blameless because the undersized guard is almost a non-factor when defending his assignment. Unless the Hawks find a way to take their defense up a notch, Young's rookie cards will stay behind those of Morant's or Doncic's, two guys with teams that are surging towards the postseason.
In any case, this downward slump in Young's card stock is the ideal time to enter his market. At some point in time, Young will surely find his groove in Atlanta or he finds his way to a contender in the NBA team. Either way, his valuable skill set is still the key to reversal for Ica Trae's rookie cards.
Follow Us
Subscribe