After what seemed like a very long time for some, the Golden State Warriors have made their way back to the NBA Finals. Even with a couple of seasons struggling with injuries, the Dubs have fought tooth and nail to face the Boston Celtics in the biggest stage of them all. Of course, this feat alone won't be possible without the heroic performance of Stephen Curry during these playoffs. And while the Warriors are the major beneficiary of his impressive showing, Curry's stock in the card market is also getting a major boost from it.
With the NBA Finals leaning towards the Warriors, thanks to their recent Game 5 victory, those Stephen Curry rookie cards are enjoying a good spike in value. We take a look below at how that happened and whether the Chef's stock is a good buy right now or not.
Stephen Curry's run in the NBA Finals
After the Toronto Raptors won their first ring during the 2018-19 season, the hype surrounding the Golden State Warriors slowly declined. With Klay Thompson missing several seasons due to injury and Kevin Durant leaving the Dubs for the Brooklyn Nets, the attention of NBA card collectors was also centered on other more promising prospects in the league. But even if that was the case, Curry still remained one of the top names, both in the hobby and if healthy, in the entire NBA.
Fast forward to this year's regular season and the Warriors appeared to be in fantastic shape, the best one in recent years. The trio of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green reunited after a long hiatus at the start of 2022 while the key players, such as Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, took a leap in their own development. These factors helped Golden State return to its championship form as the team finished the regular season third in the Western Conference with a 53-29 record.
During that period, Curry posted an average of 25.5 points on 43% shooting from the field, 38% from beyond the arc, and 92% from the free throw line. He also made 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 64 games for the Dubs. But while those numbers looked good, his performance during this year's playoffs was something else.
In the past 20 playoff games Curry has played, the All-Star point guard is averaging 27.6 points by connecting 46% from the field, 40% from deep, and 82% from the charity stripe. He's also dishing 5.7 assists, grabbing 5.2 rebounds, and making 1.3 steals in 34.4 minutes per contest. With this kind of performance leading the way for Golden State, it isn't surprising that this Curry-led squad has won against the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks.
Stephen Curry in the series against Memphis so far:
Game 1: 24 PTS
Game 2: 27 PTS
Game 3: 30 PTS
Game 4: 32 PTSGive Curry a grade.#DubNation pic.twitter.com/2PD176EfYL
— Warriors Hub © (@WarriorsHub) May 10, 2022
All of what Curry has done in the recent weeks has led him and the Warriors to face a young Boston Celtics team, one that managed to steal the first game of the series from them. Although that may be the case, Golden State's franchise player isn't one to back down from the challenge. In the four games he has played against Beantown, the point guard is posting 34.3 points on 50/49/85 shooting splits while adding 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2 steals per contest.
Curry's most recent performance in Game 5, while far from his dominant Game 4, still helps his case to become the best player of this series against Boston. Fortunately, the Warriors came out on top and grabbed the 104-94 win, giving them a commanding 3-2 lead over the Celtics.
All of those factors have a lot of NBA card collectors buzzing around the potential of Curry winning Finals MVP, the first of his career if the Warriors get the job done over Boston. In the event that becomes a reality, expect those Stephen Curry cards to go crazy in the market.
The state of Stephen Curry rookie cards in the market
There are a few proven stars in the league right now with stocks that can withstand the test of time. Some of these include LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard, among others. While these names are great, the hottest in the market these days are Stephen Curry rookie cards.
In a Card Ladder graph covering the last three months, Curry's PSA 10 2009 Topps rookie card has gone up by 8.32% from $8,101 to $8,775. This upward trend occurred over the sale of 20 PSA 10 slabs of the All-Star's card with an average price of $8,462.
While the three-month increase isn't exactly eye-popping, what's impressive about this Stephen Curry rookie card is that it bottomed out at $6,500 when the month of May started and reached $10,100 as the Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies a couple of weeks later. It eventually dropped down to $8,150 right before the Finals started and sharply climbed back up to $8,775 in a matter of days.
All things considered, Curry's rookie stock is looking healthy right now. Add the fact that the Warriors have taken up a commanding 3-2 lead, and there's a good chance for this card to go back up in the coming days.
The verdict on Stephen Curry cards
At this point in time, Curry's stock in the market isn't a great one to invest in. Instead, the All-Star's rookie stock should be a strong sell for collectors who have been holding his cards.
Even though the Warriors are the favorites to win the championship this year, there's still a chance for the Celtics to come out on top of this series. To be safe, those Stephen Curry rookie cards should be disposed of while his value is still right there on the top. This way, there'll be some profit to be made and used for undervalued stars during the offseason. In any case, the move here is to sell or hold, which isn't a bad thing at all given that Curry's stock will remain good in the coming years.
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