The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs will kick off the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in what could be the most highly anticipated championship matchup in quite some time. This one feels different given the storylines, history and stakes.
At the forefront of it all is Jalen Bruson and Victor Wembanyama. Brunson has the Knicks in the Finals for the first time since 1999. New York has not won a title since the 1972-73 season. Wemby just helped the Spurs snap a six-year playoff drought, and one of the best organizations in the sport is seeking its first Larry O'Brien trophy since 2013-2014.
When it comes to card collecting, the difference here is name recognition and stature. Brunson was a second-round draft pick out of Villanova. He wasn't even selected by New York. He began his career in Dallas and it was unclear if he'd carve out a successful career for himself. On the other hand, Wemby was arguably the most hyped NBA prospect of the last decade (if not longer). And when the Spurs won that draft lottery it was an absolute shock that turned the league upside down.
As you can imagine, collectors sprinted to the front of the line to purchase product featuring Wembanyama's rookie card. Prices soared. Resale was through the roof. If you need us to paint a picture, a private sale just featured a $5.11 million transaction for his 1-of-1 black parallel rookie from Panini Prizm (2023-2024).
Brunson? Not even close. But guess what? We are seeing a massive uptick in his market that can't be ignored. Fanatics Collect just valued his 1-of-1 Panini National Treasures rookie auto at $153K. His Superfractor auto from 2026 Topps Chrome was found and listed on eBay for $299K. He's done well for himself with this historic playoff run.
You’d be up BIG if you bought this Jalen Brunson card during his rookie year 👀 pic.twitter.com/vcsUKy3jyb
— Fanatics Collect (@FanaticsCollect) May 28, 2026
Analyzing Jalen Brunson's card market and what a Knicks NBA Finals run would do to improve it
But we all don't have a few hundo thou lying around, so let's talk about some attainable collector's items if you're a Brunson fan. The two best to reference are his 2018 Panini Prizm #250 Silver Rookie and 2018 Optic #179 Holo Rookie.
And if you're looking to get in ... you should get in right now. Like, just click off this page and go look before coming back.
If you want to peek at the last 30 days of sales, the prices of these have more than doubled. On May 4 his Silver Rookie (raw) recorded a sale of $50. On June 2 that jumped to $116. As for his Holo Rookie (raw), that went from $22.50 on May 4 all the way to $55 on June 1.
Jalen Brunson's 1-of-1 Topps Chrome Superfractor Autograph card has surfaced on eBay with an asking price of $299,999 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ACfcyMrstJ
— Topps (@Topps) June 1, 2026
If that's what an NBA Finals berth did for his market, then what will a Finals win do? He's going to become as certified a legend as one can possibly be. He will be an icon in the biggest city in the world forever.
New York City might literally burn if the Knicks close the deal against the Spurs, so just make sure if you're trying to secure some Brunson rookies that you're keeping them far away from Manhattan.
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