That 1997-98 Michael Jordan Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Red card just smashed records, hitting $1.47 million on August 19. It's a massive jump from a similar PMG Red that sold for $640,500 back in March. This sale shows how much these late-90s parallels mean to collectors, especially when it's Jordan from his final Bulls championship year.
We've been talking about foundational players for a while, and Jordan's market, even beyond those huge PMG numbers, keeps showing legs. A 1995 Skybox Premium #278 Electrified card of his saw an 11.8% increase over seven days, and 54.5% over the last month. Even a 1995 Skybox Premium Career Block Total Wrong Jordan in a PSA 8 moved for $125 yesterday. That's a card many might overlook, but it shows demand across different price points.
It isn't just Jordan getting love. Shaquille O'Neal's 1998 Skybox Premium #8SG Soul of the Game card jumped a crazy 93.9% in seven days, and 204% over thirty. Tim Duncan's 1997 Metal Universe #66 Base card also saw a solid 9.7% rise this week and 130% over the past month. These aren't rookie cards, but they're from iconic sets and seem to be catching the ripple effect from the higher-end movement, probably as collectors look for value plays that haven't quite exploded yet.
New product is definitely shaking things up, too. The 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball set just dropped, and there's a lot of noise around rookie debut autos. Someone in Rhode Island pulled a Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph redemption, which is a 1/1. That kind of pull drives serious hype for a new set, and it's clear people are chasing those big names. We saw a 2025 Finest Orange Refractor Cooper Flagg Rookie Auto DNA 10 /25 in a PSA 9 sell for $4,750 yesterday. That's a huge number for a card that's just hitting the market.
Compare that Flagg auto in a PSA 9 at $4,750 to a 2003 Upper Deck Freshman Season LeBron James rookie in a PSA 9 that sold for $999 yesterday. It’s a good example of how current chase rookies, especially the limited ones, are commanding big money right out of the gate, sometimes even more than established legends in the same grade. The market's still scorching, but it's also bifurcated.
Looking at some of the older stuff, a 1996 Finest Basketball Kobe Bryant rookie with coating in a BGS 9 went for $355 yesterday. A 1996 Topps NBA 50th Kobe rookie in a PSA 7 sold for $660. The price difference there, between a BGS 9 and a PSA 7, for two different rookie cards from the same year, is pretty telling. Condition still matters a ton, especially on those key rookies, but even lower-grade vintage and 90s foundational cards are getting scooped up.
We're seeing strong movement in modern high-end rookies and foundational players, with a clear bump for key 90s inserts and parallels. If you're chasing the new stuff, focus on those low-numbered rookie autos from sets like Topps Chrome Update. For longer-term holds, those 90s inserts of players like Shaq and Duncan, especially in decent grades, look like they're finally getting their due. And for Jordan, well, that PMG sale just solidified what we already knew: his top-tier stuff remains gold.