It’s time for another KING KONG CARDS, where I track one rookie card with MONSTER profit potential. Today’s subject: the baby faced assassin, Steph Curry. Hold on. Hold on. I can hear you shout typing already.

complaint #1

“Duh, Freddy. I’d love a Steph Curry rookie, but they’re waaaay to expensive. His Topps base and Chrome rookie sell for 4 figures. He’s waaaaaaaaay out of my budget.”

resolution #1

What if I was to tell you that there is a Steph Curry rookie available in gem mint grades — BGS 9.5, PSA 10, SGC 10 Mint — for under $250!? Would that be something you’re interested in?

complaint #2

“Freddy the warriors are done. Dynasty over. They’re not relevant anymore.”

resolution #2

I get it. We live in an ADD disposable society that lives in the moment and forgets the past. But we’re talking about a 3x NBA champion and 2x MVP here. If you don’t think a team with a healthy Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the ultra athletic Andrew Wiggins as the fourth option can be relevant and contend again, I question your basketball IQ. Golden State also has promising prospects Eric Paschall and Jordan Poole to go along with a likely top 3 pick in this year’s draft, and Minnesota’s first rounder next year to round out the roster. Bob Myers and company could also decide to flip the young pups for veteran role players to help them maximize the remaining 3 years of their championship window if they don’t think Paschall, Poole, and friend’s developmental timelines match. The Warriors aren’t done, they’re simply resting and retooling.

not a fan of resolution #2

Fine. You disagree. Okay. Let’s play devil’s advocate. Actually… I’ll do one better. One giant step farther. Let’s say Steph Curry never plays another basketball game… ever. His rookie cards will still be extremely valuable and appreciate over time because he’s a historically significant player with global popularity and a first ballot lock for the Hall of Fame. So which Steph Curry rookie card is grossly undervalued?

the card

I proudly present the 2009-10 Upper Deck Steph Curry star rookie. This card is an absolute steal at the moment with BGS 9.5’s and PSA 10’s selling for $100 – $250. For a wide release, it’s also quite limited when compared to current major releases of the last few years that have seen combined pop reports of big rookies like Luka Doncic already in the tens of thousands just a few years after release.

Given Steph’s popularity, and the fact that his rookies are a decade old, we know his pop reports won’t ever come close to approaching recent releases.

Taking a quick peek at the combined PSA and BGS pop reports you’ll see that there are only 2,600 graded Upper Deck Steph rookie cards with ~1,800 in gem mint grades. I believe the Upper Deck compares quite well to the aforementioned and much more expensive base Topps Rookie.

Currently high grade BGS 9.5 and PSA 10’s of the Topps rookie are going for $600 – $1,900. Sidenote: I will continue to say this until I take my last breath or it’s rectified, the premium collectors pay for PSA 10’s over BGS 9.5’s and SGC 10’s makes ZERO sense, but I thank you for the arbitrage opportunities. Now that we’re done with those shenanigans let’s take a peek at the combined pop reports for the base Topps Steph rookie.

There are over 3,200 cards graded to date, 600 more Topps rookies compared to 2,600 Upper Deck graded rookies. The Topps card is tougher to get in a high grade with only 800 — or 25% of pop — receiving a BGS 9.5, BGS 10, or PSA 10. While ~70% of the upper deck Steph’s received a similar gem grade. 

Let me be clear, I’m not saying the Upper Deck Steph will ever overtake the Topps card value wise, even though there are 600 less Upper Deck Stephs in the graded population. It’s also the more aesthetically pleasing card of the two.

And all of you waving the, “Topps is the flagship basketball brand” flag can holster those flags because it’s actually Fleer that is home to the two most iconic basketball sets in history. The 1961-62 fleer set that includes the Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson rookies, and of course the 1986-87 fleer set featuring the rookie of his airness, Michael Jordan.

All of that said, I do like the Topps card. I like all Steph rookies across the board as an investment… but I LOVE the value of the Upper Deck base, and the Upper Deck First Edition Silver and Gold. You’re stealing these cards at their current asking prices.

FREDDY FORECAST: BGS 9.5 and PSA 10 Upper Deck base Steph Curry star rookies will be selling for $500 by the end of the 20-21 season.

If you want to check out the latest eBay auctions for this card, click here.

If you prefer watching instead of reading your content, be sure to click here to watch this episode of KING KONG CARDS on the Freddy Find YouTube Channel or right here to watch on the website.

As always, i’m Freddy… and you’re welcome.