Boston Celtics fans, clutching their green jerseys and devouring popcorn with anticipation of witnessing a comeback after the heart-wrenching Game 1 slip-up, were in for another brutal spectacle in Game 2 against the New York Knicks. If the first loss was a tsunami of disappointment, then the second was an avalanche of déjà vu as the Celtics collapsed yet again, plummeting not only their hopes but also affecting the financial prospects of their dedicated sports card collectors.
The Knicks, with a tenacity reminiscent of their 1970s heyday, clawed back into a game that seemed firmly within Boston’s grasp. If there’s one thing the Knicks have shown, it’s that they aren’t reading the Celtics script. Instead, they’ve grabbed the narrative by the horns, riding it to a shocking 2-0 lead in the playoff series. As Boston fans numbly watch their team toss aside hefty leads like afterthoughts, another set of numbers is troubling the collectors: the plunging prices of the Celtics’ star players’ trading cards.
When Boston sports enthusiasts went to search their card values post-game, they saw numbers that mirrored a stock market crash. Historical data suggests that the playoffs can be a gold mine for sports card prices, with every perfect dribble, every net-swishing shot potentially spiraling values upwards into sports card heaven. Unfortunately for Celtics aficionados, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have shown that the opposite spiral is equally possible.
Let’s take a closer look at Jayson Tatum’s prestigious 2017 Prizm Silver Rookie card, graded PSA 10, which had been steadily climbing the market mountain. With Boston gliding through the first round, this card experienced a charitable 5.2% uptick. Flashing forward to the present, collectors are now in a state of financial discomfort akin to seeing their milk cartons plummet after a morning sprint. On April 27th, Tatum’s card stood proudly at $825. Fast forward to May 5th, and it delicately dipped to $765—like a ballerina moving in slow motion toward a downward trajectory. Investors are bracing themselves for an expected plunge below $740, anticipating even more seismic drops following Game 2’s collapse, like a row of dominoes teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Jaylen Brown’s 2016 Prizm Green Rookie card is another collector’s item garnering attention not for its meteoric rise, but for its drastic descent. Once the darling among Celtics collectors, a prized piece due to its color match appeal, it faced a fall so steep that it would make a roller coaster envy its unbridled speed. On April 12th, its value was a robust $636. By May 4th, it dwindled to $432 and is poised to tumble beneath the $400 mark, much like the Celtics’ hopes of skating through the playoffs unscathed.
There might be a silver lining amid this cloud of defeat and devaluation—for those willing to cling to hope amidst a series defined by its unpredictability. Tatum, Brown, and the spirited Celtics have a window of opportunity to paint a different portrait. Each game is a fresh canvas, where a single commanding performance has the potential to breathe life back into not just playoff chances, but also trading card value. Yet, with their recent history of belly-flops from significant leads, the assurance of a reversal hangs precariously in the balance.
This tumultuous turn of events leaves collectors tapping their fingers while staring at sports card marketplaces, timing the potentially lucrative market swing. Will they witness a triumph that sends the cards’ prices soaring back through the roof, or a continued plummet that makes every sale feel like a last-ditch attempt at grabbing onto fleeting stability?
As the Knicks etch heat onto their playoff momentum, fanfare and optimism for the Celtics are chilling quickly. Meanwhile, the sports card market holds its breath like a packed arena during a game-deciding free-throw. The aftereffects of the Celtics’ current stumbling are poised to resonate long after this series, with buyers’ confidence fractured like the once seemingly unbreakable lead that Boston relinquished. Another missed opportunity in Game 3 might turn a cautious market into a feeding frenzy of discounted Celtics memorabilia. Until then, both the team’s fortune and their card values rest like a delicate teetering tower, hoping for stability and watching the floor for unexpected collapses.
