Well, it looks like Cooper Flagg is headed to Dallas.
The Duke phenom likely had his fate sealed Monday night, when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery and were awarded the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. (Although with Nico Harrison running the Mavs, you never know.)
If there is anyone who can fill the void left behind by the Mavericks' trade of Luka Dončić, it’s Flagg, who is one of the most hyped prospects in the history of the sport.
And it certainly shows in his card market. Flagg’s top sale to date — his 2024 Topps Chrome McDonalds All American Half-Court Offense Signatures SuperFractor PSA GEM MT 10, PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 — sold for $85,400 last month at Goldin Auctions, marking his fifth sale of at least $20,000 and his 12th of at least $10,000.
While he is nowhere near Dončić’s record of $4.6 million, Flagg’s already prolific market will likely only continue to soar. The April sale has already surpassed Mavs’ all-time great Dirk Nowitzki’s top sale of $79,200.
In fact, when comparing Flagg to some of the game’s legends, the 18-year-old is dominant.
The McDonalds all American card is more expensive than the top cards for nine NBA All-Stars this season:
- Donovan Mitchell: $72,000.00
- Jaylen Brown: $60,001.00
- Darius Garland: $43,920.00
- Karl-Anthony Towns: $40,800.00
- Tyler Herro: $30,700.00
- Jaren Jackson Jr.: $24,600.00
- Evan Mobley: $19,200.00
- Jalen Williams: $20,000.00
- Pascal Siakam: $5,000.00
Flagg’s top sale even already exceeds that of 39 of the 75 members of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, including legends who built the game such as Bob Cousy and Jerry Lucas, as well as modern stars such as Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook.
- Jerry Lucas: $84,000.00
- Dirk Nowitzki: $79,200.00
- Elvin Hayes: $78,000.00
- Ray Allen: $73,800.00
- Bob Cousy: $63,000.00
- Charles Barkley: $61,200.00
- Robert Parish: $52,800.00
- Gary Payton: $50,400.00
- Larry Bird: $49,200.00
- Russell Westbrook: $48,000.00
- Bob McAdoo: $43,920.00
- George Gervin: $43,800.00
- Carmelo Anthony: $43,200.00
- Rick Barry: $40,800.00
- Patrick Ewing: $40,800.00
- Earl Monroe: $40,800.00
- Paul Arizin: $38,400.00
- Bill Walton: $36,900.00
- Nate Archibald: $31,558.00
- John Stockton: $30,000.00
- Jason Kidd: $27,600.00
- Lenny Wilkens: $25,649.00
- Hakeem Olajuwon: $25,000.00
- Sam Jones: $24,427.00
- Dominique Wilkins: $23,100.00
- Dave Cowens: $22,476.00
- Isiah Thomas: $21,960.00
- David Robinson: $20,000.00
- Clyde Drexler: $19,200.00
- Bob Pettit: $18,100.00
- Dolph Schayes: $17,765.00
- Dave DeBusschere: $14,682.00
- Hal Greer: $14,400.00
- Bill Sharman: $12,845.00
- Billy Cunningham: $12,000.00
- Kevin McHale: $12,000.00
- Paul Pierce: $12,000.00
- Dave Bing: $7,930.00
- James Worthy: $4,800.00
Much of the card market is dependent on prospecting and potential. And collectors are betting BIG with Flagg.
The $85,400 sale even dwarfs Victor Wembanyama’s most valuable card before the French big man had played in an NBA game. Now, Wemby certainly has become one of the hobby’s stalwarts, with a top overall sale more than 10 times that of Flagg. But before Wembanyama made his NBA debut, his top card sale was $67,333.20, more than $18,000 less than Flagg’s.
And for reference for just how wide that margin is, it’s nearly the same total as Zion Williamson’s pre-NBA debut top sale of $18,500.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.