When it comes to the high-risk, high-reward nature of collecting modern, high-end cards, there is no such thing as a sure thing.
Yet, when the 2013 National Treasures Basketball set was first released, Anthony Bennett’s most coveted card, an autographed 1/1 horizontal Logoman inscribed “Go Cavs!” must have been among the most desirable chases.
Logoman cards feature memorabilia with the NBA logo and have been among the most important memorabilia cards since the debut of the concept in the 2002-03 Upper Deck NBA Logo Mania set.
Likely considered the worst lottery pick of the past 15 years, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Bennett with the first choice in the less-than-stacked 2013 draft.
After a 52-game rookie season with Cleveland, during which Bennett averaged 4.2 points and 3 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game, the Cavaliers were quick to cut bait on the young big man. They dealt him to Minnesota, where he would fail to prove himself as an NBA player, finding himself on another two teams in two more years before washing out of the league by 2017.
But that doesn’t mean his top card is worthless. As we have seen with other card products over the years and in recent memory, collectors have long been willing to pay a premium for the top cards of players with lackluster careers — whether due to an ironclad commitment to their personal collection or the desire to own a version of one of the hobby’s top cards.
For many, the best of the best — in terms of card parallels — is worthy of the chase, even if the player gracing the front is not as enticing.
Superfractor 1/1s are the most important parallels for Topps brands and are the record holders for many players.
Prizm Black 1/1s have been among the most important parallels of the ultra-modern era and, similarly to the Superfractor 1/1 for Topps, often hold the public record for many cards and players included in Panini products.
The aforementioned Bennett Logoman card sold on eBay for $2,900 on Monday night, a slight uptick since the same card sold at Goldin in 2023 for $2,564 (the only other publicly recorded sale of the card).
Only one other Bennett card has ever sold for more; $3,000 for his 2013 Panini Black Mosaic Prizm Rookie 1/1 in 2021.
For perspective, Market Movers has tracked just 193 sales of other Bennett cards in the past year.
It appears unlikely the buyer is hoping for an Anthony Bennett resurgence capable of providing a return on this investment, so it’s fair to assume this price is a result of what once was or could have been — owning a card that, if things had gone differently in Bennett’s career, like the prior year’s top pick, Anthony Davis, whose Logoman once sold for more than $1 million.
Paying big bucks for the best cards of NBA busts (or, at least, those who failed to live up to their potential) is nothing new.
Darko Miličić, who despite recording a far more productive career than Bennett, nonetheless is remembered as a disappointment, not least of all due to his draft position ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Still, collectors have been interested in ponying up the big bucks for Miličić's most iconic cards. In 2023, his 2003 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection RPA 1/1 signed Logoman — the same version as LeBron’s still-missing grail, which could be valued at nearly $10 million — sold for $8,520.
Greg Oden’s 1/1 Superfractor commanded $2,050 in December 2023.
The list goes on: while it never quite paid to “invest” in prospects listed above, for whom dreams of long, productive careers proved all too allusive, there remains a market for the best-of-the-best, even for the players whose career were anything but.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.