It is all but a cliche now, Zion Williamson’s NBA debut is the most anticipated in over a decade and a half. The last time we saw anything like this, King James was a kid from Akron, who had yet to be coronated. However, in 2003, back when LeBron was throwing down his first Tomahawk in the NBA, the world had yet to be introduced to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or even YouTube. Not to mention we were still three years away from the NBA’s one and done rule. Quite simply, no one has ever had the tools to cast a shadow like Mount Zion before even stepping foot on the hardwood. The anticipation of his debut is unprecedented, and the hype is real. With his regular-season debut still pending due to injury, we haven’t even been able to fully comprehend the impact he will have on the Association, the Jordan brand, and even the trading card industry.
When Adam Silver announced Zion’s name, as the first overall pick, on the night of June 20, 2019, the world didn’t stop, there was no record scratch because this had been a foregone conclusion since late 2018. Panini was set to commemorate this cosmic moment, copping a shot of Zion shaking the Commissioner’s hand. There he was donning a cream-colored tux jacket, no tie, gold Rolex Day-Date, and his newly acquired Pelicans hat. It’s that photo that would go on to become one of the images on Zion’s 2019 Panini Instant Draft Night DN-ZW basketball card.
Let’s use this exact card to put a little context around Zion Mania, looking at another hyped (albeit for different reasons) college one and done from a couple of years ago, Lonzo Ball. Lonzo’s 2017 Panini Instant Draft Night PSA 9 sold once publicly in September 2017 prior to his debut and has sold once since then. Zion’s Panini Instant Draft Night #DN-ZW card has already sold 32 times at public auction since the Pelicans selected him number one overall.
Looking into the PSA pop reports, the difference is staggering as well. Lonzo’s Instant Draft Night has a PSA population of 30. The population of Zion’s card is nearly 10 times this amount coming in at a population of 288. In fact, Zion’s Instant Draft night has a higher PSA population than 2017 and 2018’s entire sets combined. In those same sets, there is only 8 total public sales of any card for a grand total of $479 (~$60 a card), Zion’s 32 public sales have totaled $6,216 (~$194 a card, oh and the raw card retailed for $9.99). Even though the value of PSA 10 version of this card has dropped by about 25% since his knee injury, the latest sales still see it around the $170 mark. Even on one leg right now, the man doesn’t just have the potential to leave a mark on the Association, the man has the clout to change the trading card industry.
Right now Zion has a few different Panini cards aside from his Instant Draft Night, including his Contenders Draft Picks, National Convention Basketball Prospects, and National Convention Black Box Gems. Of course, the trading card world was juiced for the release of the 2019-2020 Panini Hoops set, which launched on November 6th. This was the first set to offer officially licensed Zion NBA Autographs. Although this is traditionally a lower-end product, it offers the perfect opportunity for you to get a piece of Zion, and trading card history. This is just your first chance to grab some Zion cardboard as Panini will also be releasing their 2019-2020 Certified, Flawless Collegiate, Absolute Memorabilia, Prizm, and Donruss sets in the next month. In the meantime, we can only wait to see how high Mount Zion can climb.
