When we consider the phenomenal achievements of the “Greek Freak,” it's unbelievable to think that he is only 29 years old. Since his rookie season in 2013-14, the player has amassed enough credentials to make the Hall of Fame. The list is ridiculous: he is a 7 time NBA All-Star, 2 time MVP, NBA Champion, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and an NBA Finals MVP. It is not unreasonable to imagine he can double many of these achievements in the years he has left in the league.
Giannis possesses a rare set of skills. He is an absolutely explosive athlete with a seemingly perfect basketball body. But that isn’t what truly sets Antetokounmpo apart. Instead, he adds a soft, deft touch to the work ethic of a defensive role player. His only real weakness is that Giannis is not a natural outside shooter. But otherwise, we are talking about a perfect basketball player. And to make things scarier, Antetokounmpo does not rest on his impressive laurels. The Bucks superstar is known for relentlessly wanting to self-improve and add new facets to his game.
Collecting Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Cards
With all these skills, and considering his young age, Giannis will end up recognized as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. How high on the list is anyone’s guess. He is also an absolute superhero to Bucks fans, as the best player in the city since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And indeed, since Antetokounmpo looks set to spend most of his career there, he will go down as the most beloved Bucks player ever. All that will ensure a substantial market for Gianni's cards for a long time to come.
But there are other advantages to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s cards. Antetokounmpo’s Rookie Cards are from the 2013-14 season. That is an excellent era for collectors. It is recent enough that there was a wide variety of beautiful cards for the Greek superstar. But it is well before the COVID-19 card boom. Therefore, Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie cards precede the massive overprinting of more recent years. For these reasons, you have a great selection of beautiful and low-printed “Greek Freak” rookie cards. Even the base cards and other more common cards retain a good deal of value.
The upshot is that Giannis Antetokounmpo has beautiful rookie cards with solid values. And because of his tremendous talent and age, there is good scope for his legacy to grow. Sometimes, the most challenging element is finding the right cards among his many rookies. But worry not, we have selected the best of the best Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie cards for you.
2013 Court Kings Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #125
A PSA 10 sold for $1,475
The Court Kings' release, at its best, is art. It gives an artistic impression of our favorite athletes. Like all art, it can work spectacularly or fall completely flat. I think you will agree that the 2013 Court Kings Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #125 works beautifully. The background paint scheme makes little sense and seems wild. But it leaves an appealing urban graffiti kind of feel that fits perfectly with the “Greek Freak” and his image. There are other Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie cards in this release, and some have lower population counts. But they are not as attractive and often have lower value. It's easy to see why. This card is magical.
2013 Hoops Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #275 (ARTIST PROOF)
A PSA 10 sold for $2,710
Hoops cards don’t usually have much value. But the 2013 Hoops Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #275 (ARTIST PROOF) card has a lot going for it. It's a rookie card of one of the best players of his generation. The picture is stunning, though the design could use some work. Finally, it is the Artist Proof version. There is a population count of 25 for this. So, it has a good chance of increasing significantly in value.
2013 Panini Elite Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #229 /999
A PSA 10 sold for $1,495
This card is very dated. The design is old school, representing a time when having a foil card was a big deal. The Elite brand has also not weathered the last decade intact either. Therefore, the logo doesn’t bring extra value to the 2013 Panini Elite Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #229 /999. But who cares? It has that beautiful vintage (well, vintage-ish) appeal. The youthful appeal of the pic, with that wonderfully dreamy look on the face of the future legend, is a great selling point, too. The value will continue to increase because the card is numbered (though not very low). An underrated item.
2013 Panini Prizm Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #290 (RED WHITE AND BLUE MOSAIC PRIZM)
A BGS 10 sold for $8,650
It took a lot of work to pick just one 2013 Prizm Giannis rookie card. There is a beautiful range of them, and they all have pretty good value. Well, other than the base, which has crashed over the years. But the 2013 Panini Prizm Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card #290 (RED, WHITE AND BLUE MOSAIC PRIZM) card stood out from the crowd for a few reasons. First, it puts the “Greek Freak” picture into stark relief and looks super cool. Second, this way, we can imagine Antetokounmpo is American and will help create the next “Dream Team.” Finally, its value seems to be going up nicely, while it is more attainable than many of the other versions.
2013 Panini Preferred Giannis Antetokounmpo RC Autograph #116 Choice Blue Signature #/60
A PSA 9 is currently on sale for $3,130
Do you like pyramid-shaped die-cut cards? I mean, I don’t. But someone must. Say what you want about the 2013 Preferred Giannis Antetokounmpo RC Autograph #116 Panini's Choice #/60 card, it doesn’t look like your run-of-the-mill release. The Panini Preferred line did not succeed. It was trying to be a creative high-end release. But the ones that caught one were the classier ones, with less creative energy. But these cards were certainly interesting. And because of the low population count, there is scope for greater future value for this Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie card.
2012 Exquisite Collection Giannis Antetokounmpo
A PSA 10 sold for $4,537
A bit of pre-rookie Giannis action for you. Upper Deck was THE PLACE for high-end basketball rookie cards in the late mid-2000s. But by this time, they had lost their license. But they were still producing gorgeous cards. The 2012 Exquisite Collection Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Card was released when the young phenom was still playing in Greece. Therefore, the lack of a license doesn't hurt this card much. Indeed, it only makes it look cooler, at least to me. Yeah, the design isn’t the best one UP ever came back from. But the action shot and Exquisite logo save it for me.
The card is on its way up. The price increased yearly from 2017 to 2020 when the last PSA 10 was sold. It will be worth well over $10,000 soon if it isn’t already.
2013 Panini Select Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #178 (PURPLE PRIZM)
A BGS 10 sold for $7,900
Look at this card. Then look at it again. The 2013 Panini Select Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #178 (PURPLE PRIZM) is freaking perfect. The Select cards from that year were great in general. The young “Greek Freak” was incredibly photogenic. And the purple background, with those blinding fluorescent borders, makes it pop. I want it. Whoever has a copy, just take my hard-earned money. I was never that attached to it anyway.
There are only 36 copies of this beauty. That is great for value, though exactly half are PSA 10s. I can understand why because this is the kind of card you just want to take care of forever. The Gold and Black Prizms are more rare, though they don’t look as amazing.
2013 Gold Standard Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #231 Autograph Jersey
A PSA 10 sold for $8,700
They don’t make Panini Gold Standard Basketball cards anymore. You can still get the Football version for some reason, though it doesn’t seem very popular. Therefore, the 2013 Gold Standard Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #231 Autograph Jersey card should be at a disadvantage. However, it is such a beauty that the value speaks for itself. There are 109 PSA-graded copies, of which 39 are gem mint. There is also an even more scarce Autograph Jersey-Platinum version, with a population count of 3. One of those has sold for $75,000, so if you have one laying around, take care of it!
2013 Panini Court Kings Next Day Autographs Giannis Antetokounmpo #GA
A PSA 10 sold for $19,200
The regular 2013 Court Kings Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie card is one of his most attractive. Indeed, it's one of the best looking cards of that era. I said what I said. Meanwhile, the 2013 Panini Court Kings Next Day Autographs Giannis Antetokounmpo #GA rookie card isn’t an aesthetic triumph of the same level. Nonetheless, it has an autograph, and that is all people care about. Who needs art when we can have someone scribbling on our cardboard? It is also interesting to note that the signature here is somewhat different from the other Giannis rookie card autos. Did someone else sign some of these or does Mr. Antetokounmpo like to vary his signature? Who knows. But this card is worth a fortune. And with a population count of only nine, we can see why.
2013 Panini Flawless Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #99 Diamond #/20
A BGS 9.5 is currently for sale at $35,00
In the long-forgotten and mythic days of 2013, Flawless was considered the also-ran of high-end basketball card brands. Therefore, the 2013 Panini Flawless Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #99 Diamond #/20 is undervalued. It also doesn’t have a patch or auto, so it sells for less than the price of the top RPAs. But the low population count, classy look, and the rising cache of Flawless over the years have given this card a good deal of extra value over the last decade.
2013 Immaculate Collection Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #131 Autograph Jersey #/99
A PSA 10 sold for $58,800
Today, the Immaculate Collection brand is far less prestigious than it used to be. But back in 2013, it was one of the top Panini basketball card brands. And when you look at the 2013 Immaculate Collection Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #131 Autograph Jersey #/99 card, it's easy to see why. The /25 version is also beautiful and features a bigger patch. And unlike the more valuable National Treasures card, this one has a complete and stunning picture of the “Greek Freak” in all his glory. Because it has such a spectacular look, this card probably has a decent amount of growth in it.
2013 Panini National Treasures Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #130 Auto Patch /99
A PSA 10 sold for $320,000
It doesn’t get much better than this. The 2013 Panini National Treasures Giannis Antetokounmpo RC #130 Auto Patch /99 has an old-school patch design. There is very little room for the picture. But man, does it work. The concept of young Giannis just dying to take on the world is incredible. The signature is minimalistic but pops. And just look at the value. Incredible for a /99 card. This is THE “Greek Freak” card to own.
The Final Word On Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Cards
A quick perusal of this list shows that Giannis Antetokounmpo was a rookie at just the right moment. There are a ton of beautiful and scarce rookie cards of his. Because Antetokounmpo has had such a sensational career, so many of these items hold a great deal of market value. There is also no question that young Giannis was incredibly photogenic. So that combination of the great designs of the early 2010s, the players sharp looks and his superstar status, make the list of his rookie cards particularly impressive and rewarding.
Though Giannis cards are very expensive, that shouldn’t deter you from investing. He projects to be an absolute immortal. So, many of these cards will likely increase in value significantly by the time the Bucks legend is done.
