You are here"Linsanity" Won't Stop and His Rookie Cards' Value Proves It
"Linsanity" Won't Stop and His Rookie Cards' Value Proves It
What has suddenly happened in the NBA? In a few short weeks, the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin has gone from a nothing player with a cult following to one of the biggest...naw...the biggest star in the NBA.
His sudden popularity is probably due to a number of factors. First and foremost is the fact that he is playing top notch all around basketball. Next, he has been clutch, leading the Knicks to a seven game winning streak and launching a last second three for a win against the Toronto Raptors. Also, undrafted out of Harvard, Lin has been waived twice in the last year and signed with the Knicks just before the new year. The fact that fans love a Cinderella story cannot be denied. Doing it in a market like New York is only adding fuel to the fire.
Perhaps most importantly, Lin is the first Chinese/Taiwanese American NBA player ever. This means he comes with the built in following of both Asians and Asian Americans. If anyone remembers the fervor with which both Yao Ming and Ichiro Suzuki were followed when they broke into their sports, they will understand that this aspect of Lin's popularity cannot be denied.
As the basketball world has stopped to take notice of the young point guard, so has the card collecting world. Lin rookie cards, like this 2010-11 Panini Rookies and Stars Jeremy Lin rookie card, are among the hottest cards on the market right now. Base rookie cards that probably couldn't even sell for a dollar a month ago now regularly go for $20-30. Jeremy Lin autograph cards are going for hundreds at the moment. Any collector who saw this coming has got to be rolling in it right now. Although, considering this may be one of the most surprising stories in sports history, it is doubtful that any collector had the foresight to stock up.
Will Lin rookie cards prove to be worth what they are going for now? Probably not. That doesn't mean that every basketball card collector shouldn't try to grab one as card collecting is about fun. Just hope that this doesn't become another Kevin Maas scenario.
