There was a time when LaMelo Ball’s rookie stock was the toast of the NBA card community. Back then, they hype was over the moon with even base cards fetching insane prices. Now, with the market correcting itself after years of trending up, Ball’s NBA cards have fairly gone unnoticed during the past few months. The thing is, the Charlotte Hornets’ star and his autographed cards from Panini are causing problems for those who have been waiting for them.
While these signed LaMelo Ball cards are a worthy addition to any collection, the issues they have caused are making waves in the hobby. We take a look at how this problem started and its current state in the NBA card market.
Why LaMelo Ball’s autographed NBA cards from Panini are causing problems for those in the hobby
Even before LaMelo Ball played his first NBA game for the Hornets, the hype surrounding his cards was already insane. That’s what when the latest batch of card products from Panini dropped, everyone and their mothers rushed over to the nearest hobby or retail store to get their hands on the then-rookie’s stock. It even got to a point where a base Optic Rated Rookie card reached a value of $200 during those first few days it landed on the market.
During those days, a certain issue surrounding LaMelo Ball’s autographed cards began to grab everyone’s attention. Some of these cards were rumored to have been signed by Miles Bridges, Ball’s teammate. When looking at the cards themselves, one can see the resemblance between Bridges’ signature and Ball’s autographed cards from Panini.
Wait until Miles Bridges/LaMelo Ball/Panini get sued for fraud in a court of law for the autograph scandal situation in National Treasures. This stuff is between $6k-8k per box with 8 cards. Handwriting expert will tell you that is Bridges sig on an ‘authenticated’ LaMelo auto !! pic.twitter.com/wzJQypUEx3
— Matthew Dixon (@MatthewDixon34) August 15, 2021
After a few years, another issue involving LaMelo Ball signed NBA cards is starting to gain traction again in the hobby. This time, though, revolves around the frustrating experience people have gained while waiting for the Hornets’ star and Panini to fulfill their promise of delivering these signed pieces of memorabilia to them.
Anyone know the status of these @MELOD1P RC cars? @PaniniAmerica been 13 months now, scared to request a replacement.
Thoughts from the community? pic.twitter.com/3qVWbdzZrc
— Good Juju Cards (@good_juju_cards) December 17, 2022
This tweet, in particular, shows that an individual has been waiting for more than a year to get the LaMelo Ball autographed card promised by Panini’s redemption system. But while the wait for this person has been excruciating, as understood by those in the hobby, it seems he or she isn’t the only one experiencing this issue.
Been waiting 600 days on over 30+ LaMelo Ball Rookie Autos 😞 fuck panini don’t buy their shit
— Gilly Beans (@GillyBeans79) October 11, 2022
As seen in the tweets above, the case of the long-undelivered LaMelo Ball cars is not a minor problem. Some of those in the hobby have claimed to know something behind the scenes, which by all things considered, isn’t reassuring for NBA card collectors.
Spoke to someone with panini and they said the Lamelo autos are not coming at all so to opt out for something else lol 😞
— WGMI (@CODEiNEROBiNSON) September 23, 2022
Have to say — I had a chance to talk to somebody at Panini & Lamelo isn’t signing his rookie autos. And he never will. Meaning, if he does, it’ll be several lawsuits & years later. They already short print Zion/burrow/Lamelo for being the #1 guy. Gonna be more valuable if none of
— KG (@HobbyAlmighty) September 18, 2022
Talked to Panini today checking on my 480 day LaMelo RC auto SP card, and they said he has over 14,000 cards he hasn’t signed for them and isn’t cooperating at all. D doesn’t look good on him@ever signing them. Come on @MELOD1P!
— Kenny Dean, Jr. (@KennyDeanJr) September 13, 2022
Judging from these tweets, it would seem that Ball has been neglecting his duty to sign these NBA cards. As a result, Panini has been caught in a bind and collectors are placed on the losing end of this issue. This is pretty bad, especially for those who have saved up to buy the card company’s high-end product to land signed cards of the Charlotte Hornets’ star, only for them to wait with no end in sight or get another redemption card that are entirely different from what Panini has promised. In any case, both Ball and Panini should get their act together to solve this issue right away.
The current state of LaMelo Ball rookie cards in the market
A few years back, LaMelo Ball cards were the highlight of this hobby as everyone scrambled furiously to get their hands on them. Now, the story is different as Ball’s stock in the NBA card market is down.
According to a three-month graph by Card Ladder, Ball’s PSA 10 base Prizm rookie card is down to $63 from where it was at $127. All things considered, that’s a 50% drop in value over that period. Thanks to an injury causing him to miss time and a disappointing run so far by the Hornets, Ball’s demand in the market has gone down.
Add the current issue involving his signed cards and you’ve got a disaster brewing for the Hornets’ star and Panini. If this goes unresolved, the hobby itself ultimately suffers with disappointments of this magnitude. It remains to be seen how the card company and Ball himself will handle this issue moving forward.
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