Last Updated on June 22, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Anthony Davis has game-worn jerseys in his man cave. I’m sure many other NBA players do too. Game-worn memorabilia is popular to collect by sports fans of all ages. One of the coolest things to happen to sports trading cards was the idea of including a jersey relic in the cards so collectors could have some game-worn uniforms in the cards themselves.
Here are some of the best NBA basketball card jersey relics I could find in 2024 for all budgets. many of the designs are used for multiple players, so one version of the card may be available for a different player. You can use these general designs for ideas regarding what you might like for the player you want to shop for.
Condition:
You pay a premium for PSA 10 cards. I prefer to target the PSA 9s, as they are still regarded as mint. When describing to someone something in perfect condition, the old phrase has always been “mint,” so I’m happy to target mint condition cards. You don’t hear anyone say they have a “gem mint” version of whatever it is. That said, even near-mint relic cards can be valuable because the relic is the main thing rather than the finer details on the card’s corners etc. Sometimes the card’s condition can help reduce the number of cards available, which is the main reason the value rises in those cases — everyone wants something rare.
2003 Upper Deck SPx Tracy McGrady #PATCH Dual Game Jerseys – PSA 9 POP 1 ($132.64)
This T-Mac relic is a 1 of 1 from his 2003 season. T-Mac cards are undervalued relatively speaking to other players. Often the cards will tell you where the relic is from exactly. It might be the jersey, but sometimes it can be the warmup or shooting tops, such as on this T-Mac card. See one I own: Tracy McGrady Jersey Relic Topps Bowman 08-09
2003-04 Topps Finest Refractor Ray Allen Sonics HOF Jersey /250 PSA 9 Pop 1 ($79.95)
Supersonic Ray Allen was the best Ray Allen. He was in his prime, his roll was unlimited, and he was an excellent scorer and shooter. The relic on this card is subtle and the card still looks like a traditional card.
2012 Immaculate Kobe Bryant Game Worn Jersey Relic #/75 PSA 9 MINT IS-KB POP 1 ($2,499.00)
Kobe Bryant has some really cool relic cards, but they’re expensive. This relic is so large that it only made sense to have the card in landscape view. The larger the relic the smaller the picture of the player, so there is that constant trade-off. If you like collecting relics more than cards, you’ll enjoy your relics being this large.
2020 Select Lebron James #PATCH COPPER /49 Game Dual Jerseys – PSA 9 POP 6 ($643.77)
Lebron James has many relic cards. There are some good Cavs, Heat, and Lakers relics for Lebron. A big Lebron fan may opt for a dual relic of either the Cavs and Lakers or the Cavs and Heat. Even if you aren’t a Cavs fan, we all know he is from Cleveland, and playing for the Cavs meant a lot to him, so having a Cleveland relic is cool and should hold value.
Tyler Herro 2019 Panini Prizm Orange Ice RC PSA 9 Mint Game Used Jersey Relic ($150.00)
Tyler Herro’s relic card is a stylish design. The most valuable relics should in theory be the colored relics rather than white because most people prefer the colored jerseys. The black Heat jersey is the most beautiful Heat jersey and that makes this relic look cool.
2019 Panini Noir Stephen Curry #PATCH /65 Game Worn Jersey – PSA 9 POP 5 ($404.38)
This is one of Stephen Curry’s better relic cards. I like it because the card is in portrait view, the picture of Curry is large, the relic is of the blue jersey, and the card itself looks cool.
Add to the thread your favorite NBA relic cards.
Notes:
- Some relic cards are limited to a certain number. The Curry card for instance is numbered 48/65 (number 48 of 65), aka only 65 in total exist. So relic cards in general will become very valuable in the future. All relic cards are fairly limited because they can only be cut from so much cloth.
- It’s not always the case that the most popular players have the most expensive cards; you have to look at where the popularity comes from. For instance, one of my favorite players is Tracy McGrady and I can tell you that he is very popular in China, but the Chinese aren’t spending a lot of money on T-Mac cards today. They might in future though.