In the glitzy constellation of the WNBA, where stars often have to burn brightly and quickly for their names to be etched in the league’s storied history, Angel Reese has already carved out her niche with all the finesse of a seasoned astronomer plotting the next big comet. Her quick rise to stardom is not just a testament to her performances on the hardwood but also to her burgeoning presence in the collector’s world, where her rookie cards have become coveted treasures for fans and investors alike, much like stokers hovering over a diamond in the rough.
This past week, Reese set the New York Liberty’s 85-66 victory aglow with a personal triumph that sent ripples far beyond the immediate loss her team faced. As part of the Chicago Sky’s valiant roster, Reese achieved a milestone that has put her on a fast track to legendary status—she became the quickest player in WNBA history to achieve 30 career double-doubles. This feat, managed in just 42 games, places her above other luminaries of the court like Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie when it comes to flipping those stats as easily as a pancake on a Sunday morning.
In a game rife with double-digit losses for the Sky, Reese was a singular beacon, notching 17 points with the precision of a metronome, gathering 11 rebounds as if they were stray kittens, and capably adding three assists and two steals for good measure. Her capacity to leave opponents shaking off her defensive prowess like so much water off a duck’s back is as much a part of her blooming mystique as those burgeoning point totals.
Yet for all her early career bravado, Reese finds herself navigating the tricky second-season seas where every opponent seems to come prepared with tape, tricks, and tactics tailored to clip her wings. Through the first eight games of the 2025 season, Reese’s numbers have taken a slight detour, with her scoring averaging just over 10 points per game—not the explosion one might hope for in her sophomore campaign. And while her shooting percentage lurks at a pedestrian 35%, her rebounding stubbornly remains highlighted, furnishing her with over 12 boards per game. This slight dip from her rookie campaign—where she posted a buoyant 13.6 PPG on a more robust 39% shooting rate—has caused a few raised eyebrows among those tracker-keepers who invest more in performance graphs than in game shows.
Despite what some might claim to be a sophomore slump, her burgeoning sports card market tells a slightly different story. Reese’s 2024 Panini Prizm Silver PSA 10—the holy grail of her rookie cards—holds its ground like a seasoned negotiator, staying reliably around $100 on the resale market. This in spite of its brief dip back in the turbulent waters of May. Enthusiasts in the cardboard world, it seems, have categorically taken note of her uncanny ability for defensive and rebounding artistry, traits that continue to spark intrigue against the backdrop of Athena-like competitors such as Caitlin Clark, whose market combusts with a fiery zeal reminiscent of a Roman candle at a midnight carnival.
The mutable buzz surrounding Reese invariably ties to the kind of narrative she concocts through the remainder of this season. It applies just as much to her aspirations on the court as it does to the arc of her collecting value. Strong performances that echo her pioneering double-double phenomenon could easily reignite the flames of desire among collectors, driving demand and consequently spinning the wheels of her rookie card values upward once more. Conversely, lingering offensive tribulations could very well pump the brakes on buyers’ enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, Reese’s journey thus far paints her as a playmaker with a captivating allure, both as an athletic competitor and as a furnished collectible star. As the glorious theater of the WNBA continues its run through 2025, it remains to be seen if Reese’s narrative culminates in rookie cards that will become must-haves in the annals of sports memorabilia—or simply act as a prudent hold for now. Whatever the case may be, Reese’s ability to stay in the spotlight ensures that her cards—and her trajectory as a player—are stories far from reaching their denouement.