Caitlin Clark Gives Everyone $400 Costlier Reason to Be More Demanding Than Victor Wembanyama & Others

Ever since the arrival of Caitlin Clark, the 2024 draft No. 1 pick the dynamics of WNBA changed. From viewership to records, the Indiana Fever standout has everyone on their feet. While W’s regular season is over, and Clark didn’t even participate in Unrivaled, there were chances that the hype train would slow down! Not really. The Indiana Fever star, this offseason has once again flipped the script, this time in the sports card market.

Panini, the exclusive trading card license holder for both leagues, released its flagship 2024 WNBA Prizm set on February 12. The price? A staggering $1,200 per hobby box. Meanwhile, the NBA’s 2024-25 Prizm set, released on February 19, sits at around $800—a $400 difference!

Let that sink in—WNBA trading cards are commanding a higher price than NBA cards for the first time ever. And what’s fueling this massive shift? A 23-year-old Iowa native, Caitlin Clark, who earns 184 times less than her NBA counterpart, Victor Wembenyama.

Well, this isn’t the first time the 2024 All-Star has seen her cards sell for insane prices.

In December, a one-of-a-kind Panini Select WNBA Gold Vinyl Clark card sold at auction for $234,850—the highest price ever for a women’s sports card. And that might not even be the peak. Her ultra-rare Prizm 1/1 is expected to blow past that number once it hits the auction block.

The demand for her cards has skyrocketed interest in WNBA trading cards. Her base Prizm rookie card is already selling for nearly $70 on eBay, while Silver Prizm parallels are fetching upwards of $450. And honestly, this is just the beginning.

As Caitlin Clark’s card market booms, WNBA extends towards closing the gap 

For NBA collectors, the 2024 NBA Draft class doesn’t seem to be convincing in terms of long-term value. While Victor Wembanyama’s 2023-24 Prizm hobby boxes are averaging around $1,300, that was before the arrival of the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Since being drafted by the Indiana Fever, Clark has become the third-most searched active basketball player on eBay this season—trailing only LeBron James and Wembanyama. If you think that’s not a big deal, think again.

Even Wemby himself is impressed.

“When she [Caitlin Clark] was in college, [she was] the only college player that I was really in awe of their game, you know,” he shared on X about Clark. “I’m saying men’s and women’s college basketball, she’s probably the most impressive I’ve seen.”

Historically, WNBA trading cards have been a niche market, often overshadowed by the NBA. But Clark has changed everything. Before she even scored a bucket in the league, she already had nearly 622 different cards available, including autographed versions.

That’s a stark contrast to legends like A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu, whose pre-WNBA card availability was next to nothing. Her impact has even influenced Panini to expand its offerings.

For the first time in history, the WNBA will feature three distinct Panini sets—Prizm, Select, and Origins. In previous years, the league was lucky to even get one set per season. Now, Clark’s presence has essentially tripled the WNBA’s footprint in the trading card industry. And this is still just the beginning—there’s much more for her to unveil. Well, do you think W will soon overtake the NBA?