NBA basketball cards: 5 incredible rookies still worth adding to your collection

3) 2019 rookie NBA basketball cards worth collecting: RJ Barrett, Knicks

I’m lukewarm with RJ Barrett following his rookie season, but that’s more or less exactly why I think he’s worth collecting. There are many people like me who have pretty much written Barrett off and put him in the way-back of our minds because we haven’t seen him in so long and because the Knicks had a trainwreck of a season.

Barrett’s disappearance from the mainstream has been out of his control. David Fizdale — notably not great with leaning into his young player — was fired and shortly before the season was suspended, making the Knicks even less watchable (debatably! Some people loved Mike Miller as the interim head coach and found the product to be better after Fizdale left). The Knicks, firmly out of the playoff race, were not invited to the NBA bubble.

Barrett played the second-least minutes in his rookie season of the five players selected in the top five, only playing more than Zion Williamson who appeared in just 24 games. With a new coach in Tom Thibodeau, you can guarantee Barrett will be given more ownership of the offense moving forward. With Madison Square Garden (presumably, provided the bubble isn’t a thing moving forward) as his stomping ground, the sky is the limit for Barrett’s persona and overall marketability.

Let’s not forget, the Knicks are still one of the most marketable teams, even if stars don’t want to play there.

Again, I was lukewarm on him after his rookie season, but objectively it wasn’t a bad start. He averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He’s no bust.

His base NBA Hoops rookie card went for less than $15 PSA-9 recently and a PSA-9 Prizm base went for $37.

RJ Barrett: Here are the current offering on eBay