LaMelo Ball was born to a basketball family as the youngest son of LaVar ball. LaMelo grew up playing basketball from an early age constantly having to compete with his older brothers which is likely the reason why he has been the most successful thus far. Unlike his brother Lonzo, LaMelo did not go to college opting for the international route. Where he played in Australia’s National National Basketball League for one year.
Drafted as the third pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, LaMelo has already proven a generational talent. He won the 2020 Rookie of the Year award and in his second year was named an All-Star. Card wise LaMelo Ball’s rookie card has a similar value to Anthony Edwards as the two 2020 rookie breakouts however lamela’s card has seen much more grading.
Most Valuable LaMelo Ball Rookie Cards
Donruss Rated Rookie
A Classic Rookie card which is highly sought after by small collectors for a cheap RC card. This card is found in Retail Donruss packs making it quite common. PSA data, as of 8/12/2022, doesn’t have the pop of LaMelo Ball’s Donruss rated rookie. Parallels include Green Laser, Green Flood, Green & Yellow Laser, Orange Laser, Red & Gold Laser, Yellow Flood, Press Proof Silver #/349, Press Proof Purple #/199, Purple Laser #/99, Red Laser #/99, Blue Laser #/49, Yellow Laser #/25, Red & Blue Laser #/15, Gold Laser #/10, Black Laser 1/1
Donruss Clearly Rated Rookie
With a clear background and plastic stock, these cards are considered good cards to some and bad cards to others. PSA has graded ~105 LaMelo Cards. Parallels include Gold, Purple, Mosaic Holo, Blue /99, Red /49, Green /25, Silver Holo /10, Gold Holo /5, Platinum Holo 1/1
Optic Rated Rookie
Another Rated Rookie with a different photo, Optic tends to be a more sought after card due to quality of card stock. PSA data, as of 8/12/2022, doesn’t have the pop of LaMelo Ball’s Optic rated rookie. Parallels include Holo, Photon, Hyper Pink, Purple, Purple Shock, Blue, Blue Velocity, Dragon, Red, White Sparkle, Checkerboard, Orange /199, Lime Green /149, Red /99, Purple /95, Red /88, Red /85, Pink /79, Blue /59, Blue /50, Black /39, Pink /25, Pink /20, Gold /10, Lucky Envelopes /8, Green /5, Black 1/1, Gold Vinyl 1/1, Nebula 1/1
Chronicles
2020 LaMelo Ball Chronicles included Base Panini, Threads, Prestige, Luminous, Playbook, Essentials, Marquee, Plates and Patches, Majestic Limited, Gala, Titanium Draft Position, Gold Standard, Crusade, Hometown Heroes, Phoenix, Honors, Score ,Classics, Rookies and Stars, and Legacy Totally Certified. PSA has graded ~540 with over 112 different card types! Parallels include Bronze, Green, Green Ice, Pink Teal, Red /149, Blue /99, Purple /49, Gold /10, Lucky Envelopes /8, Platinum 1/1
NBA Hoops
Different from the 2019 premium stock, the 2020 NBA Hoops featured a very simple design that lacked any iconic look. PSA data, as of 8/12/2022, doesn’t have the pop of LaMelo Ball’s NBA Hoops card. Parallels included Winter, Blue, hyper Blue, Green, Purple, Purple Explosion, Purple Winter, Redbox, Teal Explosion, Yellow, Silver /199, Hyper Red /99, Green Explosion /89, Red /75, Teal /70, Blue Explosion / 59, Artist Proof /25, Hyper Green /25, Orange /25, Orange Explosion /25, Red Explosion /15, Artist Proof Gold /10, Hyper Gold /10, Artist Proof 1/1
Contenders
LaMelo Ball rookie cards are only found as an Insert, Auto, or Memorabilia (Jersey) in the Contenders series. The Draft Class 2020 LaMelo Ball rookie card being the most common. PSA has graded ~13 of these cards due to how common they were. Parallels include Red, Cracked Ice /25, Championship Edition 1/1
Illusions
Illusions is a retail product known for its dark parallels with a similarity to Noir hobby. With only ~90 PSA graded cards, it is one of the lowest retail graded cards due to unpopularity. Parallels include Bronze, Emerald, Orange, Pink, Sapphire, Starlight, Yellow /149, Ruby /125, Red /99, Teal / 75, Black /49, Blue /25, Gold /10, Green /5, Purple 1/1
Flux
A series that only ran for the 2020-21 season with no plans for future series as Panini has inserted it into the Chronicles series. Many not liking the Flux series, LaMelo Ball rookie card happens to be quite cheap compared to others. PSA has only graded ~600 LaMelo Ball RC. Parallels include Light Blue, Moonlight, Pink, Red, Silver, Sunrise, Blue /99, Supernova /75, Solar Eclipse /49, Lunar eclipse /25, Purple Scope /18, Gold /10, Gold Scope /8, Green /5, Black 1/1
Prizm
Panini’s headliner series with a classic silver foil picturing LaMelo Ball with 2 photo variations. Prizm with by far the most PSA graded cards at ~8,400 with less photo variation (~690) graded than normal variation (~3,000) opposite that of Anthony Edward’s. Parallels include Silver, Blue Wave, Gold Wave, Green, Green Ice, Hyper, Orange Ice, Pink can Ice, Purple Wave, Red Ice, Red/White/Blue, Ruby Wave, White Sparkle, Red /299, Blue /199, Purple Ice /175, Blue Ice /125, Purple /99, Orange Wave /60, Orange /49, Pink Pulsar /42, Blue Shimmer /35, Purple Pulsar /35, Green Pulsar /25, Mojo /25, Gold /10, Gold Shimmer /10, Lucky Envelopes /8, Black Gold /5, Green Shimmer /5, Black 1/1, Black Shimmer 1/1
Mosaic
The second year of Panini’s newer series featured largely the same look as last year with a normal rookie card and a NBA debut rookie card. PSA has graded ~4,200 with ~85 Genesis (Case Hit). Parallels include Mosaic, Camo Pink, Gold Wave, Green, Green Ice, Red, Red Wave, Genesis, Blue /99, Purple /49, Orange Fluorescent /25, White /25, Blue Fluorescent /15, Pink Swirl /11, Gold /10, Green Fluorescent /10, Green Swirl /10, Pink Fluorescent /10, Lucky Envelopes /8, Black 1/1
Select
This set has LaMelo Ball coming in three different variants called Concourse, Premier Level, and Courtside with increased rarity. PSA has graded ~3,900 with ~1,650 from Concourse #63, ~990 Premier Level #183, and ~950 Courtside #298. Parallels include Blue Retail, Elephant, Scope, Silver, Tiger, Tri-Color, Zebra, Red White Orange, Blue White Purple, Red White Green, Cosmic, Green White Purple, Light Blue /299, Red /199, White /149, Neon Green /75, Teal White Pink /49, Blue White Green /49, Tie-Dye /25, Gold /10, Lucky Envelopes /8, Green /5, Black 1/1, Black White Gold 1/1
Absolute Memorabilia
A lesser-known hobby box known for its thicker cards with a small supply of LaMelo Ball rookie cards. Only ~50 PSA graded cards with most being 9s. Parallels include Dollar Tree, Red /199, Blue /99, Orange /75, Teal /49, Purple /25, Gold /10, Green /5, Black 1/1
Final Thoughts
With LaMelo’s incredible rise to fame, his rookie cards continue to be highly sought-after and considered a good long-term investment. Barring a major injury, LaMelo is on pace to be a possible Hall of Famer, however only time will tell. It is always a good sign when a player can reach an All-Star within their first two years. Whether the Charlotte Hornets see the same success is unknown at this time as the team lacks a co-star for LaMelo
