If you have a Wilt Chamberlain rookie card, your collection has an elite piece. He’s one of basketball best and biggest stars in more ways than one. A dominating presence on the court and a superstar aura off of it has translated into a major hobby relevance decades after his death.
Simply put, when you look at basketball before Jordan, Bird, Magic and the 1992 Dream Team, Wilt Chamberlain is likely to be part of any basketball Mount Rushmore debate.
The Hall of Famer’s career started at a time when regular basketball card sets weren’t a thing. In fact, it wasn’t until Chamberlain’s third season in the NBA that he finally got his rookie card.
1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Card #8
One of the most iconic basketball cards of all-time, the 1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Card is also one of the most valuable. It’s the king of a checklist that also includes rookies of a couple of other NBA legends in Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. Even the second tier is impressive with the likes of Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy and Len Wilkens.
Even in lesser condition, collectors can expet to pay thousands for a Wilt Chamberlain rookie card. Move into mid-range and you’re looking at five figures. In 2021 and 2022, multiple Mint PSA 9 copies sold for over $340,000. In 2023, another went for $198,000. That’s a big difference but still a massive amount. As of the midway point of 2024, PSA had graded more than 1,500 copies of the 1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain rookie card. Of those, just three achieved Gem Mint 10 grades with none selling in recent years.
1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain #47 In Action
1961-62 Fleer Basketball has an In Action subset that forgoes posed player shots for game action. The result is something like a newspaper story. When it comes to basketball cards, it’s a much more affordable alternative to the set’s main Wilt Chamberlain rookie card. Traditionally, subsets don’t get rookie status if the player has a regular card on the same checklist. Such is the case here. But for many, the Wilt Chamberlain RC is so expensive, it’s unrealistic.
The In Action card, though, might be attainable and still comes from the center’s first year on cardboard.. It’s still not a cheap but it’s definitely cheaper.
Like his rookie card, finding a top-condition example is near impossible. Only a couple of copies have reached gem mint status through PSA.
