Entering the NBA as one of the most promising shooting guards of his generation, Anthony Edwards was selected as the first pick of the 2020 NBA Draft; Collectors have no shortage of option for Anthony Edwards rookie cards.
For me, the best Anthony Edwards rookie for a low budget is his 2020-21 Panini Prizm card, and for a high budget his 2020-21 Panini National Treasures RPA card.
I’ve covered those cards, and the other best Anthony Edwards rookies to collect, released from a wide variety of Panini sets during the 2020-21 NBA season, with different levels of scarcity and value.
Table of Contents
Summary: Top Picks
Here’s a quick look at the top Anthony Edwards rookie cards for every budget:
Low Budget: 2020-21 Panini Prizm #1
Mid Budget: 2020-21 Panini Contenders Optic Autograph #137
High Budget: 2020-21 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph #111
What Are The Best Anthony Edwards Rookie Cards?
2020-21 Panini Prizm Anthony Edwards #1
Anyone who has been in the basketball card hobby for a while will know that Panini Prizm is one of the key sets collectors go to for rookie cards.
The 2020-21 Prizm Anthony Edwards base rookie card is a popular option, particularly for collectors on a budget – The chrome card is a nice entry-level Edwards rookie.
With Prizm, the big appeal for many is the parallels that the set has become known for – The set offers collectors a wide choice of different parallels, with varying levels of rarity.
The parallels hold more value than the mass-produced base card, and some of the more limited ones are a harder chase for collectors, like the Gold Prizm parallel (/10), which sold for $180k in 2022.
2020-21 Panini Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Anthony Edwards #151
Another very popular set in the basketball card hobby, Panini Donruss has the highly sought-after Rated Rookie line.
Donruss Rated Rookie has been a staple of the hobby for many years, and this 2020-21 Rated Rookie Optic Anthony Edwards card, a chrome take on the standard Donruss card, is one of his most popular rookie cards.
It’s another good option for collectors, on a budget, who want an Edwards rookie.
The base card is easy to get hold of, and not really expensive to buy, but like Prizm, there are a lot of parallel versions, which add color and rarity.
The lowest-numbered parallels are among the best and most valuable Edwards rookie cards.
2020-21 Panini Flawless Anthony Edwards #61
Panini Flawless is one of the key basketball card sets – Flawless cards are definitely in the premium and high-value camp.
The 2020-21 Panini Flawless Anthony Edwards is one of the most valuable of his base rookies, with no signature or memorabilia patch.
The classy looking card is limited to just 20 copies, so it isn’t easy to get hold of. The base Flawless cards are embedded with a diamond gem, which is a contributing factor to its high value.
There’s also multiple, rarer, parallels, which have a different embedded gem – Including the highly scarce and valuable Bronze (/3) and Platinum (1 of 1).
2020-21 Panini NBA Hoops Anthony Edwards #216
Panini NBA Hoops is a brand with a lot of history in the hobby – It’s another set which generally offers collectors common, and lower value base rookie cards.
The design of this NBA Hoops Anthony Edwards rookie is nice, with an overall design that works well – The color scheme fits his jersey and the centralized image of Edwards in action is the final touch on a nice-looking card.
It’s a card that remains popular among collectors and investors, but not quite in the same league as other ‘budget’ Edwards rookies, like the Prizm base card.
With a more traditional card design, and a low value, it’s a great budget option for an Anthony Edwards rookie – There’s also an array of different parallels, which offer a more valuable and harder chase.
2020-21 Panini Select Anthony Edwards #61
Panini Select offers collectors something slightly different to mainstream basketball card brands like Prizm and Donruss – The key difference is that Select works with a tiered base set system.
For the 2020-21 set, every player, including Anthony Edwards, has 3 unique base cards, with each having a progressively lower print count, making them rarer and usually more valuable.
The first, and most common, is the Concourse card (pictured above). Then there’s the less-common Premier level card, and finally the rarest, which is the Courtside card
Every Select Edwards rookie card has some unique parallels as well.
2020-21 Panini Prizm DP Downtown Anthony Edwards #D4
Although I’ve already mentioned the Panini Prizm set on this list, the Downtown card deserves a separate mention – It’s an SSP insert, so not a traditional rookie card, but it’s one of Edwards’ key early NBA cards.
Downtown is one of the most popular and sought-after inserts in the hobby – The artistic, cultural referenced card designs resonate well with collectors. This one features Anthony Edwards in his Georgia Bulldogs college uniform.
The cards are very rare and hard to pull from boxes, so they’re not easy to get hold of on the secondary market; The popularity and rarity of them also makes them highly-valuable, so this card is one of Edwards’ more expensive rookies.
2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Kaboom! Anthony Edwards #21
Another popular insert that deserves a special mention is the 2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Kaboom! Anthony Edwards rookie card.
Like Downtown, Kaboom is one of the most sought-after lines in the whole hobby. The hugely popular comic styled cards are rare and hold big price tags.
This rare Edwards rookie is desirable and not easy to get hold of, you can expect to pay a premium on the secondary market – It’s another one of his most valuable unsigned rookie cards.
The Best Autographed Anthony Edwards Rookie Cards
2020-21 Panini Contenders Optic Rookie Ticket Anthony Edwards Autograph #137
The rookie ticket design has always been a popular feature of the basketball card hobby, and it’s no different for the 2020-21 Panini Contenders Optic Rookie Ticket.
For me, this is easily one of the best Anthony Edwards rookie cards.
The Optic card has the appeal of combining the popular rookie ticket design, with a chromium finish – The added appeal of the signature and limited supply, makes it one of his most valuable rookies.
There’s also an image variation version of the card; Both have their own set of parallels.
A copy of the Gold parallel (/10) sold for $31.2k in 2022.
It’s a good option for collectors who want an autographed Edwards rookie, with a nice design, that will be expensive, but not quite at the levels of his RPA cards.
2020-21 Panini Immaculate Anthony Edwards Autograph Patch #137
RPA cards are always popular and sought-after for basketball card collectors with the biggest budgets.
The first premium Anthony Edwards RPA card on the list comes from the 2020-21 Panini Immaculate set. Immaculate is one of the key premium basketball card brands, and cards generally hold high values.
Limited and numbered to just 99 copies, with some rarer and more valuable parallels, and featuring an on-card signature and small memorabilia patch, it’s a card that holds big value, and is one of Anthony Edwards’ most expensive rookie cards to buy.
2020-21 Panini Flawless Anthony Edwards Vertical Autograph Patch #VPAANT
Another one of the hobby’s most premium and valuable brands is Flawless – It’s very much a well-known entity in sports cards.
Edwards has multiple high-end cards from the set, including the 1-of-1 Logoman Autographs card, which sold for $426k in 2022, to make it the most expensive Edwards rookie.
The cards are known for their classy designs and elegant finish – This Vertical Patch Autograph Edwards card from the set is one of his most expensive rookie cards, and a good long term pick if you’re prepared to spend more, and believe in Edwards’ career.
The base card is limited to just 15 copies (with a few rarer parallels), which contributes to its high value, along with the autograph and memorabilia patch.
2020-21 Panini National Treasures Anthony Edwards Autograph Patch #111
For many, National Treasures is the holy grail of premium sports card brands. The key line from National Treasures is the Rookie Patch Autograph cards, which are only for collectors with the biggest budgets.
The 2020-21 Panini National Treasures Anthony Edwards rookie card has it all, with a jumbo patch, hard-signed autograph, classy design with a high quality finish, and limited print run of 99 copies, with a few rarer parallels, which hold even more value.
The parallels add another layer of rarity, as well as color.
A copy of the Gold parallel (/10) sold for $222k in 2022, but the base version itself has sold for as high as $192k before.
The brand prestige of National Treasures gives it the edge over similar RPA cards; In my opinion, this is the best Anthony Edwards rookie card to collect, for collectors who have the budget.
When Was Anthony Edwards’ Rookie Season?
Anthony Edwards’ rookie season was the 2020-21 NBA season – He was selected as the 1st overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Edwards flourished in his rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwovles, and ended up finishing second, behind LaMelo Ball, in the Rookie of the Year voting – When you consider the lack of success the Minnesota Timberwovles had as a team that season, it was an impressive display from Edwards.
What Are Anthony Edwards Rookie Cards Worth?
The value of an Anthony Edwards rookie card very much depends on which of his rookies you’re talking about. The mainstream, base rookies, like the 2020-21 Panini Prizm and the 2020-21 NBA Hoops cards are sold for $100-200.
There are some more valuable parallels of the mainstream base cards, but again the values can vary based on rarity and popularity.
Edwards’ most premium and valuable rookie cards, like the 2020-21 National Treasures rookie patch autograph card and the 2020-21 Panini Flawless patch autograph rookie card, can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What Is The Most Expensive Anthony Edwards Rookie Card?
Excluding parallels, the most expensive Anthony Edwards rookie card is his 2020-21 Panini National Treasures rookie patch autograph card, which has sold for over $190k before.
Edwards’ most expensive unsigned, no patch rookie cards include the 2020-21 Crown Royale Kaboom! card, the 2020-21 Panini Prizm DP Downtown card and the 2020-21 Panini Flawless embedded gem card.
