Cade Cunnignham’s rookie cards gained a lot of attention among basketball collectors when the hype started ramping up during his time at Oklahoma State.
For collectors without limits to their budget, my pick for the best Cade Cunningham rookie card is his 2021-22 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card.
His 2021-22 Panini Prizm rookie is a great option for lower budgets, with the array of parallel versions offering different price entry points; I’ve covered those cards, and some alternatives further down.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary
Here’s a quick look at my top picks:
The Best Cade Cunningham Rookie Cards
2021-22 Panini NBA Hoops Cade Cunningham #201
As one of the earliest NBA releases for 2021-22, the Panini NBA hoops Cade Cunningham rookie card is one of his most popular.
The card features an image of Cunningham in the blue Detroit Pistons uniform, in action with the ball, framed by the classic NBA Hoops border design – A nice looking card which resonates well with collectors.
The base card comes with numerous parallels, varying in scarcity, which are more valuable.
2021-22 Panini Prizm Cade Cunningham #282
As one of the biggest NBA releases of the year, Panini Prizm cards are very popular for rookie cards every year – The 2021-22 Prizm Cade Cunningham rookie is one of his most sought-after and, for me, it’s his best rookie for all budgets.
In terms of value, the base card is very much an entry-level option for collectors, because it’s available on mass. However, Prizm cards do also come with lots of parallel options, with varying scarcity, and therefore varied prices, so there should be something for all budgets.
The lowest-numbered parallel versions are among his most valuable rookies, like the Black Gold Prizm parallel (/5) which sold for $32.4k back in 2022.
2021-22 Panini Crown Royale Cade Cunningham #69
The 2021-22 Panini Crown Royale Cade Cunningham rookie card has a design that we’re accustomed to seeing from this set, with a classic and distinctive die-cut crown shape on the card.
It’s not the easiest card to find in good condition, and while it’s not as popular as some on this list, it holds decent value.
There’s also an array of more limited crystal parallels, which are worth more than the base card.
2021-22 Panini Revolution Cade Cunningham #120
The 2021-22 Panini Revolution Cade Cunningham rookie card features a bold and slick design.
The contrast in colors with the foiled background, and the different shapes and lines within the design makes the card really stand out – more of a throwback style card.
The base card comes with lots of different parallels, which have alternative foil patterns.
2021-22 Panini Court Kings Cade Cunningham #77
Panini Court Kings Cade Cunningham rookie cards offer something a bit different, with a nice looking artistic style.
The 2021-22 Panini Court Kings set includes four RC choices for every player, starting with the ‘Rookies I’ card (pictured above), which is the most common, to ‘Rookies IV’, the rarest – All 4 cards have a different design.
While there’s 4 different cards, with unique designs, unusually there are no parallels for these.
2021-22 Panini Donruss Optic Cade Cunningham #161
A popular NBA yearly release, Panini’s Donruss Optic NBA is best known for its Rated Rookie line.
Naturally, Cade Cunningham features as one of the standout first-year names within the Rated Rookie set for 2021-22; It’s a popular and sought-after rookie card, and a great similar alternative to his Prizm rookie.
The base card can be picked up quite easily, and is more of an entry-level option for collectors, but there’s also numerous more valuable, and limited, parallels.
2021-22 Panini Crown Royale Kaboom! Cade Cunningham #21
The big hitting line from the Panini Crown Royale brand is the Kaboom! inserts, which are very popular.
The bold, foiled card with the comic book style design resonates well with collectors, and they are highly sought-after cards.
The Kaboom Cade Cunningham rookie card isn’t easy to get hold of, and will cost more than the base rookie cards listed above, but it’s a nice option for collectors with the budget for it.
The Best Cade Cunningham Autographed Rookie Cards
2021-22 Panini NBA Hoops Art Signatures Cade Cunningham Autograph #CCN
Cade Cunningham was 1 of only 6 players to feature on a Hoops Art Signatures card in the 2021-22 NBA Hoops set.
The card is not easy to get hold of, and has big appeal with the on-card autograph, so it holds a lot of value.
It’s a nice option for collectors with a bigger budget, who are looking for a Cunningham rookie card.
2021-22 Panini Noir Rookie Cade Cunningham Autograph #390
Panini Noir cards rarely disappoint, this Cade Cunningham rookie card is a beauty.
The dark theme, with the foiled text and border look great, and then you add the gold hard-signed autograph as the key feature, and you have a very nice looking card, with big appeal.
The card is limited and numbered to just 49, with a Platinum parallel numbered /10, so the card isn’t easy to get hold of, but it’s one of the lower-priced autographed Cunningham rookie options.
2021-22 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Cade Cunningham Autograph #101
2021-22 Panini Contenders is home to some of the most popular Cade Cunningham rookie cards, and this Rookie Ticket auto card has big appeal.
The hard-signed autograph, on the popular ticket style card will cost big money, if you can get hold of one – It’s one of Cunningham’s most popular and sought-after auto rookie cards.
There’s also an image variation version of the card, which can be identified by the white ‘V’ on the back of the card; Both versions have their own parallels.
If you’re looking for an autographed Cade Cunningham card, I think this one is a great option.
In 2022, the 1-of-1 Championship Ticket parallel version sold for $48k.
2021-22 Panini Immaculate Collection Cade Cunningham Rookie Patch Autograph #122
Panini Immaculate is very much one of the most premium basketball card brands, and the 2021-22 set has multiple high-end Cade Cunningham cards.
For me, the pick of them is his Rookie Patch Autograph, which is limited to only 99 numbered base copies.
It features a hard-signed autograph and jersey relic patch, and while it’s not cheap to buy, it offers an alternative to the National Treasures RPA card, at a much lower price.
There are a handful of lower-numbered parallel versions as well, which are even more valuable.
2021-22 Panini National Treasures Rookie Cade Cunningham Patch Autograph #123
Panini National Treasures cards are usually near the top of the list for premium card releases, and in my opinion, this is Cunningham’s best rookie – It’s also his most valuable.
It’s not just the on-card signature, jersey patch and limited print run of just 99 that gives it the high value, but also the finish to the card, which is very high quality.
The base card itself is high value, and easily his highest value base rookie, but it does also come with numerous limited parallels, which hold even more value.
The 1-of-1 Logoman Patch parallel version sold for $204k back in 2022, and an Emerald parallel (/5) sold for $49.2k in the same year.
What Is The Most Expensive Cade Cunningham Rookie Card?
The most expensive Cade Cunningham rookie card to buy is his 2021-22 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card, which is limited to only 99 numbered base copies, and some limited parallel versions.
You can expect to pay well over $10k for high-graded copies of the base card, and the 1-of-1 Logoman patch parallel version has sold for $204k in the past.
When Was Cade Cunningham’s Rookie Season?
Cade Cunningham’s rookie season was the 2021-22 season – In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons drafted him with the 1st pick.
Cade Cunningham: A Background
After some impressive performances during his time at Oklahoma State, Cade Cunningham was destined to be one of the top picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, where he ended up being the 1st pick.
He won some notable awards during his college basketball days, like the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and the Big 12 Player of the Year accolades – There was a lot of hype and expectation for the Point Guard, before he’d stepped foot into the NBA.
He backed up some of the expectations during his rookie season, where he had a very good season with the Detroit Pistons. While it was Toronto’s Scottie Barnes who claimed the NBA Rookie of the Year award, Cunningham was named in the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
