Nikola Jokic’s rookie cards are not short of interest in the basketball card hobby, due to his MVP winning status. He’s one of the NBA’s standout names.
In my opinion, the best Jokic rookie card is his 2015-16 Panini National Treasures Rookie Autograph card, which is also his most expensive (excluding parallels); I’ve covered that, and some of his other best rookies to collect further down.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways: Top Picks
Before I get into the full list, here’s a quick look at the best Jokic rookie card picks:
Unsigned: 2015-16 Panini Prizm #335
Signed: 2015-16 Panini National Treasures Rookie Autograph #152
The Best Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
Jokic’s rookie cards quickly gained interest and recognition as he was selected for the All-Rookie First Team in his debut NBA season. More impressive individual awards followed, including MVP in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, beating the likes of Joel Embiid, Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo to those accolades.
As expected, his earliest NBA cards are among the most popular choices overall – His rookies were released in Panini sets during the 2015-16 NBA season. Here’s the top picks:
2015-16 Panini Prizm Nikola Jokic #335
First on our list of the best Nikola Jokic rookie cards is from the ever popular Panini Prizm.
Panini Prizm is always one of the most popular NBA card releases of the year, and it’s no different for the 2015-16 set, which includes this appealing Nikola Jokic rookie card; It’s one of his best and most popular rookie cards.
The base card is among one of his most sought-after base rookie cards but, as always with Prizm, collectors enjoy the array of parallel options, which offer a rarer and more valuable versions of the rookie.
A copy of the SSP White Sparkle parallel sold for $30.6k in 2023, which makes it one of Jokic’s most expensive unsigned rookie cards.
2015-16 Panini Revolution Nikola Jokic #114
The 2015-16 Revolution Nikola Jokic rookie card is definitely one of the more distinguishable and elaborate of his cards.
It offers collectors, who prefer foil to chrome, a nice and unique looking option for a Jokic rookie, which is supplemented with multiple impressive-looking parallels.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the Short Print Galactic parallel sold for $18.3k in 2024, so it’s one of Jokic’s most valuable unsigned rookies.
2015-16 Donruss Rated Rookie Nikola Jokic #215
Another well-established and popular mainstream NBA card brand, Donruss features the sought-after Rated Rookie line.
The 2015-16 Donruss Rated Rookie Nikola Jokic rookie card is one of the more valuable mainstream base rookie cards on the market, but still affordable for the average collector – Certainly one to take a look at.
While the base card is relatively low-value, the low-numbered parallels add color and rarity, so they’re worth a lot more; An SGC 10 graded copy of the Status parallel (/15) sold for $4.48k in 2023.
2015-16 Panini Flawless Nikola Jokic #145
Panini Flawless is one of the super-premium basketball card releases, and offers a unique and high-end option for a Nikola Jokic rookie.
The base 2015-16 Flawless embedded gem (diamond) cards were numbered and limited to just 20 copies.
There are 4 parallels, with alternative gemstones, which have even shorter print runs than the base card – Between the 5 different cards, they offer a nice option to collectors with a bigger budget.
2015-16 Panini Clear Vision Nikola Jokic #99
While the Panini Clear Vision NBA card brand is perhaps less-established and popular than some of its similar level counterparts, it does offer something a bit different with its design.
The supply for this one is also less than some of Nikola Jokic’s other unnumbered base rookie cards, so that could appeal to some collectors.
2015-16 Panini Select Nikola Jokic Premier Level #128
Next on our list of the top, and most valuable Nikola Jokic rookie cards, is from another well-established set, Panini Select.
While the set followed the tiered level base cards in 2015-16, that we’re used to seeing from Select, Jokic only had a Premier Level card, along with several more limited parallels.
The Best Autographed Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
Moving on to the more premium and high-end Nikola Jokic rookie cards, we’ve taken a look at the best options for autograph rookies.
Due to the fact that Jokic was a late draft pick, his selection of autograph rookies isn’t as extensive as you might expect – The supply picked up with the later releases during his rookie season.
2015-16 Panini Select Rookie Signatures Nikola Jokic Autograph #RS-NJ
We’ve spoken about the popular base Premier Level Nikola Jokic rookie card from the 2015-16 Select set, but he also has this impressive hard-signed Signatures card, limited to 199 copies.
With just 3 parallels for the Signatures rookie, the overall supply is low, which contributes to its already high appeal and value.
2015-16 Panini Noir Nikola Jokic Autograph Patch #225
The Dark-themed 2015-16 Panini Noir set presents collectors with 2 super-premium Jokic rookie card options.
He has both a colored image card and black & white image card, in the RPA subset. The colored RPA has a particular added appeal with the gold ink signature.
Both cards are limited to just 99 copies, with 1 very limited parallel.
2015-16 Panini Immaculate Collection Nikola Jokic Autograph Patch #133
The 2015-16 Panini Immaculate Nikola Jokic rookie patch auto card is one of his most valuable, due to the brand power and also the rarity of it.
With just 99 copies for the base version, it also has a few rare parallels, which offer collectors an even harder, and more expensive chase.
Not one for the average collector, but certainly one of his best rookie cards.
2015-16 Panini National Treasures Nikola Jokic Autograph #152
If you’re talking about the high-end premium sports cards, Panini National Treasures is always in the conversation – The 2015-16 National Treasures set is no different.
Another premium Jokic rookie that’s limited to a print-run of 99 copies, as we’re used to seeing with NT; For me, this is the best Nikola Jokic rookie card to have.
There are lower-numbered parallel options, which add some color; A copy of the Emerald parallel (/5) sold for $61.9k in 2023, but the base card itself has sold for multiple-tens of thousands before.
Nikola wasn’t included in the RPA subset, he was featured in the Rookie Autographs subset instead, so there’s no patch.
You’d expect a rookie’s top RPA card to be from the National Treasures product these days, but collectors will have to make do with just an autograph card for Nikola Jokic.
When Was Nikola Jokic’s Rookie Season?
Nikola Jokic’s rookie season in the NBA was the 2015-16 season – He was selected as the 41st overall pick by the Denver Nuggets in the 2014 NBA Draft.
However, his pro basketball career began in the 2012-13 season with Serbian team, Mega Basket.
What Is The Rarest Nikola Jokic Rookie Card?
The rarest Nikola Jokic base rookie card is the 2015-16 Panini Flawless embedded gems (diamond) #145 card, which had a print-run of just 20 copies.
What Is The Most Expensive Nikola Jokic Rookie Card?
The most expensive Jokic rookie is his 2015-16 Panini National Treasures Rookie Autograph card, which combines an on-card signature with low-serial numbering, and a high-quality look and finish.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the base version sold for $31.2k in 2022, and there are some even more valuable parallel versions.
