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Paige Bueckers, Breanna Stewart discuss booming interest in WNBA trading cards as more names enter the market

Paige Bueckers, Breanna Stewart discuss booming interest in WNBA trading cards as more names enter the market

Breanna Stewart is working on her own a “Hall of Fame” display at home, but for now, her Panini America trading cards are sitting in a cart in her daughter Ruby’s pretend play grocery store.

“She is just like, ‘there are a lot of mommies in that box,” said the three-time WNBA champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Stewart is currently one of the top players in the league, and the fact that she has trading cards for Ruby’s grocery store is a reminder of the growing popularity of women’s basketball. 

“I think the first time I saw myself in a trading card, it was a card from UConn,” Stewart said. “And now to be working with Panini, signing up every single year, seeing the updated version of myself, it’s really cool. It’s another way to get people sort of engaged in what we’re doing and able to be connected.”

Panini started the license with the league in 2019. Panini America SVP of marketing and athlete relations Jason Howarth told CBS Sports that the popularity of WNBA trading cards has been growing exponentially since then. 

“Last year it really took on a whole new shape of its own with that rookie class coming in, where you got Angel Reese and you got Caitlin [Clark], and you got all the other players that kind of came in with that group like Camilla Kardoso, and Cameron Brink,” Howarth said.

“…So lots of new faces and players to follow, and some of them had strong following in the collegiate space that just kind of translated. And then you bring in this year’s class with Paige Beckers and it’s just been phenomenal.”

Bueckers used to beg her dad to buy her trading cards whenever they went to the store. They were usually baseball cards, but she also loved the thrill of finding a LeBron James or Kyrie Irving card.

“I used to have like a whole binder with the clear cardholders and all that good stuff.  I used to go to Target and I was always at the end of the checkout aisle,” Bueckers told CBS Sports.

“I always wanted my dad to give me some cards, so to have my own it’s a pretty full circle moment, just from collecting them since I was young and then actually now being on my own. It’s pretty crazy and I’m extremely thankful for it, the way my life is gone.”

Bueckers signed an NIL deal with Panini last fall, before UConn’s national championship run. Howarth said one of her conditions for working with the company was that her teammates also benefited from the deal, which is how the first ever UConn basketball trading card set got released earlier this year.

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Bueckers experience is just the beginning for a booming industry. Panini will be releasing the first WNBA Donruss basketball product in the next four to six weeks, according to Howarth.

“That’ll be massive,” he said. “That’ll feature all the great players in the W plus players from this year’s rookie class, including Paige.”

The growth of WNBA cards popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Earlier this year, PSA President Ryan Hoge spoke to CBS Sports about the surge in WNBA cards, and he pointed out that the list of the most popular WNBA cards are players who recently entered the league.

This was easily observable as this week, the Fanatics Collect July Premier Auction witnessed the sale of the Caitlin Clark 2024 Panini Flawless WNBA Platinum Rookie Logowoman Patch Auto 1/1 for $660,000 — the highest sale of a women’s sports card of all-time.

The popularity of the younger players’ cards can be explained in part by the fact that players like Stewart entered the league before card manufacturers started working closely with the WNBA. Howarth said Panini will continue to invest in this area, and he is looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

“We’ve got a whole slew of W products that are coming out,” he said. “We’re excited to get that product into the hands of the consumers and continuing to grow the W category.”




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