Welcome to Rookies Regraded — our series revisiting the draft classes that shaped the hobby. We look back to see which players became stars, how their markets evolved, and whether the wax still holds up. Each installment breaks down the class, the key rookies, and today’s wax landscape to deliver one verdict: buy, rip, or skip.
In 2021, every tanking NBA team had their eyes on one player: Cade Cunningham. An all-around point guard who would slot nicely on every roster. The rest of the class was anyone’s guess.
Five seasons in, this crop has five All-Stars, a Defensive Player of the Year, a guard in MVP-vote territory, and two players with championship rings on their resumes. That’s not too shabby.
So how does the 2021 NBA rookie crop stack up hobby-wise? Do these players hold any value? Or are they more coveted by the statisticians?
Let’s rip in.
Snapshot — What We Thought Then
In 2021, the hobby looked at a class that felt like it could be deep and star-heavy, and unusually settled at the top. Unlike the wide-open 2020 board, this one had a true consensus number one and a clearly defined top tier.
Cade Cunningham was the can’t-miss prospect. Nobody argued against him. A 6’8” lead guard who could run an offense on or off the ball and guard multiple positions, with feel and vision that drew comparisons to a 22-year-old, MVP-candidate Luka Dončić.
The debate started at No. 2.
Houston’s pick was the fork in the road: Green vs. Mobley vs. Suggs. Jalen Green carried the highest scoring ceiling and the best-shot-at-superstardom tag. Evan Mobley was the best-player-available, modern rim-protector label. Jalen Suggs was a high-IQ, elite two-way combo guard and a natural leader with a massive “it” factor. It seemed like you couldn’t go wrong with any of these players.
Alperen Şengün was the name the board undersold. He slid to 16 despite a Turkish League MVP at 18, putting up 19.2 and 9.4 overseas.
Scottie Barnes split rooms. A unique 6’9” playmaker whose selling point was defensive versatility and whose knock was offensive polish and shooting. He’d go on to win Rookie of the Year.
But here’s the thing about the 2021 class.
The biggest miss of all never even heard his name called on draft night.
All 60 picks came and went without him. Four years later, he’s quietly one of the biggest hobby names in the entire class. And the way he got here is doing something to his card market that almost nobody’s talking about.
We’ll get to him. Because his story is the reason one product from this draft year is the first thing we'd reach for right now.
