Michael Jordan has been elected to the NBA Hall of Fame (HOF) in the class of 2009. Also part of the class are his fellow Dream Team teammates John Stockton and David Robinson, along with Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloane and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer.
All will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 10 to 12 2009.
You might be wondering “why did it take so long for Michael Jordan to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?“. Good question. Given that he is often touted as the best NBA player to have lived - why did it take five years. The answer is simple - its the rules. There is a five year requirement between retirement and HOF induction. This way the association can be fairly certain that no HOF’ers will be returning to play.
Jordan said of his election:
This is not fun for me. I don’t like being up here for the Hall of Fame because at that time your basketball career is completely over. I was hoping this day would be 20 more years, or actually go in when I’m dead and gone.
Obviously feeling a sense of mortality and mourning the loss of the possibility to ever again feed his insatiable competitiveness, Jordan himself has made it clear that his days as “Air Jordan” are over.
Now for us collectors of Michael Jordan memorabilia this can be a good thing and a bad thing. There is no doubt that as items age rarity increases and where rarity increases so does value. In addition, the renewed fervour that many part-time or past collectors may feel with the news of Jordan’s election will result in a greater demand for his memorabilia. The simple supply and demand economic model tells us that this too will contribute to the increase in value of Jordan memorabilia and trading cards.
For buyers of Jordan cards - get in now. Come September you may see an increase in the prices you have to pay for these items.
For dealers of Jordan cards - stock up now. Buying while cheap, holding and selling when valuable will net you a tidy profit for your business.
It is also possible, however, that the renewed interest in Jordan may bring about a higher level of Jordan memorabilia dealers in the marketplace come September. This may offset the supply part of the equation and we may not see a massive increase in value.
Time will tell. Happy collecting.