Shaquille O'Neal goes by many nicknames - Diesel, the Big Aristotle, Superman, Shaq Fu, and Shaq Daddy to name a few - and he is one of the best players in basketball history. The multi-talented man in the middle even starred in movies during his NBA career that lasted almost two decades. He also played with several teams throughout his illustrious career.
He played three years at LSU, and in two of those seasons, he was named the SEC Player of the Year along with the 1991 National Player of the Year. Although Shaq left early for the NBA, he completed his degree in general studies at LSU in 2000, the same year the Tigers retired his No. 33. Shaq was later inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Orlando Magic selected O'Neal with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. Shaq had three main teams that played for during the course of his Hall of Fame career, and two of those teams retired his jersey: the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 34) and Miami Heat (No. 32). He coincidentally won at least one championship with each of those teams.
The 15-time All-Star and four-time champion got his playoff feet wet with the Magic. He made the 1995 NBA Finals, but Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets swept Orlando. Shaq then went westward and won three NBA Finals with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. In 2004, O'Neal packed his bags for South Beach where he won a championship with Dwyane Wade.
Shaq is one of the NBA's most recognizable players, and here are the most expensive Shaquille O'Neal cards sold on eBay over the last 90 days.
#11
1992 Fleer Shaquille O'Neal SD #298
Recent sale: $298

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Many of the cards on this list are 1992 Shaq rookie cards. Of the 329 Fleer Shaq cards seen by PSA, there are 107 with the grade PSA 10. This PSA 10 card, which had the best offer accepted, was sold for $298. The list price was $500. There were 156 of these 1992 Fleer O'Neal cards seen by BGS, and none of them were BGS 10 or Black Label.
O'Neal is the youngest player with a card in this set. The Topps Gold set shares the same design with the 1992-93 Fleer Drake's and Fleer Tony's Pizza sets. However, each of the three sets utilizes different Shaq images. Meanwhile, the back of the Topps Gold card has a completely different design. Both of the Drake's and Tony's Pizza Shaq cards showcase large Shaq photos, but the Topps Gold Shaq image on the back is much smaller. The Topps Gold set is the only of the three that includes a miniature Magic jersey image on the back though.
During Shaq's rookie season, he scored his most points per game against the Charlotte Hornets. In his three games against them during the 1992-93 season, O'Neal scored 31.0 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. He did not score 30 points per game against any other team during his rookie season.
Let us flash forward two seasons to take a look at Shaq's November 9, 1994 performance at Charlotte Coliseum. It was one of the best games of his career. In the Magic's third game of the season, Shaq went for 46 points, 20 rebounds, and three blocks in Orlando's 130-128 victory. O'Neal, who scored 46 points against the Lakers later in the season, was the only player with multiple performances of more than 45 points during the 1994-95 season.
#10
1992 Classic Draft Picks Shaquille O'Neal AU/2500 #NNO1
Recent sale: $400

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This Classic card shows a monstrous Shaq dunk in college. The card was rated a PSA 9.0, but this card was not found in the PSA population report. The BGS population includes 37 Shaq Classic Draft Picks autograph cards, and none are BGS 10 or Black Label. The best offer was accepted for this card, and it went for $400.
The first card of this 100-card Classic Draft Picks set is this Shaq one, and he is also the youngest player in this set. He is not often pictured in his LSU uniform for a card, but this is one of those rare cases. Shaq's base card in the inaugural edition of Classic Draft Picks has another image of him in a Tigers jersey on the back. This autograph card has a blank background with just black text, which is another thing that is not common about this card.
While at LSU, Shaq was a two-time Consensus First-Team All-American, and in the first of those two seasons, he led the NCAA in rebounding. Then, the following year, he was the nation's leader in blocks. Although O'Neal was not an All-American in his 1989-90 freshman year, he made the All-SEC First-Team and was unsurprisingly on the SEC All-Freshman team as well. He led the SEC in rebounds with 12.0 per game and blocks with 3.6 per game. His Tigers fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1990.
Then in his sophomore 1990-91 season, his offensive usage reached a collegiate-high, as he attempted almost 18 shots per game. He led the conference in almost every statistical category and won the Adolph Rupp Trophy as the NCAA Player of the Year. However, his No. 6-seeded Tigers were upset by the No. 11 Connecticut Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1991.
#9
1992 Hoops Magic's All-Rookies Shaquille O'Neal #1
Recent sale: $400

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This Shaq rookie card of him skying for a dunk also had the best offer accepted of $400, but this card is a PSA 10. There are 313 PSA 10 grades in the 1,563-card PSA population for the 1992 Hoops Magic's All-Rookies Shaq cards. Of the 893 BGS cards, there are zero BGS 10 and Black Label cards.
The 1992-93 Hoops set includes the first edition of Magic's All-Rookies, and they could only be found in Series 2 boxes. Each of the backs of the cards in this set includes the same image of Magic Johnson in his Lakers warmup jumpsuit. In November 1991, Magic retired from basketball, but the five-time NBA champion is such an important part of basketball history. Shaq is the No. 1 card on his 1992-93 All-Rookies.
The pinstriped black Magic jersey is one of the franchise's best uniforms, and O'Neal graced it well, except for in one category: turnovers. In his rookie year, he led the NBA in turnovers with a whopping 307 in the season. Fortunately, he made up for it with an All-Star game appearance and Rookie of the Year trophy. In 1992-93, he averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game and finished seventh in MVP award voting.
He finished second in the NBA in rebounding and blocks. He also finished fourth in field goal percentage and defensive win shares. He obviously was selected to the All-Rookie First-Team. While he did not make an All-NBA Team in his rookie year, O'Neal made an All-NBA Team every year from 1994 to 2006. In his rookie season, he was the 13th-best player according to VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), which a metric similar to baseball's WAR (Wins Above Replacement).
#8
1992 Ultra Shaquille O'Neal Rejector #4
Recent sale: $450

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The star-studded Shaq dunks over Minnesota Timberwolves third-year player Felton Spencer in this PSA 10 card from 1992. In the 606-card PSA population, 163 are graded PSA 10. There have been 372 Ultra Shaq Rejector cards seen by BGS, and just two of them are BGS 10.
Each of the five Rejector cards has a bit of an NBA Jam feel with the cartoonish graphics on the front and the one- or two-word pseudo-nickname for each player on the back. Shaq's is "KaBoom" for the only Rejector set of this kind. There seems to be no relation between Shaq's KaBoom and the movie Kazaam, which he starred in and was released in 1996. The other players in the set are Alonzo Morning, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. Each of the cards has a Rejector logo with a hand and a ball in the corner of the card that looks very much like Shaq's rejection on his card.
Although Shaq was not at his peak in his rookie year, he was already knocking on the door of greatness. On April 9, 1993 at Target Center, O'Neal outmatched Spencer, who made the All-Rookie Team a couple of years prior. The Magic won the road contest, 95-92, behind Shaq's game highs in points (29), rebounds (11), and blocks (six). Spencer struggled that contest to the tune of one point and four fouls.
Shaq averaged a whopping 27.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game against the Timberwolves in his rookie season. Just one season later, Shaq obliterated Minnesota on April 20, 1994. The visiting Timberwolves did not know what hit them, as O'Neal scored a season-high 53 points to go along with 18 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in the Magic's 121-101 win. The 53 points were also the most he ever scored in an Orlando uniform.
#7
2012 Panini Select Shaquille O'Neal Gold Prizm #142
Recent sale: $700

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Here is our first Shaq card of the list with a different jersey. When thinking about the Lakers of the last couple of decades, NBA fans' minds go right to Shaq and Kobe. How apropos that this gold prizm card is of Shaq in a gold Los Angeles jersey. In the PSA and BGS populations, there is a total of just one of these 2012 Select Shaq cards: a PSA 10, and that is the grade for this impressive card. This is the only card of the bottom eight on this list to not have the best offer accepted. The card sold for its list price, which was $699.99.
The inaugural edition of Panini Select Prizms Gold was in 2012-13, and Shaq is one of four Lakers legends to have cards in the 309-card set. Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Magic Johnson are the others. In 2012-13, Shaq had 11 different Panini Select cards, including Prizm Gold, Prizm Black, Prizm Green, and All-Star Selections Prizm.
While Bryant was a career Laker, O'Neal played eight seasons in purple and gold. Shaq was also a purple and gold LSU Tiger for three years in college, and after playing with the young Orlando franchise, he headed to one of the most decorated teams in sports history.
During Shaq's time in La La Land, the Lakers won their 12th, 13th, and 14th NBA titles, and they impressively became just the fourth franchise in NBA history to three-peat. Shaq was the NBA Finals MVP in each of those three championships from 2000 to 2002. He also was the NBA MVP in 2000.
#6
1996 Flair Showcase Hot Shots Shaquille O'Neal #5
Recent sale: $800

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This Shaq card is from 16 years earlier, and it is graded BGS 10. This 1996 Flair Showcase Hot Shots Shaq card is the only BGS 10 card of this top 11 list. Of the 54 cards in the BGS population, only two are graded BGS 10. Meanwhile, 10 of the 20 PSA grades are PSA 10.
This Flair Showcase Row 2 set includes just 20 cards, and interestingly, Shaq and Eddie Jones are the only two Lakers in the set. This set includes many future Hall of Famers and has a unique design: each player performs a basketball move with a basketball background on a flame-shaped card. Shaq appears to be in the post in his gold Lakers jersey.
After four seasons in Orlando, Shaq's first season with the Lakers began in 1996. He finished that year with the third-highest blocks per game and player efficiency rating in the league. Shaq also had the fourth-best field goal percentage in the NBA. His VORP ranked 17th-best, but he made the All-NBA Third-Team, and the 56-26 Lakers entered the playoffs with the fourth-best record in a top-heavy Western Conference.
In his Lakers playoff debut, he impressed the Staples Center faithful with his playoff career high in points with 46. His tremendous performance in Game 1 (17-for-27 shooting, 11 rebounds, and two blocks) led the Lakers to an easy 95-77 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. Shaq showed Kobe, who was a rookie that season, how to dominate a playoff game.
#5
2000 Topps Chrome Combos Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O'Neal Refractor #TC1
Recent sale: $800

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This California Dreamin' card from 2000 showcases the two stars of the Lakers. There are just six cards total in the PSA and BGS populations. This PSA 10 card is representative of the only PSA-graded card. The BGS population of six cards does not include any BGS 10 or Black Labels.
The 20-card set includes multiple Shaq Combos Refractor cards, with the other being him with Magic Johnson. In the same year, Topps also released the Combos 2 set, which includes Shaq and Magic as "Forever MVPs." In addition, Upper Deck and SP released cards with Shaq and Kobe on them. The SP Authentic Floor Combos and Upper Deck Game Jerseys Combo include pieces of the game floor and jersey patches, respectively.
Shaq and Kobe led the Lakers' three consecutive championship teams. The first of those titles came in 2000. The team coached by Phil Jackson went 67-15, which was the franchise's second-best performance ever. In the first round, Shaq averaged 29.4 points and Kobe had 27.8 points per game. The top-seeded Lakers took down the No. 8-seeded Sacramento Kings in a winner-take-all fifth game, as O'Neal led all scorers (32) and rebounders (18). Shaq raised his performance to 30.2 points per game in the second round, as he again was the leading scorer. This time, the Lakers dispatched the Phoenix Suns, four games to one.
In the Western Conference Finals, O'Neal and Rasheed Wallace had an impressive battle for best scorer in the series, but Shaq's overall performance reigned supreme in the seven-game series. Kobe helped with a huge double-double in Game 7. The NBA Finals were not as tough, as Shaq was unstoppable: the big man scored 38 points per game in the six-game series.
#4
1992 Upper Deck Shaquille O'Neal #1
Recent sale: $950

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This three-imaged Shaq shows him on his way to his familiar two-handed slam dunk. The PSA population for this PSA 10 card includes 301 of 8,138 PSA 10 grades. For BGS, there are 5,836 Upper Deck Shaq cards from 1992: none are BGS 10 while there is just one Black Label.
This Upper Deck set includes rookies as the first 20 cards of the set, with Shaq being the first card in the set. He is also the only Magic rookie featured in the set. The 1992 Upper Deck Shaq card sold here was the original card, but there is also a Trade Card edition. The No. 4 card on this list has "#1 NBA DRAFT PICK" in all capital letters across the top of the card. Those who traded in the Trade Upper Deck card received a card that has "TRADE CARD" across the top in the mail.
This is the only Upper Deck card on the list, and it showcases Shaq in the white pinstriped Magic jersey. During O'Neal's rookie season, he scored double-digit points in 79 of his 81 games played. He recorded at least 10 rebounds in 70 of his rookie contests.
Although Orlando did not make the postseason in 1993, Shaq took the basketball world by storm and registered 68 double-doubles during his rookie season, which ranked second in the NBA. Only Olajuwon had more double-doubles during the 1992-93 season. Over the course of Shaq's unbelievable career, he had 869 double-doubles, the seventh-most in league history.
During his rookie season, Shaq also had multiple blocks in 70 games. O'Neal blocked a season-high nine shots in the Magic's 102-100 victory on February 14, 1993. Shaq amassed a career 867 contests with multiple blocks, which ranks third-most all-time.
#3
1992 Topps Gold Shaquille O'Neal #362
Recent sale: $1,000

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Shaquille O'Neal's rookie card price for this 1992 Topps Gold PSA 10 card is $999.99. Of the 2,004 cards in the PSA population, there are 369 PSA 10 grades. There are no Black Labels and just two BGS 10 grades in the 1,372-card BGS population.
In the 1992 Topps Gold set, Shaq and Litterial Green are the only two Magic rookies featured. While Green was in and out of the NBA and had few cards, Shaq has some very valuable rookie cards, including this one. Shaq, who made his first All-Star Game in his first chance in 1993, went on to have several cards in the next year's set. As a rookie, Shaq had just one card in each Topps set, and this Topps Gold card is one of the most expensive Shaq cards.
In this card, Shaq is posting up against Timberwolves forward Bob McCann, who played only one season with Minnesota. In O'Neal's two meetings with McCann, Shaq won twice and averaged 27.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game. McCann had just 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and one block.
Shaq's usage percentage ranked ninth in his rookie year, as he was such an important part of the 1992-93 Magic team that finished 41-41 and missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker with the Indiana Pacers. O'Neal's field goal percentage was the fourth-best one in the league, and he made the 10th-most free throws as well. During Shaq's career, he went on to lead the league in field goal percentage 10 times, which is the most for any player in NBA history. O'Neal's career .582 field goal percentage ranks seventh all-time.
#2
2004 Finest Shaquille O'Neal/Tim Duncan Perfect Pairs Autographs X-Fractors #OD
Recent sale: $2,075

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This 2004 Finest card with Shaq and Tim Duncan is one of the highest selling Shaquille O'Neal cards at $2,075. This BGS 9.0 card is one of two cards in the BGS population. There is no PSA population data for this card.
There are 15 Perfect Pairs Autographs X-Fractors for this year, and Shaq is featured on two of them. In addition to being on a card with Hall of Famer Moses Malone, Shaq joins Duncan for this impressive card. Shaq and Duncan are the only two players in this set to have multiple Perfect Pairs cards. Duncan also shares a card with Robert Parish. Other Perfect Pairs Finest sets include Refractors and Super Fractors.
Both Shaq and Duncan are among the best players in basketball history, and it is rare having them and their autographs on the same card. Rasheed Wallace was the only player that faced Shaq more in the playoffs than Duncan. Although the Hall of Fame San Antonio Spur had the upper hand in the regular season against O'Neal, both of them won 15 games against each other in the playoffs.
Although Shaq did not face Duncan in the playoffs while Diesel was a member of the Heat, they had some tremendous battles while O'Neal was in Los Angeles. Their first playoff series was in 1999, the year the Spurs won their franchise's first title.
Although the Lakers and Spurs did not meet in the 2000 playoffs, Shaq got his revenge in 2001 and 2002. Los Angeles won both of the series en route to the Lakers' three-peat. Unfortunately for Shaq, he won only one more title, while Duncan amassed a total of five during his impressive career.
#1
1992 Stadium Club Beam Team Shaquille O'Neal (Members Only) RC #21
Recent sale: $3,500

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Shaquille O'Neal's rookie vard value is very high, as evidenced by this list, and this card tops it at $3,499. This PSA 10 card is one of the 53 cards with that grade in the 382-card population. Of the 1,030 cards seen BGS, none are BGS 10 or Black Label.
The first edition of the Stadium Club Beam Team, which was inspired by NBA's laser halftime shows, coincidentally was the same year that Shaq entered the league. He was the only Magic player and one of 21 players to have 1992 Beam Team cards. The majority of these players went on to be Hall of Famers, including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone.
In this card, Shaq is seen getting to the hoop past Tom Gugliotta of the Washington Bullets. Gugliotta was also in his rookie season in this 1992 Stadium Club Beam Team card. Shaq was one of Gugliotta's familiar opponents over the course of the journeyman's career. Although they never faced in the playoffs, they faced off 32 times, and O'Neal was victorious 25 times. Just Gary Payton won more against Gugliotta. During their 1992-93 rookie seasons, Shaq's Magic swept Gugliotta's Bullets making Shaq's rookie cards more valuable.
The Bullets were the only team that the Magic beat four times in that season. In the second game of 1992-93, Shaq posted game highs in both points (22) and rebounds (15). O'Neal went on to lead all players in points in the next two meetings. Although he was not the leader in scoring in the final 1992-93 game between the Magic and Bullets, Shaq scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 25 rebounds.
Conclusion
Shaq's career was one of the most impressive in basketball history, and that includes his college career at LSU. Shaq, who was pictured in his Tigers jersey in the 1992 Classic Draft Picks autograph card, went on to lead the NCAA in shots made in the 1991-92 season. He led the SEC in rebounding and blocks all three years. He is one of the most dominant college basketball players, and he did the same in the NBA.
At age 20, he started his professional career and became one of the best players for the Magic, Lakers, and Heat in their franchises' histories. Late in his career, he even had brief stints with the Suns as well as the Cavaliers and Celtics. At age 36, he scored 45 points in a game, the most he had scored since 2003.
Even in his final two seasons, Shaq still produced double-doubles with Cleveland and Boston. He even played in a combined 13 playoff games with two franchises. While the Cavaliers won a championship in 2016 and the Celtics did so in 2008, the Magic has yet to win one. If O'Neal had stayed in Orlando, maybe he would have delivered the Magic's first title.
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal finished with the seventh-most MVP shares in NBA history, and he has been such an important and influential person during his post-basketball career. With Shaq continuing to a part of the basketball world, especially as a mainstay on TNT's Inside the NBA, his cards will continue to be more valuable.
9 thoughts on “Top 11 Most Expensive Shaq Cards”
My name is Joshua. I have alot of basketball baseball hockey starwars cards. That are big players. Who would I need to contact to sell the cards.
Hi Josh, thanks for passing by! I think you should send it to a grading company to get it graded first before selling them. That way you’ll know the value of your cards.
Where do I get my cards graded??
Hi Neil, thanks for reading! Try BGS or PSA.
I love the way the hobby has changed in the past few years instead of getting a card and waiting 30 years for it to be worth anything now you could get one right out of the pack that could be worth thousands and I love that thank you for your continued hobby improvements thank you very much
I have skills l s u slam dunk card and quite a few more I like to know what to do to sell the cards
I have a Shag Hoops Redemption set that’s never been opened..I have in a protective cover..
Will this set be worth something once the players get older?
I have a lot of rookie cards who do I contact to sell these cards
2004 Topps Shaq NBA card in plastic case about how much it worth??????