Ultimate Basketball Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 11 Ultimate Basketball Nintendo NES copies on record — 1 CIB, 10 sealed. Sealed copies trade in the $174 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Ultimate Basketball on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Ultimate Basketball
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 1
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Total PSA-graded copies: 11 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 1 · Sealed: 10)
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PriceCharting market data: available
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Ultimate Basketball populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 1 variant PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of Ultimate Basketball for Nintendo NES yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 1
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan | 1 | 8.0: 1 |
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 10
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan | 10 | 9.8 | A++ |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | A | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 9.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9.2 | — | 1 | 1 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 4 | 10 |
Current Market Prices
All prices below are pulled directly from PriceCharting’s public catalog and refreshed each time this article regenerates (typically weekly). PriceCharting computes their values from active and recently-sold listings on eBay + their dealer network — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).
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Loose cartridge: $9.98
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Complete in Box (CIB): $44
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Sealed: $174
Heritage Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for Ultimate Basketball on Nintendo NES. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) | WATA 9.8 A++ | Median $720 | Aug 14, 2025 | 5 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) | WATA 9.6 A | Last sale $238 | Sep 23, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed | WATA 9.8 A+ | Last sale $408 | Sep 13, 2020 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R the Plattsburgh Collection) | WATA 9.6 A | Last sale $312 | Feb 28, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) | WATA 9.6 A++ | Last sale $312 | Feb 15, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $228 | Dec 27, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Oval Soq R) | WATA 9.0 A | Last sale $204 | Jan 3, 2023 | 1 |
Sale records:
View all 11 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 2025 | $238 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 312538-69029 |
| Aug 14, 2025 | $375 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 44321-79020 |
| Mar 21, 2024 | $660 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 44238-79052 |
| Feb 28, 2023 | $312 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 312309-69084 |
| Jan 3, 2023 | $204 | WATA 9.0 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Oval Soq R | Lot 312301-66038 |
| Dec 27, 2022 | $228 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 312252-69052 |
| Sep 20, 2022 | $780 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 312238-68026 |
| Nov 30, 2021 | $1,200 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 312148-70037 |
| Feb 15, 2021 | $312 | WATA 9.6 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 122107-16041 |
| Jan 25, 2021 | $720 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R | Lot 122104-17958 |
| Sep 13, 2020 | $408 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 7234-97103 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Ultimate Basketball on Nintendo NES. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why Ultimate Basketball Matters for Grading
With 11 PSA-graded copies on record, Ultimate Basketball sits in the mid-rarity tier for Nintendo NES — graded copies surface periodically on eBay but command meaningful premiums over raw. The sealed condition dominates submissions (10 of 11, ~90%) — a strong signal that’s where most collector value sits for this title. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 17× — sealed copies trade at $174 while loose carts move around $9.98. That spread means a fresh sealed find is the move; raw cart flips have thinner margins after grading fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ultimate Basketball Nintendo NES worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (10) outweighs CIB and loose for Ultimate Basketball, indicating sealed is where collector capital concentrates. CIB and loose grading is viable but margins are thinner after fees.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of Ultimate Basketball?
PSA tracks 10 graded sealed copies of Ultimate Basketball for Nintendo NES. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Ultimate Basketball?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of Ultimate Basketball?
PSA’s database currently shows one tracked variant for Ultimate Basketball on Nintendo NES. That doesn’t mean only one variant exists — production codes that haven’t been submitted yet won’t appear on the census. Check the back of your cartridge for production-location markings (“Made in Japan”, “Made in Mexico”) and the box for ESRB-rating placement to identify your specific variant.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.
Related Resources
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Nintendo NES Game Library (forthcoming) — every variant PSA tracks for this console.
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.