In The Mail Today

I'm not a Jordan fan but it's nearly impossible to not acknowledge his contribution to the history of basketball. I figured I might want to invest in one of the few (3) Jordan cards I will actually spend money on. This (pictured) being one of them. If I can find it for less than $5 I will buy it. The combination of the card layout, photography, and the hologram makes this one of my all-time favorite cards. I received this one today and I'm happy with my purchase. Funny how the Ebay policy of not allowing sellers to leave negative feedback about buyers has spurred more than a few instances of sellers waiting to leave feedback until the buyers do (as in this case). That's not how it's supposed to work.

This Week's Best: Week 7

1995-96 Flair Hot Numbers

I'm a big fan of anything lenticular (3-D) and when these were released I was in college it was a big purchase (or gamble) to buy a pack at a whopping $5 per pack. A high price then, I wonder what they'd be selling for now? I was lucky enough to pull a Jason Kidd from the set and still think they are one of the best basketball insert sets of all-time. They have a timeless design that's still attractive and there's a decent player selection. Inserted at a rate of 1 in 36 packs, the 3-D effect would normally give anyone a headache if you look at them long enough, but the plastic process to produce the effect makes these good grading candidates (check out today's top 5), with over half of all that are submitted getting Gem Mint or higher grades. The set includes; Barkley, Hill, Jones, Jordan, Kemp, Kidd, Malone, Mourning, Mutombo, Olajuwon, O'Neal, Robinson, Rodman, Sprewell, and Webber.

If I Only Had The Money...

1996 NBA 50th Anniversary Autograph Lithograph

Sure the design isn't all that great, but for the NBA collector, this is the "holy grail" of any collection. Signed by 49 of the 50 players (minus Maravich who passed away in 1988) this lithograph was limited to 250 copies with the first 50 going to the players. A majority of the remaining 200 were distributed to league officials with the few remaining copies offered to the anyone willing to cough-up $25,000. But there was a cheaper option with an unsigned version numbered to 500 copies which sell for $50-$75 each.

This Week's Worst: Week 5

1997-98 SkyBox Silky Smooth

There's no better way to cover up a unimaginative card design better than... a spiderweb? With a decent player selection, SkyBox decided to massacre the set (and probably their printing budget) by die-cutting a basketball net over the disappointingly-basic design. Not only do condition problems plague the set, but it was inserted in every 360 packs. So you might get one out of the 10 boxes you bought. Sure, they carry a heavy price tag, but it's more likely for the set's rarity than the cards themselves (hopefully).

This Week's Best: Week 5

1999-00 Upper Deck HoloGrFX Shoetime

Released in the early days of memorabilia, this 19 card insert was the one bright spot in a very heavy retail set. The set features some of the few memorabilia cards of some big names like Iverson, Barkley, Ewing, and Pippen. Plus there were autographed copies of the Karl Malone and Michael Jordan cards. Not only did the full-bleed design cause condition (chipping) problems, but if you were lucky enough to pull one (1 in every 431 packs) you had issues locating a case that it would even fit into. Still the unique memorabilia and all the big names are enough to consider this set one of my favorites.

If I Only Had The Money...

1996 SPx Michael Jordan Autograph

This is one of the first (and, in my opinion, the best) certified Jordan autographs. A nearly impossible trade card to pull from packs (1 in 34,560 packs) and rumored to be given-out at his basketball camp, this holographic card that has a design that was perfect for an autograph and is valued at about $1,400. Still seems pricey in comparison to some of his current autograph issues which are now an Upper Deck staple (and you'd think nearly everyone should have at least one in their collection by now). But with a combination of time and Jordan-auto-overpopulation, one of these sold on Ebay recently for just under $300. There are two versions that are different only in an alternate card number (BAC and BAD).

This Week's Best: Week 3

2000 Upper Deck Legends Master Collection

One of the most difficult set to find, much less complete, is also one of my favorites. Not released in packs, this set was packaged in a wooden box (pre-Exquisite) and limited to only 200 individually numbered sets. The checklist is short on quantity but long on quality, including: Jordan, Russell, Magic, Bird, Erving, Chamberlain, West, Walton, Cousy, Havilcek, Baylor, Robertson, Frazier, Gervin, Maravich (shown), Thomas, Malone, and Barry. Each box contained a complete base set and a group of insert cards (jerseys, autographs, etc.). Good luck finding any of the cards from this set, I know I wouldn't want to part with them.

Hall of Fame Announces 2009 Finalists

What is probably the most eagerly anticipated list of finalists for induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, at least for my generation, was announced today. The list includes John Stockton (one of my favorites), Chris Mullin (another favorite), David Robinson (again, a favorite), and Michael Jordan (to a former Jazz fan, not so much).

The ceremony is scheduled for September 11, 2009 and already individual tickets were availalbe starting this afternoon and are already sold out!

More Information