Then and Now: 1993-94 Hoops Magic's All-Rookie Team

Back in college, I was lucky enough to pull the Webber issue from a pack from my local card shop (remember those?). It was THE rookie card from THE set of THE player of that year. Now you can find the card for super cheap online.

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.

If I Only Had The Money...

2005-06 Upper Deck Portraits Timeless Tens

Okay, so they're on-sticker autographs and there's no Jordan autograph here, but with only 3 copies produced and the level of players on an 8 x 10, it would be difficult to pass up. One copy recently sold for $1,600. To some a small price to pay for Magic, Bird, Thomas, Dr. J, Russell, Kareem, Stockton, Rodman, Pippen, and Olajuwon, making up a virtual dream team autograph collection on one card.

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.

2009-2010 Card Releases

No Topps.
No Upper Deck.
Next season, the only NBA cards will come from Panini. Known more for those sticker collector books (that I now wish I never tried to complete) in the late 80's and early 90's, the Italian company looks like it's going to use next year's exclusive NBA license agreement to get their foot in the door of the United States trading card market. Some good news is that it's rumored to be working with the Donruss company. I wasn't excited about the news, but I like what Donruss had done lately, especially with their football and Americana releases. But what will the market be like with no competition in the basketball market?