The 1996 NBA Draft was one of the richest and deepest of all time.
Luckily, there were seemingly endless products that captured those great rookies, at all price points, during the 1996-97 basketball card producing season.
One of the more fun and unique insert sets was found in the premium Fleer Ultra product in 1996-97 Ultra Fresh Faces.
The card design itself came from the previous 1995-96 Fleer Design Your Own NBA Card contest. The winner was Shinto Imai.
Inserted in series one packs at a very difficult 1 in every 72 packs, the nine-card set focuses solely on the top rookies from the 1996 NBA Draft.
The cards are die cut in the shape of a team colored jersey of the player featured as the base design. The images of the players are taken from very unique angles. The player’s name as well as the team name is listed in foil at the bottom of the card, as is their overall draft number.
The card backs feature another photo shoot image of the player along with their last name across the top of the card, near where it would be on the underlying jersey. Below the last name is a brief sentence or two about what makes the “fresh face” so special.
The first card in the set features Vancouver grizzlies top draft pick Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The rookie out of Cal is seen releasing a left handed hook shot from an aerial view on this rookie year card
. SAR average nearly 19 points and seven rebounds per game during his rookie season.
Milwaukee Bucks number one draft pick Ray Allen is the next rookie featured. Allen is seen in his purple Bucks uniform, raising up ready to release a jumper. There couldn’t be a more perfect image and representation of his career than that picture taken early in his rookie campaign. Allen went on to knock down nearly 3,000 3-pointers during his illustrious career and hit 117 during that rookie season. 
Kobe Bryant is the third card in the set. The young Black Mamba is seen finishing a one handed jam at the rim from a very cool aerial view above the backboard. The picture on his card back shows him looking up towards the sky and towards the camera, too. The home and away purple and gold colors of the Lakers jerseys really pop off of each other on this rookie year Kobe card. Bean had a slow start out of the gate but those challenges only fueled his growth in the seasons to come.
Again, we go North of the Border for the fourth rookie which is Toronto Raptors Marcus Camby. The UMass product is also seen from the same view above the rim and backboard getting ready to drop one in at the hoop. The Camby Man was an NBA All-Rookie First Team member that year.
Philadelphia 76ers number one overall pick Allen Iverson is the fifth card up. AI is literally fresh faced, sans many of his tattoos, arms crossed slightly smiling at the camera. Iverson went on to capture the NBA Rookie of the Year award while averaging just a tick under 24 points per game and was well on his way to becoming a cultural phenomenon.
Villanova star and New Jersey Nets lottery pick Kerry Kittles is next in the set. K Squared is seen dribbling the ball in his white Nets uniform. Kittles impressed enough to be voted to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Minnesota Timberwolves top pick Stephon Marbury is next up. Starbury is shown mid crossover on his card front. He was a star early on, crossing defenders over, scoring, assisting and lobbing alley oops to Kevin Garnett on his way to putting the T-Wolves on the map as one of the brightest young squads in the NBA. 
Santa Clara point guard and Phoenix Suns top pick Steve Nash is featured up next. The eventual 2 time NBA MVP is also seen dribbling the ball up the court in a photo shoot pic. Nash wasn’t much of a factor, if at all, his rookie year. He averaged just over three points and two assists over 65 games. Obviously, that all changed later in his Hall of Fame career.
The final card in the set features Boston Celtics top pick Antione Walker. The Kentucky star is also seen from the same aerial view as many in the set, laying the ball at the rim in his white Celtics uniform as the classic green Celtics jersey is the backdrop for this nice card. ‘Toine was a major contributor from the jump, as he averaged 17.5 points per game, nine rebounds and three assists while playing in all 82 games.
Raw cards, aside from the Kobe, can usually be had for anywhere between $10 and $20 apiece. Bryant’s card typically commands around $150-$200 in raw form. Earlier in January, a BGS 9.5 sold for just over $2,000.
With the (somewhat) limited availability and the iconic draft class coupled with the really cool die cut team centric jersey card, these are some of the nicer and more affordable inserts of the stars of this great rookie crop.
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