With all the Victor Wembanyama hype, the market has been eagerly awaiting his first licensed cards and autographs (Sorry, SI for Kids and all of you making cards on your printers at home). Luckily for collectors, the new hobby only 2022-23 Bowman University Inception has just that… the first cards of the next basketball prodigy.
It’s a multi-sport offering, though, not just hoops as Topps makes use of its “U” brand to offer cards of players in both basketball and football, some of whom will soon begin their pro careers.
We were lucky enough to get a case of the product in store and decided to tip this product off for those of you who are curious about what’s inside.
The hobby boxes consist of seven cards and two autographs per box. artistically designed futuristic style cards are the hallmark of Inception and this one doesn’t stray far from the concept.
First up was a parallel numbered to 199 of Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser. Sasser was hyped coming out of high school and pieced together a nice career in Houston. The skilled guard had a solid senior season posting nearly 17 points per game.
Next up was a base card of Kentucky’s Chris Livingston. The freshman forward only posted six points and four rebounds per game in his first season with the Wildcats.
We’re keeping a basketball specific as our next card was a base card of Gonzaga big man Drew Timme. The senior averaged over 21 points and 7 rebounds per game while helping keep the Zags a national powerhouse. It felt like Timme was in Spokane for about ten years but the run as to come to an end at some point.
The next card up was the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, University of Alabama Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young. Young became a legend while leading the Crimson Tide to a National Championship in 2020. His future is bright in Carolina as the Panthers are building a nice squad around him.
The next card up was Arkansas Razorback Jordan Walsh. The McDonald’s all-American only averaged seven points and less than 4 rebounds per game during his first season as a Razorback.
The first autograph we pulled was of Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis. After playing sparingly in Louisville in 2018, he transferred to FSU and had a stellar 2022 season throwing for over 3,000 yards and 24 TDs with only five picks.
Our last card and final autograph featured Villanova Wildcat Cam Whitmore. The forward had a fine freshman season averaging 12.5 points and over 7 rebounds per game for the perennial natty contenders in Philadelphia. Look for even bigger things him moving forward.
As you can see, our box wasn’t the greatest but at a price point of around $175-$195, it’s worth the lottery ticket scratch to try to find the (potentially) next great (hyped) basketball player…or maybe a future NFL Rookie of the Year.
As a side note, it appears as all of Wembanyama’s cards are redemptions with those lucky enough to pull one usually selling them in the low four figures.
To all that decide to play the Wembanyama lottery, I wish you all the luck of the San Antonio Spurs on draft night.
Check out sports card boxes of all kinds in Sports Zone’s online store here.
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