Unlicensed sports cards have been around for some time. These cards have hoped to satisfy customer demands for more issues of athletes. For many years, Topps held a virtual monopoly on the production of gum baseball card issues and knockoffs were common. More brands ultimately surfaced, beginning primarily with the introduction of Fleer and Donruss in the marketplace in 1981. … [Read more...]
Lyle Menendez: Yes, That’s Erik and Me on Mark Jackson’s 1990-91 Hoops Card
One of the strangest stories of 2018 was how a junk wax era basketball card became national news. Not for the accomplishments of the player, but for the notorious duo apparently spotted in the crowd on Mark Jackson’s 1990-91 Hoops card. You can now eliminate “apparently”. One of the Menendez brothers has confirmed that the two young men seated courtside at Madison … [Read more...]
Panini/Fanatics Partner for Warriors NBA Championship Boxed Set
They're the kings of pro hoops for the third time in four years and this time there's a special Golden State Warriors NBA champions trading card set. Panini and Fanatics have partnered for a 30-card set distributed in box form and available online. The Warriors completed a four-game Finals sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, … [Read more...]
Joel Embiid Rookie Cards (Finally) Proving Worth the Wait
The start to his NBA career was anything but normal but Joel Embiid’s rookie cards are now among the hobby’s hottest hoopsters. After just one year at Kansas, Embiid nearly went first in the 2014-15 NBA Draft, until the discovery of an injury saw him drop to the third pick. He appeared in multiple trading card products that season but it would be a two-year wait for … [Read more...]
NBA Trading Card License to Remain with Panini
The NBA is sticking with Panini. The league and the trading card maker announced what they called a “long-term, multiyear extension” of the exclusive trading card contract first signed in 2009. The deal means Panini won’t be facing any competition from other trading card makers for at least the next several years. It’s the second renewal of the agreement … [Read more...]
Best Russell Westbrook Rookie Cards
If you’ve been holding Russell Westbrook rookie cards, your patience is now paying off. With the Oklahoma City Thunder guard joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to average a triple-double, his rookie cards are now among the elite. Below is a sampling of some of his rookie cards--autographed and non-autographed and at the bottom a list of which … [Read more...]
Five Affordable, Cool Vintage Basketball Cards
Unlike baseball cards--and even their football cousins--basketball cards don't even begin to cover the game's history. There were no mainstream complete sets before 1957 and only one in the first nine years of the '60s. There's even a gap in the 1980s when the pro game struggled so much, the NBA Finals were on tape delay and the league couldn't score a trading … [Read more...]
Hoops Cards on Steroids: 1976-77 Topps Basketball
You’re almost tempted to stick a stamp on the back and mail them from your favorite vacation spot. 1976-77 Topps basketball cards certainly feel like postcards. At 3 1/8” x 5 ¼” these cardboard behemoths represent the largest flagship sports card set ever made. With a deep Hall of Fame roster and just 144 cards to collect, it’s also one of the most collectible of the 1970s … [Read more...]
Select Basketball Features Varied Base, Prizms
Shots from the baseline can be exciting in basketball. Especially deep in the corner, from 3-point range. Very sweet. Panini America is putting out its own kind of base shot with its 2015-16 Select Basketball product, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday. The Breakdown The 300-card base set will be sorted into three types of cards — Concourse, Premier Level and … [Read more...]
1973-74 Topps Basketball Set Low on Rookies; High on HOFers
The 1973-74 Topps Basketball set may never measure up to the sets produced during the golden age of basketball cards — the emergence of 1980s stars Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, followed by Michael Jordan, was a big turning point for collectors. But the set gave basketball card collectors another taste of the two-league war being waged by the NBA and the upstart ABA, … [Read more...]