Back in the early 2000s I opened a box of 2000-01 Fleer Showcase and it ended up being one of my all-time favorite breaks. The base cards are gorgeous with a shiny finish and simple, classy design. Don’t want to think about how much a box would cost if it came out today, but back then I remember it being pretty reasonable.

Out of all the packs I won as part of a lot back in December, this was the pack I was most excited about. I’ve already got a complete base set from that box I opened years ago. The rookies are serial numbered so I did not try to complete those, especially with a less than stellar rookie class. But those base cards, inserts and parallels sure are sweet.

Out of the first three cards, a second year Steve Francis is the clear winner. My best friend in high school collected Francis, so this one would have gone to him. A three-time All-Star by the age of 26 and the 1999 rookie of the year, he was the hottest rookie from that class.

Well, all base from the pack, but it was exciting enough just to bust open one of these with a chance at a nice insert. Big Shot Bob has one of the most unique career paths in professional sports. He just found himself on great teams, and great teams wanted him.

A nice close up on the back here along with a full career of stats for Horry. The net blends well into the background. Again, a simple, classy design.

Since I didn’t pull an insert in this pack, I figured I’d share a few of the inserts I do have in my collection. Showstoppers were 1:6 packs. I remember pulling Paul Pierce, Keith Van Horn, the Jalen Rose above, and one other I can’t recall. Rose had a bunch of inserts from both Fleer and Upper Deck in 2000-01, probably because of the NBA Finals run the Pacers were coming off of the previous year. Guess who led that team in scoring? Hint- it wasn’t Reggie.

The back makes a note of Rose’s Most Improved Player award. Reggie and Jalen were a tough scoring duo to stop. Might have to dedicate a post to some of Jalen’s best inserts. My opinion, it’s mostly his appearances in the Fleer products.

I still have the Legacy Collection pull from my box of Fleer Showcase years ago. The positive, it was a rookie. The negative, it was Joel Przybilla. Not exactly a force in the hobby, but the odds were certainly against pulling a Legacy Collection parallel.

I have one other Legacy Collection parallel, a Reggie Miller. It was one of the first cards that I would consider ‘rare’ that I added to my collection. If I remember right I traded for it online, and it was before the message boards I frequented became a thing. Maybe it was through yahoo messenger?

I’ve opened my fair share of Vince Carter inserts over the years, and this To Air is Human is one of my favorites. Has the same finish as the base cards. This design has some subtle details like the basketball in the top left with the shadow of Vince gliding through the air. The colors on the Earth really make this design work.

Somehow Vince went from super-hyped when he came into the league, his rookie cards being some of the most desirable cards in the hobby. Now he’s shifted to where he’s underrated in my opinion.

What was your first ‘rare’ pull by your standards? Have you held onto it?