2004 was a big year for the NBA and in basketball cards as well. LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, Bosh, and the star-studded rookie class entered the league in 2003 and that 2003-04 season has some iconic card sets, in my opinion. It was also towards the end of Fleer’s run producing basketball cards. What I didn’t… Read More Pretending It’s 2004 – Opening a 2004 Fleer National Trading Card Day Pack
Jalen Rose became a starter with the Indiana Pacers for the 1999-00 season, ended up leading the Pacers in scoring that year, and helping guide the Pacers to their only NBA Finals appearance. Rose’s scoring jumped from 11 points a game to over 18, he shot over 39% from 3 point range, and he ended… Read More Most Improved Player… and Cards – 2000-01 Jalen Rose Cards
Nothing like the excitement of opening a pack of cards and realizing that things aren’t going like you expected… in a good way. In my case, I opened a lone hobby box of 2004-05 Fleer Authentix, in the twilight of Fleer’s run producing basketball cards, and I was about halfway through the box, if my… Read More Here’s What a Fleer Authentix Hot Pack Looks Like
It’s interesting for me to see inserts of semi-star players, taking a term out of the beckett magazines I used growing up. The 1995-96 Topps Pan For Gold includes players who took an uncommon path to success in the NBA. These guys didn’t play at traditional NCAA powerhouses, and they may or may not have… Read More Taking the Unconventional Path – 1995-96 Topps Pan For Gold
1996-97 was a huge year for basketball cards. Huge draft class, first year of Topps Chrome, some other iconic sets like EX-2000, Metal, and I think Skybox Premium goes into that category. It was the only Kobe rookie I actually pulled from a pack in my childhood. It was the first year of Autographics as… Read More Under the Magnifying Glass – 1996-97 Skybox Premium Close-Ups
The Fleer Force brand only had two iterations, in 1999-00 and 2001-02. In 1999-00 it was a silver version of the Fleer Tradition set. It was like the Fleer version of Topps Chrome, in that the photo and design were the same as the Fleer Tradition card, except with silver foil added. That’s how I… Read More The Force is Strong with This One – 1999-00 Fleer Force Special Forces
First off, 1996-97 Ultra is an iconic set in the 90s in my mind, for several reasons. The draft class is phenomenal, the set is condition sensitive, has tough to find parallels, and the inserts are great (see All-Rookie, Court Masters, Scoring Kings, the list goes on). I opened a few packs of this set… Read More The Court is Their Checker Board – 1996-97 Ultra Board Game
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… Read More Looking for a Legacy – Opening 2000-01 Fleer Showcase
Before you had unlicensed baseball cards from Panini and Leaf that we see today, among others, you had unlicensed cards featuring NBA players and prospects such as 1999 Collector’s Edge Rookie Rage. A pack was included in a lot of basketball packs I picked up off eBay back in December. And I forgot to grab… Read More Kobe Brought His Friends – Opening 1999 Collector’s Edge Rookie Rage
Remember when big men were prioritized at the top of the draft over perimeter players? This happened routinely, with some outliers. A few years ago I started picking up cards here and there from the Power insert set from 1995-96 Ultra. Right now I own half the set. These cards are colorful, they are in… Read More When Big Men Ruled – 1995-96 Ultra Power
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