Another Day, Another Basketball Post

After I posted about basketball cards during the baseball all-star game, Tony, over at Off Hiatus Baseball, asked me if I wanted his basketball cards.  Never one to turn down cards, I happily accepted his offer.  

Tony is a Milwaukee Brewers collector and unfortunately my Brewers collection is pretty slim outside of the base cards.  Nonetheless, I managed to scrape up a couple cards that Tony didn't have and sent them on their way.  You can see Tony's write-up on his end of the trade over on his blog.

He sent over a good number of cards, thank you Tony!  Here are some of the highlights:

1996 Upper Deck USA

In the spirit of the Olympics, I'll start with the 1996 Team USA cards.  Although this wasn't the caliber of the original Dream Team, the 1996 team was still stacked with greats like Grant Hill, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Scottie Pippin.  The above cards feature Glenn Robinson and Anfernee Hardaway.  This set even included the women's team, which is nice.  

I have two complaints about this set.  First, the small bump at the bottom of the card.  The bump makes these cards harder to store and as a design element it feels unnecessary.  My other complaint is that there are not any cards for The Glove, Gary Payton.  Maybe Payton was a late addition to the team or the team wasn't set at the time the cards went to print.  Either way, it's a small disappointment.  

Even if these were the only cards in the trade, I would have been satisfied.  

Top :1991-92 Upper Deck
Bottom Middle: 1992-93 Topps Gold
Bottom Right: 1992-93 Topps

Next up, a great set of cards.  The 1991-92 Upper Deck series is tastefully done.  UD didn't overdo it with the basketball border.  Two of the three top cards were Sonics.  I always appreciate anytime I can expand my Sonics collection.  Hersey Hawkins wasn't a Sonic at the time and wouldn't be until the 95-96 season.  I love seeing old school Dennis Rodman photos, before he became "The Worm." Rodman was my favorite player as a kid.  His play backed up his attitude too as he was an excellent rebounder.

The 92-93 Topps set might be my favorite looking basketball set and is one I hope to complete someday.  Great use of team colors in the name/team boxes.  The single-lined borders are subtle touch that are not too distracting.  

Despite living in Celtics territory as a kid, I was a big Bulls fan. Michael Jordan was responsible for that.  

The gold Topps cards, while nothing spectacular, do a good job of adhering to the base set look. Sometimes parallel cards aren't as good as the base but here the gold is just fine.

Craig Ehlo probably isn't a notable name for many people, unless you're talking about the time that Jordan burried a game-winning shot over Ehlo.  However, that's not why he sticks out in my mind. 

He graduated from Washington State University, which is where I graduated from undergraduate. Not many WSU players make the NBA so any time such a player does make the NBA, I root for them no matter what.  Ehlo also played one season with the Sonics, although he was hardly effective.  Lastly, Ehlo spent some time doing broadcasts for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, another team I support.  He developed an addiction to pain medication but appears to be turning his life around now.  

1992 Front Row Holograms

A very small three card set of holograms.  The scans do not do these cards justice.  The 3D effect of the cards works well in person.  

2014-15 Panini Prizm

I have to admit I was surprised to see a few modern cards in this trade package.  Almost every other card was from the 90s or earlier so to have essentially new cards was unexpected.  I don't have much to say about these cards as I don't care much for the Prizm brand.  Some nice players though in Paul, Stoudamire and Butler.

2005-06 Upper Deck

Another surprise and in the best way possible.  I've never submitted any cards for grading and I am undecided if I would do so in the future.  However, the presentation of a slabbed card is well done. This card received a high 9.5 grade so I'm sure I will be retiring soon with this Andrew Bogut rookie as my gravy train.  Seriously though, this is a unique card to have so thanks Tony for sending it along.

1975-76 Topps

Last but not these are a trio of vintage cards.  I believe these are the first vintage cards I have in my collection.  I didn't understand the appeal of vintage cards until I had one in my hands.  The design focuses on the player, who can get lost in today's cards.  They also have a nice feel to them as the cards are indeed made out of cardboard.  

That wraps up this trade, thanks again to Tony!