Filed under: Beckett Media, NBA, Upper Deck | Tags: Amar'e Stoudamire, Amare Stoudemire, Basketball, LeBron James, NBA, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor | Commentary
After last night’s New York Knicks game, the home fans chanted “MVP” for Amar’e Stoudemire. While it’s definitely premature just 22 games into the season, over the last couple of weeks, Stoudemire has been the player New York hoped to get when it signed him this offseason.
The Knicks are 11-1 over their last 12 games and Stoudemire is averaging 29.8 points a game in that span. Over the last six, he’s bumped that up 34.1 points a game.
But Stoudemire was relatively forgotten about this offseason. He was a restricted free agent and signed on the first day teams were allowed to make an announcement. There was no flashy news conference or ESPN special with the entire industry hanging on his words. Stoudemire was overshadowed with Lebron James as he took his talents to South Beach.
Even as the season started, media followed everything happening in Miami through its current 14-8 record.
Now it’s Stoudemire’s time to shine and to get his card prices out of the gutter.
Filed under: Beckett Media, just for fun, NBA, Pro Sports | Tags: Cherry 7-Up, Cleveland Cavaliers, Defacing LeBron James, LeBron James, Miami Heat, Morning Edition, NPR, Sprite
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
Tonight’s the night.
Nearly every news source seems to have mentioned LeBron James‘ return to Cleveland in the context of anticipated booing, “traitor” signs and the like. Even NPR’s Morning Edition aired a story about the drama-filled breakup, including soundbites from the unconditionally supportive LeBron James Grandmothers Fanclub.
Despite grandmotherly love, more rabid basketball fans, commentators and Cavs loyalists have created King James, the villain. Tonight, James brings his heat-hot date to Cleveland, making for an awkward homecoming. Considering the tension in tonight’s meeting, viewers can expect (and enjoy) drama on the court, in the stands and beyond. Whether the spectacle is contrived or not, overblown or actually substantial, it sure is entertaining.
Leading up to, during, and even after the game, there will be boos. In a sea of anti-James sentiment, Sprite will be spilled and spite will fill the air. If so compelled by the melodrama, card collectors are equipped with the perfect effigies to defile.
Below are four forms of cardboard defacement that could contribute to the Quicken Loans arena cleanup task tonight. Continue reading
Filed under: Beckett Media, Card gallery, NBA, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 sp authentic basketball, Basketball, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, michael jordan north carolina, NBA, SP Authentic, Tar Heels, UNC
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
Earlier this week, Upper Deck announced it was moving forward with 2010-11 SP Authentic Basketball with big news that every 12-box case will include autographs from one of a couple of pretty big names.
It’s a college- and high school-themed set under the Collegiate Licensing Company.
Each box will have two SP By the Letter Autographs or one By the Letter Autograph and an additional autograph OR a Michael Jordan North Carolina Supreme Court floor card.
Upper Deck released images of the set with some of the biggest stars, including the Jordon Supreme Court card. The Supreme Court card is a 1.5’’x2’’ piece of the floor that Jordan played on while at North Carolina.
See more photos after the jump.
Filed under: college basketball, College Football, NBA, NFL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 SP Authentic, basketball cards, CLC, College Football, Collegiate Licensing Company, football cards, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Football, NFL, Ultimate Collection, Ultimate Collection canceled, Upper Deck
By Chris Olds | Editor
Upper Deck released a pair of statements to distributors about two forthcoming products on Monday, with one product getting the red light and the other one getting a green light for some higher-end autograph additions.
First, the company has decided to scrap its plans for a 2010 Ultimate Collection Football set, which would have been a college release under its exclusive deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company. The company cited the present state of the industry, which is crowded with many slow-moving, perhaps overproduced products at this time.
Filed under: Beckett Media, Collectibles, NBA, Upper Deck | Tags: Autographs, Basketball, basketball autographs, Cleveland Cavaliers, king james, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Authenticated
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
One of the biggest story lines coming into this NBA season was Lebron James in Miami after spending seven years with the team that drafted him.
In five games while wearing No. 6, James is averaging 20.4 points, 7.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game.
With a new team, collectors might have concerns on where they could get memorabilia that doesn’t say Cleveland Cavaliers, James’ former team.
Upper Deck Authenticated quickly took care of that.
Filed under: Beckett Media, NBA, Pro Sports | Tags: 2003-04 Finest, Basketball, Boston Celtics, Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwayne Wade, ESPN, king james, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, RC, TNT
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
The NBA season starts tonight with one of the most anticipated games of the year, and it doesn’t include the current champions.
The Miami Heat travel to the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m., which will air on TNT.
Even the most casual of NBA fans want to get a look at LeBron James in his first regular-season game with the Heat. Plenty of hype surrounded Miami in the off-season, which began with a few simple words this summer.
“I’m taking my talent to South Beach,” James said in an hour-long show on ESPN in July.
He signed with Miami, which already had Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
Filed under: Beckett Media, College sports, First look, Golf, MLB, MMA, NBA, NHL | Tags: 2010 Upper Deck World of Sports, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Randy Couture, sports trading cards, Tiger Woods, Upper Deck
Upper Deck officials recently unveiled preliminary information and images for the company’s newest multisport product, Upper Deck World of Sports, due out in December.
As you might imagine, the product’s key calling cards will revolve around longtime company exclusives Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods. But the product also is slated to includes stars from such sports as baseball, hockey, soccer, mixed martial arts, extreme sports, Olympic sports and even lacrosse.
The 400-card base set is bolstered such insert sets as Athletes of the World Signatures, Sports National Dual, Triple and Quad Signatures, All Sport Apparel and Clear Competitors.
In addition to including a stable of traditional signature inclusions (Jordan, James, Woods, Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky), the preliminary World of Sports autograph checklist also calls for the likes of Pete Rose, figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Sasha Cohen and MMA legend Randy Couture.
Product promotional literature promises an average of two autographs and one memorabilia card per box (and one multi-signed card per case).
Stay tuned to Beckett.com for additional information on this product.
Filed under: NBA, Upper Deck | Tags: Basketball, basketball memorabilia, LeBron, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, UDA, Upper Deck
Many people wondered how long, how calculating “The Decision” was for LeBron James.
While we ponder that one with James having taken his talents to South Beach we have a new addition to a James persona that already includes a new team, a new uniform and perhaps a new image.
What is it?
A new autograph.
Really, a new signature style.
The player whose autograph emulated that of his childhood hero, Michael Jordan, is evolving once again as part of his changes — perhaps one part psychological, one part promotional.
Either way, it probably won’t hurt the demand for those new Miami Heat items from Upper Deck Authenticated.
See the full release after the jump.
Filed under: Beckett Media, Card gallery, NBA | Tags: 2009-10 Playoff National Treasures Basketball, Dwyane Wade, George Mikan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, NBA trading cards, Panini America, Red Auerbach
Panini America‘s first foray into ultra-high-end basketball card production becomes official one week from today with the release of 2009-10 Playoff National Treasures, a $400-for-eight-cards proposition that guarantees its fair share of thrills among its eight cards per pack.
When the stakes are as high as they are with a hand-packed, super-premium product like this one, card manufacturers will wait until the last possible second to complete pack out in order to squeeze every last card into production.
That, of course, means lots of jaw-dropping jewels featuring lots of superstar players have been creating lots of excitement inside Panini America headquarters in recent days. Jaw-dropping jewels such as . . .
Filed under: NBA, Upper Deck | Tags: Autographs, Basketball, LeBron James, LeBron James autograph, LeBron James memorabilia, LeBron James Miami Heat, LeBron Miami, Memorabilia, Miami Heat, NBA, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Authenticated
Upper Deck released the first glimpses of its new LeBron James autographed Miami Heat memorabilia on Wednesday, a small assortment of items marking The King’s decision to take his talents to South Beach.
The initial assortment from Upper Deck Authenticated includes the autographed photo seen above, limited to 100 pieces, an NBA basketball branded with the Heat logo and, of course, the autographed jersey.
Prices for the items was not announced, but the company pointed interested fans toward UpperDeckStore.com for details to come soon.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Filed under: Beckett Media, First look, NBA, Panini | Tags: Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Miami Heat, National Sports Collectors Convention, NBA trading cards
Last week, Beckett Media’s Chris Olds was the first to report that the first Miami Heat trading cards of new teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh would be part of Panini America‘s wrapper redemption program at next month’s National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore.
Today, Beckett Media confirmed that Bosh’s first Miami Heat certified autograph trading card will be part of that wrapper redemption, too.
Filed under: First look, NBA, Panini | Tags: 2010-11 basketball cards, 2010-11 Prestige basketball, Alonzo Mourning, Basketball, basketball cards, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Derrick Rose, Elgin Baylor, Evan Turner, Gary Payton, John Wall, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, NBA, NBA Draft, Panini, Rajon Rondo, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Tyreke Evans, Wesley Johnson
Panini America revealed its first basketball set for 2010-11 — its sophomore season as the NBA’s lone trading card licensee — and it’s Prestige leading the way.
Set to arrive on Sept. 29, Prestige will include a rookie in every pack and each 24-pack hobby box will include one autograph, one NBA Auto Draft Class card (limited to 499 or less) and two memorabilia cards.
Oh, and perhaps Panini’s biggest selling point? There are more than 20,000 on-card autographs to be found in this product.
Eight-card packs will carry a $4 suggested retail price.
The set will mark the first cards of No. 1 overall pick John Wall as well as autographs from Panini-exclusives Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson. It also will include the first Knicks autographs of Amar’e Stoudemire as well as debut autographs of Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer in their new uniforms.
Among the autograph checklist are Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Shaquille O’Neal, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, Tyreke Evans, Rajon Rondo, Magic Johnson, Gary Payton, Elgin Baylor and Alonzo Mourning.
See more images from the set after the jump.
Filed under: NBA, the National | Tags: Basketball, Heat, LeBron James, LeBron James Miami, LeBron's first Heat card, Miami Heat, NBA, Panini, Panini America
The Heat is on — LeBron James’ back and now cardboard, too.
Panini America, the only officially licensed manufacturer of NBA trading cards has unveiled the first card of James in his new uniform, a card that will only be found at the National Sports Collectors Convention next month in Baltimore, Md.
Collectors who open five packs of current Panini NBA or NFL cards at the company’s booth during the show will receive a pack of cards specially made for the event that runs Aug. 4-8 at the Baltimore Convention Center.
James is one of 50 athletes from the NFL, NBA, NHL and college baseball ranks who will appear in the company’s National set. There will be rarer Green and Blue parallels (rarer versions numbered to 50 and 25 respectively) of the card to be found as well.
Also to be found in the set? Chris Bosh’s first Heat card, too.
Historically, a high-profile player’s first few cards showing him with his new team command serious attention. For example, Michael Jordan‘s first standard-issue (not limited) Washington Wizards cards routinely sold for $25 apiece around the time of his arrival in Washington, said Beckett Basketball Senior Market Analyst Keith Hower.
“It will probably be the most popular card on the market,” Hower said of the first James Heat card. “And most likely the most expensive base card of the year.”
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Filed under: NBA, Panini | Tags: Basketball, basketball cards, Box busters, Crown Royale, Crown Royale basketball, LeBron James, NBA, Pacific, Panini America
Join Beckett Media’s Keith Hower and Tracy Hackler as they bust into a pair of 2009-10 Panini Crown Royale basketball cards from Panini America in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find in their boxes of this not-even-out-yet product?
Watch and find out.
Filed under: Beckett Media, NBA | Tags: 2003-04 Topps Rookie Matrix, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, NBA trading cards
Leave it to Miami’s men of the moment – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh – to transform an utterly forgettable 6-year-old eyesore into the single hottest basketball trading card on the market.
Indeed, while South Florida’s hoops-collecting populace was waiting impatiently for the first cards featuring James, Wade and Bosh together, those with a little more market savvy and a lot more memory began scouring their 2003-04 Topps Rookie Matrix stashes for the one that already existed.
Last week that card was valued at $20. Today it’s valued at $100. And when the new issue of Beckett Basketball hits the market later this month, the convoluted Rookie Card will also be No. 1 on the Hot List, ahead of key Rookie Cards of five-time NBA champion and 2010 Finals MVP Kobe Bryant and 2009-10 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans.
For those counting at home, that virtually-overnight ascension from $20 to $100 represents a 500 percent increase. Not bad for a set that was an afterthought not long after it was released in April of 2004.
Simply put, the 2003-04 Topps Rookie Matrix product was a conflicted mess whose one redeeming quality – this card – has perhaps forever changed the set’s legacy for the better.
Filed under: Beckett Media | Tags: Basketball, basketball cards, LeBron James, LeBron James autograph, LeBron James Heat, NBA
By CHRIS OLDS | COMMENTARY
We all know how “The Decision” played out on Thursday night from Greenwich, Conn.
But have we really thought about how “The Decision” has played out on our sports cards and memorabilia?
While some (rightfully so) believe it will spark a frenzy of interest in LeBron James‘ future sports cards and memorabilia, I couldn’t help but wonder if the backlash of “The Decision” will counter that.
And it didn’t take long for me to see an example of that Friday morning when I turned on my Twitter account and saw that one of my newspaper Tweeps had passed along a link to today’s cover of The Plain Dealer, the Cleveland newspaper.
There’s no need for the childish burning of jerseys — the damage is already done. Cleveland’s icon is gone — perhaps as is many a fan’s interest in James (and the Cavs) in that area. But the simple pair of headlines — “Gone.” and a smaller, more subtle shot, “7 years, $62 million, no rings.” — makes you wonder if more is, indeed, gone from the aura that was King James.
If he wins with his new crafted “Dream Team,” then the backlash won’t last long — it would probably only linger in The Heartland.
But if he doesn’t? It might not be fixable.
Filed under: ESPN, NBA | Tags: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, NBA trading cards, Panini America
Basketball collectors just thought LeBron James was hot before.
According to Beckett NBA Senior Market Analyst Keith Hower, they haven’t seen anything like the scorching he’s about to set off on South Beach if indeed the reportedly Heat-seeking wunderkind with the $12,000 Rookie Card chooses to sign with Miami.
In addition to painfully concluding one of the most overwrought, drama-filled, Twitterific free agent signings in sports history, James’ expected announcement tonight that he’s joining the Heat will also send NBA cardmaker Panini America hustling to produce the first cards of James with his new team.
When those hit the market in a matter of months, Hower insists they’ll be instant must-haves.
“LeBron going to the newly dubbed ‘Heat Superteam’ will help the card values of every player on that team, especially those of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and, of course, James,” Hower says. “The first Heat cards of LeBron will set off a frenzy on the entire team.”
And in the event that James shocks the world tonight live on ESPN and chooses a team other than the Heat . . .
“If LeBron doesn’t go to Miami, the best places for him to end up hobby-wise are New York and Chicago,” Hower says. “Both teams are rich in hoops history and their legacies will feed LeBron’s newfound popularity. Cleveland is not the ideal market for an NBA superstar.”
Filed under: Card gallery, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Champ's hockey, fossils, Hockey, hockey cards, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, NHL, Sidney Crosby, Tiger Woods, Upper Deck
Upper Deck‘s popular Champ’s hockey set has arrived with its eclectic mix of past and present hockey and sports stars, historical figures, landmarks and much more that help bring the old-school tobacco card aesthetic to the ice.
Champ’s packs four autographs or memorabilia cards per 20-pack hobby box with names like Michael Jordan, Dan Marino, LeBron James and Tiger Woods alongside guys like Sidney Crosby.
Among the inserts are “Wonders of the World,” which focuses on famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China, “Natural History,” which focuses on endangered species and extinct creatures.
Of course, also included are “Museum Pieces,” which include fossils, teeth and tools from prehistoric times embedded into the cards.
See more from the set after the jump.
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