You might have read that the sports card market has dipped in recent months, much like everything else. If you’ve read my articles in the past or watched any of my videos, you know I’m all about good vibes in this card-collecting hobby. Most of us are in it for fun, many of us are in it for money, but no matter your reasons are for collecting, we can all have a good time while doing it.
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That’s easier said than done, of course, because – wow – there are some horrible people in this hobby. You sometimes have to stay vigilant to have that happiness, unfortunately, and this week’s article is meant to help you maintain the fun factor.
Some of the ways this article will help maintain the good vibes:
- We rank the Top 5 best NBA rookie cards from the last five years
- 12 sports movie characters I hope Fanatics turns into sports cards
- Helpful hobby terms
- June and upcoming release calendar
Let’s get to it!
The 5 best NBA rookie cards from each of the last five years
Rookie cards feed the hobby beast, but it’s always interesting to see which rookies eclipse others as the years pass us by. This list is meant to help you track down the Panini (Prizm, NBA Hoops, Contenders, etc) rookie cards over the past half-decade, so you won’t be stuck on the outside looking in.
Top Five 2021 NBA Rookies
While Scottie Barnes took home the 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, I don’t think his substance will overcome the flash of some of the other rookies in this class.
- Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
- Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
- Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
- Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
While Orlando’s Franz Wagner has been great this season, Giddey is too exciting to ignore, especially considering the Thunder are finally going to become competitive after adding one of the big three from this year’s draft.
Top Five 2020 NBA Rookies
While LaMelo Ball might take the top seed away from Anthony Edwards in future seasons, Ant-Man proved to be electric on the court and compelling off the court enough to be a hobby hero. The No. 1 pick from 2020 gave his dog Anthony Edwards Jr. his own Twitter account. That pup definitely needs to get his own card now. Get on it, Panini!
- Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
- LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
- Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
- Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
- Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Cole Anthony and his hobby future once the Magic add one of the 2022 big three, but I can’t deny what the top 5 did this past season.
Top Five 2019 NBA Rookies
While Ja Morant was the 2019-20 ROY, it was Zion Williamson who stole hobbyists’ hearts in 2020-21 – and subsequently broke their hearts by missing 2021-22 with injury.
- Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
- Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
- Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors
- Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Poole can certainly overtake Garland – and Zion, for that matter – if the Warriors continue to build him into another star Splash Brother. Tough call for the fifth spot between the playoff presence of Herro on a championship contender versus the skills of R.J. Barrett in the biggest media market in the world.
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Top Five 2018 NBA Rookies
Both Luka and Trae made the 2021-22 All-NBA team, and at this point, Doncic is a bona fide superstar with Young one tier below. If the Thunder can get some exciting pieces around SGA, he could join Young.
- Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
- Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
- Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets
If Ayton moves elsewhere this offseason, that could ding the corners of his rookie card stock. SGA scored over 30 points per game since the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
Top Five 2017 NBA Rookies
Speaking of 30-point scorers after the All-Star break, Tatum now ranks up there with Ja and Luka as the top overall players to collect from this overall list of players.
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
- Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
- De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
- Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
- Lonzo Ball, Chicago Bulls
The top four also coincides with the top four 2021-22 scorers from the 2017 NBA Draft. Adebayo overtook Ball due to the former’s playoff presence and the latter’s injuries. Kyle Kuzma, Dillon Brooks and John Collins are on the outside looking in.
12 Sports Movie Sports Cards We Hope Fanatics Produces
With the success of Zero Cool Cards, which is a Fanatics non-sports card product, it got me dreaming about what other cards they might produce. Some have speculated they’ll dip into celebrity, movie and TV cards, too. My hope is they create a set of cards based on movies… based on sports. They could reach all the way back to The Gipper from Ronald Reagan’s performance in “Knute Rockne, All American.” But outside of the obvious stars, I thought about some of the peripheral characters I’d love to see cards from.
- Shooter McGavin from “Happy Gilmore”
2. Ricky Bobby/Cal Naughton Jr. from “Talladega Nights” (“Shake ‘n Bake” dual patch auto!)
3. Pedro Cerrano from “Major League” (Ed. Note: So close)
4. Ernie McCracken from “Kingpin”
5. The Hanson Brothers triple-relic jersey patches from “Slapshot”
6. Rod Tidwell from “Jerry Maguire”
7. Patches O’Houlihan from “Dodgeball”
8. “Uncle Drew”
9. The Whammer from “The Natural”
10. Cheeseburger Eddy from “The Longest Yard”
11. Judge Smails from “Caddyshack”
12. Lucy Draper from “Necessary Roughness”
Jimmy Chen of NYC’s Montasy Comics: “I would add the Skip from ‘Bull Durham,’ and Marla Hooch from ‘A League of Their Own’ onto that list as well. It could be something like the ‘Unsung Heroes of Sports Movies,’ if they can get the copyrights for their respective movies. Perhaps Allen and Ginter can incorporate these as a subset, since they already produced a Hanson Brothers’ relic in their 2021 set? Either way, I have always felt that TV, movies and comics have not had the creative focus as sports has. Hopefully, there will be more crossovers in the future.”
Let me know in the comments which sports movie sports cards you’d like to see Fanatics produce!
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Cool(?) video I made on how to prep cards for grading!
Interesting 2022 Private Box Break Draft Results!
Last week, Nando, Hurc, Michael Salfino and I took part in a very unique sports card break, run by Jimmy Chen at Montasy Comics in midtown Manhattan. There were 15 participants, all of us strange branches off Nando’s friendship tree, and we watched the break on Zoom, as Jimmy opened up four boxes from three sports for us (we did a story on that last year — the “private box break,” where it’s you and your friends supporting a local hobby shop, perhaps having some drinks, and getting some cool cards). The break included one hobby box each of the following:
- 2022 Bowman Baseball
- 2021 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions
- 2021 NBA Hoops
- 2021-22 Topps UEFA Champions League
There was a little bit of everything for everyone in this break, which made it diverse and delightful!
The way this break worked was much different than most breaks I’ve been involved in.
First, all boxes and packs were opened by Jimmy (and special guest breaker Sharon, aka The BlackJadedWolf), and we all took notes. Then Jimmy ran a random draft order (I got the 15th pick… in a 15-person draft!) and we each then took turns picking the packs we wanted. Basically, you’d see the card you want, and when it was your turn to draft, you would call out that card, and you’d get all the cards in that pack. So that made it a little more interesting because some packs had multiple promising cards, while other packs might have one really good card. The first round looked like this:
- Jonathan Kuminga RC / 99, 2021 NBA Hoops
2. Jeremiah Robinson Earl auto RC /25, 2021 NBA Hoops
3. Creed Willems refractor auto 241/499, 2022 Bowman
4. Orelvis Martínez Bowman Chrome, 2022 Bowman
5. Cade Cunningham RC, 2021 NBA Hoops
6. Wander Franco ROY Favorites insert, 2022 Bowman
7. Bam Adebayo /75, 2021 NBA Hoops
8. Wander Franco RC, 2022 Bowman
9. Evan Mobley RC, 2021 NBA Hoops
10. Rock Dove, 2021 Goodwin Champions
11. Elly de la Cruz, 2022 Bowman
12. Bryan Vello, 1st Bowman Sapphire, 2022 Bowman
13. I missed these next two picks, and I’m not sure why.
14. Did I mention we were drinking during this break?
15. Marcelo Mayer in 3D insert, 2022 Bowman
16. Xaver Schlager Ultimate Stage auto, 2021 Topps UEFA: This was my second pick, first pick of the second round. I was the first to take a soccer player!?! I think maybe the 13/14 picks might have been soccer players, too. But after I took the goalie from VFL Wolfsburg. I think the next day I found out that no one really collects goalies in soccer, kind of like pitchers in baseball and goalies in hockey. Still… It’s a guy from Wolfsburg!
This break was a ton of fun, and I asked Jimmy to tell us how some of our readers might be able to get a break like this together.
Jimmy Chen, Montasy Comics: “It’s good to consider a few things before reaching out to your LCS about doing a break. Some of the things to look at are:
- Format (draft or randomly assigned)
- Number of people
- Nature of participants (level of experience with sports cards)
- Products or sports everyone is interested in
- Budget
- …and what happens if a high dollar value is pulled.
With those details in hand, it’s much easier to approach your local card shop (LCS) to see if they are interested. It’s a great way to collaborate with your LCS by emphasizing on the social and community building aspect versus just getting the highest-valued card. Approach it as if it’s a ‘Break Party’ that can be done quarterly, in conjunction with major releases or events such as MLB Opening Day, NFL Kickoff or even a championship finals. Many LCS are interested in building the collectibles community, meeting new people and building relationships.”
1965 Topps Frank Robinson PSA 6 Graded Card Giveaway!
7 Hobby Terms of the Week
The card collecting hobby has its own language, it seems, so people returning to the hobby might need a glossary! I thought I’d share seven terms renewed collectors might not understand.
Color Match = A colored parallel of a base card that happens to match the player’s team/jersey (more attractive to collectors)
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Coin a Card = Placing a coin next to a card to show sizing, but also putting a note next to the card with your name and today’s date, validating that the card is in your possession.
Cut Signature = An autograph cut from another document (like a check) and used inside a card
FF = Friends & Family (how they want you to pay on PayPal, which prevents them from paying fees, but also doesn’t give the buyer the security of having PayPal’s backing)
Mixed Break = A break with boxes of cards from multiple sports
PYT = Pick Your Team (in a break, you can pick which team you’d like to buy for that break on a first-come/first-served basis)
TCG = Trading Card Games (like Pokemon)
Major June/Upcoming Card Releases
June starts off with three big bangs! Optic and Prizm Football, as well as Topps Series 2 Baseball!
June 1 – 2021-22 Topps Merlin UEFA Champions League Soccer
June 1 – 2022 Topps MLS Soccer
June 3 July 29 – 2021 Donruss Optic Football (Thanks, Chuck M.!)
June 3 – 2021 Panini Prizm Football: Remember that both the Optic and Prizm releases are for the 2021 NFL Draft class, which you might remember has five first-round quarterbacks and WR Ja’Marr Chase to clamor after. Your summer just got much more interesting! Hobby boxes are already north of $1200.
June 8 – Topps Series 2 Baseball (checklist): Can you believe we’re already here? While everyone went from the thrill of Wander-mania to becoming overexposed and getting sick with Wander-monia, but morerookies arrive in Series 2. Interestingly, there are several big first-year names left off theSeries 2 list, which some have forecasted that we’ll see more No# short-print rookie cards, likeVladimir Guererro Jr.’s RC in 2019, with rookies like:
- Spencer Torkelson
- Bobby Witt Jr.
- Julio Rodriguez
June 8 – 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey
June 22 – 2021-22 Panini Prizm Basketball: Currently considered Panini’s flagship series, this is going to be a monster release as people try to track down rookie cards from one of the deeper classes we’ve had in a while. It might not have superstar power like 2018 (Doncic, Young), 2019 (Morant, Williamson) or 2020 (Edwards, Ball), but the fact that several excellent players are coming out of this class says a lot (Mobley, Cunningham, Green, Barnes, Giddey and Wagner (and don’t sleep on Jonathan Kuminga and Davion Mitchell).
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July 6 – 2022 Topps Stadium Club
What’s (Probably) Coming in Our Next Article?
I always loved previews of what was to come!
- 5 Fun Junk Wax Era Boxes You Can Buy on the Cheap
- Hobby YouTube Channels Worth Subscribing To
- Big Mistakes People Make When Sending Cards to Get Graded
- 5 Women in the Hobby We Appreciate
As this column continues to evolve, we’re taking suggestions from readers and commenters on how to make it more helpful, entertaining, and informative! Keep the comments coming!
Have a #HappyHobby!
(Top photo images via Topps, Panini, Leaf)
