May is a good time for the NBA Playoffs and basketball cards!

Dateline: 05/08/97

It's been quite a week for the NBA. Maybe if you're a Hornets or Pistons fan you might not be so happy, but if you collect premium NBA basketball cards then this was a good week to drop a few dollars on some nice new releases. I know it's tough when the manufacturer's all bring out their big guns during the playoffs, so let me tell you what I think of the new premiums and maybe it will help you decide.

Flair Showcase

As Fleer recently ended its Flair line with the release of 96-97 Flair Hockey, they've already found a replacement in the hobby only Flair Showcase. Leading off is 96-97 Flair Showcase Basketball. This could be one of the more confusing sets to try to complete, but the cards are beautiful and worth the effort. Five card packs retail for $4.99, but I've already seen prices closer to $6 in my area. The main set consists of 90 players, but each is available in 3 varieties. Each variety has 3 different levels of scarcity leaving you with nine 30 card subsets for 270 total cards. There are three types of chase cards. A parallel set called "Legacy Collection" has each card in blue foil and numbered to only 150 sets. "Class of Ninety-six" is a beautiful rookie insert set, seeded 1 per 5 packs and "Hot Shots" is a rare die-cut insert set at 1 per 90 packs. I really found Flair Showcase to be a nice set. The rookie inserts are beautiful and not too difficult to find so you've got a shot even with just a few packs.

Bowman's Best

Topps much-awaited 96-97 Bowman's Best Basketball also made its inaugural appearance this week. Looking very much like last year's football product, the cards have a clean sharp look that I prefer over Finest. Once again refractors are the name of the game, but this time there are also atomic refractors and a whole slew of insert sets and subsets. While it's always exciting to find an insert or a parallel (I found 10 in my 24 pack box!), sometimes less can mean more. I believe that the abundance of inserts and parallels will keep the price down on single cards, but make it so much tougher for the collector to make a master set. Although the MSRP was $5 for a 6 card pack, I found most local dealers were quickly up to $7 with box prices going over $150.

Upper Deck UD3

Not wanting to be left out, Upper Deck premiered 96-97 UD3 Basketball. Packaged in small boxes each pack contains just 3 cards for your $3.99. The set is just 60 cards, broken into three 20 card subsets. In each pack you find one of each style, a Cel-Chrome card, an Electric wood card, and a Light F/X card. The cards are nice, but not quite as exciting as the other sets released this week. Three insert sets are possible, with a Winning Edge card at 1 per 11 packs, a Super Star Spotlight at 1 per 144 packs, and Court Commemorative Autograph cards found only 1 per 1500 packs. Upper Deck might have thought about delaying this set for a few weeks as it's nice, but not nearly as flashy as Flair or Bowman.

I guess if I were going to grade the three new releases they would come out in the order I reviewed them above, but as I am a fan of premium sets I would probably buy any of them over the basic sets of the past few months. I would love to hear what you have to say about the new premium basketball cards, so why don't you drop me a note and let me know. I hope to hear from you soon and see you all back here in a week.

Andy