SCF Official Review: 2008/09 Topps

[the_future]

On behalf of the SCF Basketball Team, I'd like to thank everyone at Topps for providing us with this box to open and review.


Packs per box: 36
Cards per pack: 10
Approximate price: $49.99

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

- 1 Autograph or Relic Card Per Hobby Box
- NEW! 14K Gold Rookie Medallion Variation Cards
- NEW McDonald's All American Autograph Cards
- Rookie Photo Shoot Autographs of the 2008 NBA Rookie Class! - 1 per Hobby case
- Hobby Exclusive Rip Cards! All Sequentially Numbered! 1 Per Case!

RELIC CARDS:

15 Rookie Medallions - Sequentially numbered to 25
15 Gold Parallel - All one of one
25 '58/'59 Variation Relics
25 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 50
10 Own the Game Relics
10 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 50

AUTOGRAPH CARDS:

30 2008 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot Autographs - Hand-numbered to 100
10 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot Dual Autographs - Hand-numbered to 50
5 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot Triple Autographs - Hand-numbered to 25
25 ' 58/'59 Variations Autographs
25 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 25
15 McDonald's All American Game Autographs
RIP CARDS (1 per case):

30 Floor Level - Sequentially numbered to 10
30 Lower Level - Sequentially numbered to 25
30 Upper Level - Sequentially numbered to 99
BASE CARDS (16 point stock):

195 Veterans
25 Rookies

PARALLEL CARDS (36 per box):

220 Hobby Exclusive! Platinum - All one of one
220 Hobby Exclusive! Black - Sequentially numbered to 51
220 Gold - Sequentially numbered to 2008
220 Hobby Exclusive! Gold Foil - 1 per 2 packs
Printing Plates (220 subs/880 cards) - All one of one
INSERT CARDS (36 per box):

20 Own the Game
20 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 50
30 '58/'59 Variations
30 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 50
10 In the Genes
10 Gold Parallel - Sequentially numbered to 50
COMBINED INSERTION RATE FOR AUTOGRAPHED/RELIC CARDS - 1 PER HOBBY BOX!

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Review:

Topps Basketball is a premier set for all types of collectors. Whether you are a player, team, or set collector, you will find this product appealing one way or another. Personally, I think this product is best for a set collector.

The base set provides great action-packed pictures of your favorite players. The design is basic and not overdone, which is a plus for set collectors. The variation inserts allow us to look back 50 years ago to see what cards looked like back then. They have a generic look, which actually makes them fun to collect in today’s hobby. The “In the Genes” inserts is a creative concept that I really enjoyed. This insert set features two NBA players (one from the past and one from the present) who are related to each other on the same card. There are a total of 10 cards in this insert set. Once again, Topps brought back there “Own the Game” inserts. These inserts highlight a player being ranked in the top ten in a certain statistical category from the previous season. On the backside, they show the ten players who had the highest average in that stat. If you like looking at stats or if you simply like looking at who led the league in what, then this insert set is for you.

In today’s hobby, many products are overloaded with parallels and numbered cards. This is not the case with 2008-09 Topps Basketball. The parallel breakdown is simple. Besides the printing plates, there is a gold foil (not numbered), gold (#/2008), black (#/51), and a platinum (#1/1) for every base card. The gold foil parallels are exactly the same as the base cards except for one minor detail. The player’s name is in gold rather than silver. The gold parallels have a gold border and are sequentially numbered to 2008, which is the year the product was released. The black parallels have a black border and are sequentially numbered to 51 in honor of Topps 51st anniversary. My favorite cards from this set are the Platinum’s which are numbered 1/1. These cards are extremely rare and have a grayish border. The parallels simply have a different border color and a different numbering that sets them apart from the base cards.

The game-used cards originate from the insert sets. For every insert set (except “In the Genes”), they have a relic card. The game-used cards look exactly the same as the inserts. The only difference of course is that they have a relic on them. Both the “Own the Game” and “Variation” relics also have a gold parallel version. The gold cards are numbered to 50.

Topps is famous and known for there NBA Rookie Photo Shoot Autos. These autographs are tough to pull at one per case. They feature an on-card auto, which is not easy to come by in today’s hobby. There are also dual and triple NBA Rookie Photo Shoot Autos which are numbered to 50 (dual) and 25 (triple). The two other autographed sets are the 58-59 Variations, and the McDonald’s All-American Game Autographs. Unfortunately, we didn’t pull any autographs.

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What we pulled:

Game-Used:
58-59 Variation Relics Brandon Roy GU



Base:
Complete set #1-195 (excluding #66)

Rookies:
Derrick Rose #196
O.J. Mayo #198
Danilo Gallinari #201
Eric Gordon #202
D.J. Augustin #204
Jerryd Bayless #206
Jason Thompson #207
Marreese Speights #211
Roy Hibbert #212
George Hill #213
J.J. Hickson #214
Ryan Anderson #216



58-59 Variations:
Chris Paul #1
Kevin Garnett #5
Carlos Boozer #8
Gilbert Arenas #10
Carmelo Anthony #15
LeBron James #23
Kobe Bryant #24
Baron Davis #60
Dwyane Wade #100
Brandon Roy #147
John Stockton #166
Larry Bird #172
Isiah Thomas #173
David Robinson #179
Jerry West #180
Lenny Wilkens #183
Derrick Rose #196
Michael Beasley #197
O.J. Mayo #198
Kevin love #200
Joe Alexander #203
D.J. Augustin #204
Brook Lopez #205





Gold Foil:
Dwight Howard #12
Jason Maxiell #18
Al Jefferson #25
Shaquille O’Neal #32
Paul Pierce #34
Daniel Gibson #39
Dirk Nowitzki #41
Emeka Okafor #50
Josh Howard #56
Desmond Mason #57
Manu Ginobili #63
Rajon Rondo #65
Rudy Gay #76
Hedo Turkoglu #80
Ricky Davis #83
Josh Childress #85
Sean Williams #89
Amare Stoudemire #91
Jameer Nelson #97
Dwyane Wade #100
Antawn Jamison #104
Wally Szczerbiak #114
Shane Battier #159
Brendan Haywood #162
Bill Russell #175
Otis Birdsong #187
Joe Alexander #203
Brook Lopez #205
Anthony Randolph #209
Robin Lopez #210



Gold #/2008:
Luol Deng #46
Antawn Jamison #104
Gerald Wallace #109
Eddy Curry #154
Jo Jo White #184
Michael Beasley #197



Own the Game:
Tyson Chandler #OTG2
Jason Kapono #OTG5
Marcus Camby #OTG8
Chris Paul #OTG9
Steve Nash #OTG10
Chris Paul #OTG11
Baron Davis #OTG12
LeBron James #OTG15



In the Genes:
Coby Karl/George Karl #IG2
Kevin Love/Stan Love #IG3
Mike Dunleavy/Mike Dunleavy #IG4
Sean May/Scott May #IG5



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At best, the box break was decent. We were guaranteed a GU and we pulled one. Not the best player, but it could have been worse. Even though we weren’t guaranteed an auto, it was still disappointing to not pull one. The rookie cards we pulled were great. Not only did we pull some nice base rookies, but we also pulled several rookie cards from some of the nicer insert and parallel sets. The best rookie we pulled was the Michael Beasley Gold #/2008. We also pulled a good amount of inserts of superstar players. This was expected though, but still nice for tradebait purposes. To my surprise, we did not complete the full base set. Every base card was pulled at least once except for #66 (Kenyon Martin).

Final Ratings:

Base set: 3.75/5
Fun: 4.5/5
Overall design: 4.25/5
Value: 3.75/5
Rebuy: 3.5/5

19.75/25 - 79%

[texasredhots]

that's a good break. you pulled some nice inserts and the beasley gold is real nice. what are you all doing with these cards you pulled? just curious because i could use the 2 dj augustin cards you pulled for my player collection. plmk, thanks, and again, great break.

[MatthewLee]

[quote]

Every base card was pulled at least once except for #66 (Kenyon Martin).=quote]

Whoa...that's.crazy.
Being.that.I.collect.him,I.thought.that.was.pretty .interesting.odds.
The."In the Genes".set.is.a.great.idea.and.looks.great.
Cool.stuff,thanks.for.sharing!!!

[garnett_21]

that's a pretty sweet break, IMO....loaded with inserts is always nice!

[RenegadeLonghorn]

Nice job with the review.

[molly1984]

that's a good break. you pulled some nice inserts and the beasley gold is real nice. what are you all doing with these cards you pulled? just curious because i could use the 2 dj augustin cards you pulled for my player collection. plmk, thanks, and again, great break.

Some go to the prize vault for contests, some go to the card cash store, some are given away to members and staff. just keep your eyes peeled :)


And nice review! I like those in the genes cards, cool idea for an insert set. i also like the design of the 58-59 set. i don't think i will collect the topps set this year but i might collect some of the insert sets.

[bdp1999]

Does anyone know which of the photo shoot autograph cards are rarer? I know the single autographs are hand-numbered to 100, but is that for the blue or red ink? Is there also a black ink? Thanks

[The_man]

cool beans

[Jeremy_Falcons]

Nice review.