Thursday, January 5, 2017

I MIGHT have completed my first relic set...(Updated!)

I think I did, but I am not 100% sure. Here's what I wrote up on the Trading Card Database on December 19th:
One of my goals for 2016 was to finish a relic set, something I've never done despite the fact that 2016 is the 20th anniversary of the relic card. One I set my sights on was 2002-03 Topps Xpectations First Shot, which is a set composed entirely of Rookie Photo Shoot worn jerseys, and photos from same. I had about half the set to begin with, and there were no super expensive cards that would be stoppers- the most I paid for any of the 11 I purchased was something like $3.85.

But I'm one card short, according to the checklist posted here.... Steve Logan.

However...I don't think it exists. Here's why: Xpectations was a later season release, and by that point it was known Logan would not be signing with the Golden State Warriors, due to a contract dispute. (In fact, Logan never played in an NBA game at all). He's not included in the base set, which would make him the only one in this insert. Also, it would be the only card Topps ever made for Logan, he does not appear in any other Topps set.

I can find no reference of it actually existing. COMC has never had one. Beckett's Marketplace has also come up empty, as did Ebay. For a common set, and a cheap card, you'd think there would be records of sales of the card in the past. But there's none that I can find.

However, before I unilaterially declare that the card does not exist....I know Logan WAS at the Rookie Photo shoot. Photos and relics appear in the Hoops Hot Prospects and UD Authentics sets, which were both early season releases. So Topps would have had the photos, and could have gotten the jersey he wore...but the question is...did they? (jersey piece only appears in Hoops Hot Prospects, not UD Authentics)

Logan is a fairly obscure player- as he never played in an NBA game, he does not have a lot of cardboard. The Database shows only 9 NBA cards for him, and if my theory here is correct, it's really only 8. He currently is a One-Card-Wonder, with just one card in my collection.

If anybody has seen this card...I now consider it my #2 most wanted NBA card. I would trade heavily in your favor for it...or if anybody can confirm that it does not in fact exist, I need to know that too so not only would the Gallery here be complete, it would mean I did in fact reach my goal.

So while the Logan card remains a mystery, I did pick up 11 cards from what I think is a 24 card set, the most cards from a relic set I've ever gotten in a single day. And here they are!











I think my favorite photo here is the Vincent Yabrough card, which, unlike all the rest, appears to be actual game action, but in fact I think Topps photoshopped his Rookie Photo Shoot image over a game photo. It would not be the first time I've seen them do that, but it still looks very cool. In hand, the relic piece on his card looks black, but it shows up as the proper very dark blue the Nuggets wore until 2002-03.
Also, weird to see #33 on Chris Wilcox's jersey, as he only ever wore #54 during his entire Clippers tenure, which lasted until mid-2005-06.
Although I have a fondness for the 2002 draft class, it was considered fairly weak and in fact only one of these players is still in the NBA- Mike Dunleavy Jr., who is a rarely used backup for the Cleveland Cavaliers. What's up with the rest of the players?

Amare Stoudemire retired from the NBA after last season and currently plays for the team he co-owns in Israel.
Caron Butler did not officially retire but no teams offered him a contract after last season, either...more than likely it was last call for his NBA career.
Casey Jacobsen played 4 years in the NBA, most recently in 2007-08, which I didn't know until researching this post. (I was totally away from the NBA from late 2006 to 2011) Due to trades he actually played in 84 games in the 2004-05 season, which is pretty good as the season is only 82 games long. I remember during his rookie season he said he wanted to be a broadcaster after his career, and in researching this post I saw on Wikipedia that he is now, after retiring from the German league where he was MVP and got his jersey number retired, he is indeed broadcasting.
Chris Jefferies played only 72 games over two seasons, and it appears 2003-04 was his final professional basketball anywhere. He came into the league the same year as Jared Jeffries and I constantly have to check and see which spelling goes to which person (both are pronounced the same). I have no idea what he's doing today.
Chris Wilcox played until 2012-13 and appears to be retired. He has not posted to either Facebook or Twitter since May 2015.
Dajuan Wagner was supposed to be the savior of the Cavaliers, being picked 6th in the 2002 draft, but serious health problems pretty much ended his career. He is most well known for scoring 100 points in a single high school game. He played only 103 games in his career- 102 with the Cavs, 1 with the Warriors-but though his career spanned 5 seasons (He missed one entirely due to colitis) his final 2 seasons consisted of only 11 and 1 games, respectively, before health got him both times. Before last season I read that he was trying to get back to health and was targeting the D-League but I think his health prevented that also. As somebody who does not have great health, I empathize!
Marcus Haislip played only 89 games over 4 seasons, with a 4 season break between his next to last and last NBA season where he played in Europe. He was on the Lakers pre-season roster as recently as 2015-16 but did not make the team. He's currently playing in Turkey.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. is still going, a backup with the Cavaliers. He has played 18 games this season at the time of this writing. 
Ryan Humphrey played three NBA seasons, but after his rookie contract was done, he did not get picked up by any other team past pre-season. He played in Europe until 2013 and is now an assistant coach at Notre Dame.
Tayshaun Prince is the only one of these players to have won an NBA Championship, which occurred during his second season of 2003-04. He played until 2015-16, but though he has not retired no teams offered him a contract, either. He has played in 1017 NBA games, the most of any of these players. Mike Dunleavy Jr. may join him in the 1000 games club as he is 49 away...he could reach that number by the end of this season.
Vincent Yabrough is probably the most obscure of the players in this group. The only second round pick here, he played 59 games during 2002-03 and that was the entirety of his NBA career. Second round picks don't have the 3-year guarantee that first rounders usually get. He played in Belgium, Italy and Germany following his brief NBA career, but has not played since 2010. I don't know if he officially retired or if nobody offered contracts anymore, there's very little info available on European basketball, at least that I can find. Either way, it's been long enough that his career has probably reached it's conclusion. I've always liked to collect cards of guys who have names that started with less common letters, like Z, Q and of course, Y, so I was happy to get to add another to my collection...the second card of him I've added this year, which is probably the first time that has happened since 2003. I got his 2003-04 Upper Deck base card in trade several months ago.

Edit: on an idea inspired by ForestryDave, here are the rest of the cards in the set that I had previously:













Note that the scanner I was using at the time I scanned these put lines on them...someday I might rescan them but that's more than a decade away, if ever...

5 comments:

  1. Wow congrats on the very cool accomplishment! I have always wondered what a completed relic set would look like in a binder. The problem with hockey at least is the SSP cards and the cost associated with them always seemed silly to me where I could use that money on vintage or rookies.

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    1. Thanks! I think all sports have that problem. For me my main focus is on completing base sets but sometimes like here I will go off on a tangent. You gave me an idea, I will be updating this post in an hour or two!

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  2. I've came close a couple of time to completing auto/relic sets. Usually get held up on an SP or Derek Jeter.

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    1. I completed 2002-03 SP Authentic because I was able to pull the most expensive card. Only time I ever was lucky enough to do that so I have never really chased any others for completion. For NBA it's Jordan and for NASCAR it's Jeff Gordon that keep me from even attempting autograph sets.

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  3. I'll bet you're right; Logan doesn't exist

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