Wes gets me under 400

While I'm still a set builder at heart, lately I've been putting much more effort into getting one of every person who got an NBA Basketball card into my collection, and NASCAR as well...I've recently added the NHL to this as well, which I've begun documenting but got so many new people I may have to hold off on that project for now.
 
The legendary Wes of JBF/Willinghammer Rising read what I was working on, and hit me with a shipment of cards that brought me down under the 400 mark in the NBA for the first time! When I originally compiled the list, there were more than 600 people on it.

The package started out with some vintage...

 And yes, I DID think about titling this post "I have good news and Bad News"! Amazingly, this is his only NBA card. He does have a college card, which doesn't count though. For my NBA collection he's a One Hit Wonder.

Jerry Eaves is also a one-hit Wonder.

Then we start mixing old and new...

 Bobby Brown is still in the NBA, on the Rockets. the only current player in this mailing. He caused an international incident last year when he wrote his name in chalk on the Great Wall of China.

 Andre Brown is a one-hit wonder! There aren't many players who have their only card as an SN card- but he is the second one from this same set in my collection. (2006-07 Ultimate Collection)

 Darren's son Austin also played in the NBA and was one of the first players who originally appeared on the Missing list I was able to add to my collection.

 Although it didn't really show up well in the scan, this is an X-Fractor!

 Davies spent some time with the Nets but did not get a card with them.

This is my first base card from 2007-08 Finest. I had two Refractors previously.

Mixed in throughout the mailer...but saved for last here, are 7(!) D-League cards from 2005-06 Finest, including a Refractor!

 Refractor! SN799/999!

 He's euphoric to be on a card.

 D-League teams couldn't afford jersey numbers. Actually, they could, the picture is from the start of the season, before numbers were assigned. I just thought it was funny.

 Most of the D-League cards are posed photos, but this one and the next are actual in-game shots!

Topps brought back the old cement wall backdrop for the D-Leaguers.

I've talked about the 2005-06 Topps Chrome set, including the D-League cards in it, before. It is the only set ever made for the D-League, which has been in operation since 2001. This coming season they change the name to G-League as Gatorade offered the NBA a dump truck full of money for title sponsorship rights. When I created my list of people missing, the D-League players from this set made up roughly about 1/3rd of all people missing from my collection. I've since got that percentage down, as I did do a box of the set, which surprisingly I never wrote about, despite the fact that I once ranked it my #1 most wanted box. Now the largest percentage of people missing comes from the early sets- 1948 Bowman being the largest set represented, since most of the players only ever got cards in that set, and most of them are too expensive for me. It was originally 1/3rd early players, 1/3rd D-Leaguers, and 1/3rd players from when I stupidly took a break from the NBA from 2006-12. Now it's probably closer to 45% each for the old time players and the players from when I wasn't collecting, with the final 10% the remaining D-Leaguers and the players Panini only bothers to including in expensive sets during their rookie season, and never again. None of these numbers are hard stats, just guessing.

Thanks again Wes, this is much appreciated!

Since I mentioned in my last post about cards from Wes that I also got a Russell Westbrook insert from this year's Donruss Optic, but had forgotten to photograph it, here it is. I got it scanned today.

A great shot from the Toronto All-Star Game held in the 2015-16 season. 

I have to be honest, you will probably see all these cards again someday, when I get back to my NBA Encyclopedia. I'm so backlogged-and my COMC order which may show up today will set me back even further- I expect the posts from that to last me an entire month- I probably won't be able to get a new post in that series up until October, if I'm lucky. I may try to crank one out before the season starts at least, but no promises. Deji Akindele might even appear in the very next post.