Set Completed: 1995-96 Skybox

It's always good to complete a set...it's even better when it's one of the "foundation sets" of your collection!

Set: 1995-96 Skybox
Set Size: 301 cards
Began Collecting: February, 1996
Completed: May 22nd, 2020
Full Checklist: 1995-96 Skybox (Trading Card Database) My collection Gallery: 1995-96 Skybox (Cardboard History Gallery)
Thoughts: Although not my favorite set from 1995-96, this is absolutely one of the "Foundation Sets" of my NBA collection, a topic I will be discussing at length soon, hopefully in a couple of days. I believe this was either the third or 4th NBA set I ever saw....it is my 6th completed set of the 1995-96 season...not only did I complete the base set, I completed two of the inserts on the same day...this was likely the first time I ever saw etched foil on a sports card, as I believe this set entered my collection before the Metal issue of that year, although I would have been familiar with it already from non-sports cards. It was generally not used for NASCAR cards until the late 1990s, and rarely then...Series 1 cards feature a foil Skybox logo while series 2 did not...both series had several subsets, one of which from Series 2 honored players who appeared in the 1990-91 Skybox set. I damaged one of my cards with my fingernail in 1996 and just finally got a replacement the same day I completed the set. That damaged card taught me that I needed to leave space to get cards out of wherever I put them, not jam as many in as possible. There are 13 different insert sets, most of which feature the etched foil previously discussed. Although one of the Foundation sets, it's not one I really talk about very often. This is the first time the set has gotten tagged in the 6 years and more than 700 posts I've written for Cardboard History.
Favorite memory of the set: It's got to be the early days. I began collecting the NBA in February 1996 and I began learning about the players and teams via the cards. That was the foundation of what has become a lifelong passion and quest...although the card that completed the set was the 93,508th NBA card in my collection, this set would have entered my collection before I hit 100 cards. Unfortunately I didn't keep records at that time.
Last card needed: #134, Larry Johnson, from the Turning Point subset.