30 Years ago Today...

 I became an NBA fan, and nothing in the hobby for me would ever be the same. 

By April 1996 I had already been collecting NASCAR and Non-Sports cards for years, but I was the only one in my friends group who collected either of those topics. My mom worked in my school and noticed that everyone else was into basketball. So, for Valentine's Day that year she gave me a pack of 1995-96 Fleer Series 2. 

Later that night, I found a game on TV. It was my local team, the New York Knicks, on the road at Charlotte. The Hornets dominated and won by 20 points. For many years I thought it was the last day of the regular season, but once I discovered the game logs on Basketball-Reference, I discovered that it was actually Valentine's Day. Muggsy Bogues instantly became my favorite player, eclipsed today only by hometown hero Elton Brand. 

Collecting NBA cards became my obsession. I barely collected NASCAR cards (focusing more on diecast) and I stopped collecting Non-Sports cards around 1997-98 somewhere. I built my collection like my life depended on it, and after my father lost his battle with cancer in 2002, getting new cards was one of the only things that kept me going. 

In 2004 I lost my excel file that I kept track of how many cards I had of each person. I didn't realize it at the time but that was a tipping point. By 2006 I was burned out. I wasn't enjoying watching the game, and I wasn't enjoying the cards. I told my family not to give me any more basketball cards for my birthday/Christmas that year. I truly thought I was done, and there was a year where I didn't watch a single basketball game. (don't remember if it was 2007-08 or 08-09 anymore). 

I thought that part of my life was over. Thankfully, I was wrong. 

In 2011 the Dallas Mavericks ran to the NBA finals, and I watched it with my mom. Jason Kidd is her all-time favorite player and he got his NBA championship that year. I really enjoyed watching and it got me wanting to start scanning my collection. In the interim where I wasn't collecting the NBA, I was now collecting NASCAR fully and had begun scanning all of them in 2009, a project that I am still working on. 

I started to pick up some cards again in 2011, but only a little bit, not full time yet. When the 2012-13 season started, I got back into it full time. When I discovered that the Trading Card Database give you stats on your collection, I got out my paper listing and entered in my entire collection. It was so much fun, and the memories of working on my paper listing came flooding back, and I missed it. Then I discovered my local Target had 44 cards packs of Hoops for $5. That's it...I was back in full time. The 2012-13 season is one of my favorite seasons in NBA card history. I was also watching the NBA regularly again, even when I was in the hospital nearly dying from a disease I didn't know I had in April 2013. 

I realize now that there was nothing inherently wrong with the cards in 2006. It was my mental state. I regret not collecting in those years, and I will never stop collecting ever again, I know that for sure. 

When I stopped collecting in 2006, I had 73000 something cards. Now, in 2026, I have 102,000something cards, hitting the 102 thousand milestone just last week via trade. That's NBA only. I will always favor the 1990s cards, but the sets from 2002-03 in particular mean more to me than other years do as well. I'm a better collector now than I was then, but the memories of then are better. (I look back on some of the decisions I made and wonder what the heck was I thinking?) Nostalgia means so much.

I love the hobby, it has given so much meaning to me. I don't know what the future holds, but I know it holds a lot more basketball cards, and cardboard friends of other topics, to look forward to. 

I do have to wonder, if Mom knew what kind of obsession she was starting, if she would have gotten me started and supported my hobby all these years? 😁 I'm glad she did! And hey, she still gives me cards for all holidays and gift giving occasions, and sometimes just for the heck of it, so I think I already know the answer. 

The very first card out of my very first pack? Sam Cassell

The 1995-96 Fleer set is one of the most hated in the hobby, but I loved it. Still do.