Showing posts with label Derek Fisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek Fisher. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

NBA 20th Anniversary Countdown #6: 1996-97 Stadium Club

A set that at one point I didn't like, but as time went on I realized I really do like it- a lot!

#6: 1996-97 Stadium Club

Why I like it: The design and the memories. That's going to play a role in the entire top 5, as well

Set size/Completion: 180,  I have 178. The Database shows 100% because I have the two checklists as well, so it shows 180 of 180, when it's really 178 of 182.

As I mentioned the last time a Stadium Club card came up, they really were known for the photography. In 1996-97, the photography was really not really to the levels it would become just the next year, but it was still pretty darn good.

Each card featured a colored strip on the right that "dissolved" into the photo, and there were multiple colors. The player's name appeared in blue holofoil on an embossed holofoil strip in that color bar. When you have this set together, they are pretty much unstackable, because the name bar makes them flop over. I have not had my collection sorted by set since 2004, though, so it has not been an issue for me, and I don't think I will get my sets back together until at least 2021- probably later.

I never really realized how much I liked this set until recently. If I had made this countdown at my 15th anniversary it would have not cracked the top 10, and yet now it very nearly made the top 5!

The one big thing I dislike about this set is the way the rookies were handled. There are no rookie cards in the base set. Both series had an insert simply called "Rookies"...and both series were numbered R1-R20, with Rookies I having an R21-R25. The Series I rookies feature photos from the rookie photo shoot, while series 2 rookies have action photos.

Backs feature an action photo and a closeup shot. They also have the stat rankings like I talked about in the 1997-98 post. but I forgot that at the time I wrote that one up.

There are 18 inserts and 4 parallels, three of which I do not have in my collection. The one parallel I do have- Matrix- were only issued in series 1. It's unfortunate, as they are incredible. Some of the best parallels ever issued. They don't scan well though.
 Class Acts was available in Finest, Refractor and Atomic Refractor versions. This is a refractor, and it is double sided- this is one card.
Fusion, which was two cards per team that supposedly you could put together to make one. I don't have both versions of any team so I don't know if it works or not. The cards feature a gold holofoil that scans yellow-green.
 Golden Moments
 High Risers. The background is hologram, and the player in embossed.
 Matrix. You can kind of see how these glow in this scan
Pick Up Game. These were included in at least 4 different sets in 1996-97. Finding checklists for them is quite difficult. 
 Rookie Showcase, using holograms again. (The world needs more holograms)
 Rookie I
 Rookie II
 Shining Moments
 Special Forces
Welcome Addition. This is a forerunner to the Transactions cards that would appear as a subset in Stadium Club sets from 1997-98 through 2000-01.

Top Crop, a dual-sided insert that is printed on holographic stock. Really striking in hand, not as nice in scan.
Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, January 31, 2016

NBA 20th Anniversary Countdown #15: 1996-97 SP

Behold the power of holograms!

#15: 1996-97 SP

Why I like it: Like 1992-93 Ultra, and many of the sets yet to come, it's the design. It was basically a toss-up which would rank #15 and which would be #16, and this set got the nod over 1975-76 Topps for the sole reason that I have memories of this set being new, whereas the Topps set was issued almost a decade before I was born.

Set size/Completion: 146 cards, I have 141 of them, or 96.6% according to the Trading Card Database.

This is one of those rare non-foil/finest sets that you really can't capture in a scan. Each and every card is printed over the top of the SP hologram pattern seen at left, and in hand you can see that shining through the photo and the black bar at right. It doesn't really show in scans, although you can sort of see it in the team name at right. The first 126 cards in the set- the veterans- are done on this design.

SP, as a brand, made it's debut in 1994-95 (although one could argue that the 1993-94 Special Edition set was really the birth of it) and went until 2008-09, when the NBA pulled the license from Upper Deck. SP and later, SP Authentic (the name was changed for the 1997-98 release) is not a favorite brand of mine. (it later came back as a college release but those don't count). Most of the SP Authentic sets had the photos edited down so it was just the player and a white or close to white background. Not something I enjoy. This is the only SP set that makes my Top 20...and I could probably do a top 40 without finding another SP/SP Authentic set. But this one...this one I love.

Here's what the rookie cards look like. It would have been better if they looked like the veterans.
Here's a base card back:
Inserts for the set were actually interesting. In the 1990s the inserts usually were.

Game film...these were the big deal when the set was new. I pulled this one.
These are REALLY hard to scan. Game film would appear in 2001-02 SP Authentic as well.

Inside Info. Available in regular (silver) and gold foil. This one is gold...
Why is it called "Inside Info" you ask?
Because you can pull out a smaller card permanently attached to the larger one!

Premium Collection Holoview made it's third and final appearance. The hologram was smaller than ever.
This would be the last SP set to NOT include autographs.

Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)