Basketball fans...get ready!
Updated: Jul 11, 2022
Most of you guys know we are a Football Family over here at Brothers In Cards. We have always dabbled in Basketball, but we are ready to take it to the next level as we believe the hobby is ripe for the picking.
I've always been a hooper.
I started playing basketball when I was 4 years old. I played from then all through high school. I ended up playing football in college, but I still proclaim that some of the best basketball I have ever been involved in was with my TU teammates in our offseason pickup games. We had several 1,000 point scorers and All-Stars from across the midwest. I loved those nights! Since then, I have been a pickup junkie (specifically over the last few years). As much as I loved playing football, I can't really do that anymore. But I can play basketball as often as I am able. I have often told my wife that the best thing I can do for my mental health is play basketball a couple times a week. I look forward to each time I am able to get into a gym.
The brotherhood you build with the guys you play with is a great bonus. Some guys I play with now are from my high school, some are from friendships I have made after college, and then I met a lot of guys for the first time on hardwood. I have even seen a couple of my basketball guys at card shows recently. As this 2022-23 season gets underway with the NBA Summer League, I can't help but be excited about this new rookie class.
While I am excited about the 2022-23 Draft Class, I can't help but feel like the 2021-22 Draft Class is extremely underrated. I wrote an article about the ROY race a few months ago, and honestly, my mind was pretty blown by some of the stats dropped by these rookies. For example, if Cade Cunningham would have had the same production in the first half of his rookie campaign as he did in the second half, it would have gone down as one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. He now has Jordan Ivey with him.
Scottie Barnes earned that trophy for sure. I had him as my front runner before he actually jumped to the top. But the other guys in the conversation deserved to be there as well. I feel like the hobby booms when there is one guy who stands above all in a draft class. For last year's and this year's class, I am not sure if that fits the bill. As collectors and investors, this gives us a great opportunity.
When we think about the players in the NBA with soaring value today, we don't really see that many #1 Overall Draft Picks. Ja, Luka, Trae, Curry, Jokic, Giannis...do I need to go on? As great as Lebron is, and we certainly believe in Cade and Pable too, the hype seems to be fleeting from the guys in these draft classes that did not go #1.
And as much as I am a football first guy, the longevity game in the hobby points to Basketball. High End Jordans and Lebrons do consistently more than High End Bradys. The hype of the recent Flawless Logoman chase was more intense than anything I have ever seen on the football side of things. Also, as the hobby grows worldwide, sports like soccer and basketball are going to heat up because those are sports other countries can relate to better than football.
My point is this: as hobby box prices start to regulate after the Luka/Zion/Lamelo hyped years during the peak of the hobby, rookies from the last two seasons (2021 and 2022 Drafts) will be more affordable and obtainable investments. For example, if we look at the latest eBay sales for base Contenders Rookie Autos for the last 4 Rookie of the Year winners:
-Luka Doncic $4,400 (BGS 8.5/10)
-Ja Morant $910 (raw)
-LaMelo Ball $1,30 (raw) -Scottie Barnes $525 (raw)
To be clear, I don't put Scottie Barnes on the same level as those three (yet), but my point is that players from the 2021 and 2022 NBA Drafts are going to emerge into the lime light sooner rather than later, and the price tags are not near their ceiling.
What are we doing for basketball fans right now?
Our Pack Plus Program is one of the most affordable ways to rip hobby packs. For $255, you can get 9 current year hobby packs that could include the brand new Prizm Hobby with high quality investment potential for the 2021-22 Draft Class. Approximately 1 in 5 Gold boxes will get one of these ~$150 packs. On top of that, we are including an entire case of 2021-22 Revolution, meaning there is a guarantee of a Galactic being somewhere in the program. Each Gold box is guaranteed packs of Prizm Fast Break and Donruss, furthering your opportunity to get investable cards without paying for an entire hobby box.
Our $4.99 eBay auctions have always contained a healthy dose of basketball cards, but have fluctuated from month to month. We are going to do our best to hop on the current opportunity of the hobby to buy a lot of these young up and comers on the cheap and throw them in our auctions for you guys to snag low as well!
We are working on Basketball breaks. We have ran a few Basketball breaks here and there, but our group is mainly made up of Football collectors like ourselves. We do have a group of people who are interested in basketball - we'd love to make it happen. We organize all of our breaks through our Facebook Group and break live on YouTube (if you don't have Facebook, we can always get you in - just reach out on whichever platform you like). Our breaks are unique because we give one spot a FULL REFUND every time we do a Random Team break! This gives everyone hope of getting their cards, whether hitting big or getting skunked, for absolutely free. We randomize and send the refund at the end of each break.
What are we doing for basketball fans in the future?
As I mentioned earlier in this article, we believe that the hobby is ripe for the picking in terms of these young NBA rookies. We plan to invest in some of these guys when the opportunities come. We believe that within a month or two, our eBay store will have substantially more basketball on there than we currently do. In fact, I plan on posting another article this week with a list stating exactly who we believe in and why. Our auctions will see an uptick in basketball cards as well. Be sure to follow our eBay store and keep tabs on our Instagram (@brothersincards).
Creating football content for our Instagram and other platforms has always come natural to me. As we become more and more interested in basketball's trends (more so the lack of hype around players and stats that we think should be getting hype), we will be creating more and more content - articles like this - that focus on the NBA, NCAA, and how things are going in the hobby.
We would love to do more NBA Breaks in our Facebook Group. For football, we run a break for nearly every product that releases. Doing the same for basketball would be a ton of fun! Again, the perks of our breaks are that we can keep prices sane and someone always gets a FULL REFUND. We would love to have you join us!
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