My First Kobe Bryant Graded Rookie Card: 96-97 Topps #138 RC BGS 9.5

kobe bryant

For my Kobe Bryant side PC, I don't intend to collect all his cards.

Only his rookie cards as well as his insert cards from his rookie year up to the 1998-99 NBA season.

A tall order for me is to collect Kobe Bryant autographed cards with one of each kind as listed here.

Not contented with my quest, I added another one: to collect all of his rookie cards graded BGS 9.5 or PSA 10. Those that are GEM MINT copies to be more specific.

This is my first one I got off eBay:  a 96-97 Topps #138 RC graded BGS 9.5.

I'm hoping to get more although getting them nowadays is very hard as with the start of the 10-11 NBA Playoffs, Kobe Bryant's quest for his sixth championship ring has began.

Kobe Bryant 96-97 Topps Draft Redemption

kobe bryant

Kobe Bryant's rookie campaign was not exactly explosive.

As only the 13th pick in a very deep 1996 NBA Draft, and the first guard to be ever taken out of high school at that, his minutes were very limited especially that the team he plays, the Los Angeles Lakers already got a talented guard duo in Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel.

As such, his trading cards were very much largely ignored by collectors in lieu of batch mates Allen Iverson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Antoine Walker who were immediately trusted into the limelight as franchise saviours.

So, when the 96-97 Topps Draft Redemption cards came out, few were redeemed for card #13. The Draft Redemption trade deadline was April 1, 1997 and it was already too late for collectors when Kobe blossomed into a superstar in his sophomore campaign.

This is the reason why the 96-97 Topps Draft Redeemed card is one of Kobe Bryant's rarest rookie year cards. Luckily, I was able to get one off eBay for my side PC. This was included in my April 11 - 15 mail week.

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I think this is also one of his most beautiful albeit also one of the most condition sensitive due to chipping issues.

I'm hoping to get a graded one if funds allow me someday. A BGS 9 or PSA 9 will do.

Mail Week April 11 - 15: Cool Kobe and Jordan Inserts, etc.

kobe bryant

In this mail week, I got a Shaq refractor and Dwight Howard wood auto for my main PC and cool Kobe and Jordan inserts for my side PC. Also got a nice patch for my trade baits.

Check out my mail week for April 11 - 15.


Just click on the image for a larger view.

The best card from this mail week is a Kobe Bryant 96-97 Topps Draft Redemption Redeemed card.

I also got my first ever graded Kobe Bryant rookie card: a 96-97 Topps RC graded BGS 9.5 (Gem Mint).

Another Kobe card I got is this cool 98-99 Skybox Thunder Flight School insert with a lens viewer.

Some Kobes are a 97-98 Hoops High Voltage and 97-98 Topps Inside Stuff.

On to the Michael Jordans.

I got these base cards and inserts:

94-95 Emotion #100 - MJ is wearing a jersey numbered #45 (check out the reason behind it)
93-94 Finest #1 - from the first ever premium basketball product
1996 SPX Record Breakers - hologram card where MJ actually winks at you
93-94 Upper Deck Triple Double
95-96 Finest Dish and Swish - Scottie Pippen is at the front (Dish). MJ is the Swish.

For my Shaq PC is a 05-06 Topps Chrome Refractor and for my Dwight Howard PC is a 05-06 UD Hardcourt Hardwood Signatures where the autograph is on wood.

Then, for the trade bait: a 09-10 Crown Royale Rookie Royalty Materials Prime patch card of the top three rookies from the class of 2009, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings. Just leave a comment here if you have something to trade for it.

Mail Week March 21-25: Shaq RARE Inserts, Dwight Howard Autos and Kobe 2nd Year Inserts

kobe bryant

I think this is one of my best mail weeks because I have added something to my Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard main personal collections as well as to my Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan side PCs.

Check out my mail week from March 21 - 25, 2011.

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Finally, I got my first Flair Legacy parallel card. This is from the first edition, the 96-97 one and is numbered 058 of 150. 

I also got the 97-98 Flair Row 0 card which makes my 97-98 Flair base set complete from Row 0 to Row 3. It is numbered 179 of 250. Check out my 97-98 Flair rainbow set.

The 95-96 Flair Hot Numbers is actually my second one. I decided to get multiple copies of this card because it is really beautiful and sells well. Good as a trade bait as well.

Thanks to irv*2010 of eBay for these beautiful cards.

The top card is a rookie-year card, 04-05 SP Signature Edition Rookies Incorporated. This is only graded as 8 due to an 8 grade on the edges and 7.5 on the corners. Still, the autograph is graded as 10 and is on-card. This is only RARE as only 100 cards were ever produced.

The bottom card is from 07-08 Topps Triple Threads which features 3 jersey swatches, one of which is a patch. The autograph is sticker but since this is pretty limited and is the first numbered (1/9), I will take it anytime.

Thanks to dhmhoops of eBay.

Bought this lot from kamino of NBA Cards Philippines primarily for the 2nd-year Kobe inserts.

The shiny Planet Metal insert is really beautiful to look at in person.

Kobe Bryant 09-10 Crown Royale Majestic Signatures Autograph

kobe bryant

I got my third Kobe Bryant auto already and I'm now halfway to my mini-quest.

My first auto was a 2004-05 UD All-Star Lineup Signature Class Kobe Bryant auto I got last June. The second one was a 2000-01 SPx Winning Materials Jersey/Warmup Autograph I got last December.

Here's my third Kobe Bryant autographed card:

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2009-10 Crown Royale Majestic Signatures Autograph #d 116/199

After Panini signed an exclusive deal with the NBA to monopolize the NBA trading cards industry, they also signed former Upper Deck poster boy, Kobe Bryant.

With this, Kobe also changed his new autograph. This card features that. Personally, I don't like the signature at all. It's like being scrawled by a kid.

This card also shows Kobe wearing number 24 jersey. That happens to be #2 on my Kobe Bryant autographed cards want list, to obtain one showing him in his #24 jersey.

I also like this card for the fact that the Majestic set where it came from is the only autograph set from 09-10 Crown Royale. This one is also limited to only 199 sets produced.

Thanks to lordfranz of NBACards Philippines.

Please help me with my Kobe Bryant Autographed cards want list.

Kobe Bryant Autographed Cards Want List

kobe bryant

When Kobe Bryant got his 5th championship ring last season, I decided to collect his cards.

I know it's virtually impossible to collect all his cards so I decided to focus on his rookie cards as well as his insert cards from his rookie year up to the 1998-99 NBA season.

His autographed cards as very expensive as well so I just made a small list of what I want.

I intend to collect one Kobe auto of each kind below:

1. wearing #8 jersey number - completed (2004-05 UD All-Star Lineup Signature Class)

2. wearing #24 jersey number - completed (2009-10 Crown Royale Majestic Signatures)

3. with piece of jersey - completed (2000-01 SPx Winning Materials Jersey/Warmup)

4. with piece of patch - still looking

5. exquisite card - still looking

6. auto focus (glass card) - still looking

I have already acquired #1, #2 and #3.

Please let me know if you have one of the others I need.

I can buy or you can check my photobucket for a possible trade.

Kobe Bryant 00-01 SPx Winning Materials Jersey/Warmup Autograph

kobe bryant

After six months, I was finally able to snag my second Kobe Bryant auto.

When Kobe got his 5th championship ring last season, I decided to collect his cards.

The first card I got was 2004-05 UD All-Star Lineup Signature Class Kobe Bryant auto which was sold to me by a fellow member at NBA Cards Philippines forum.

Here's my second Kobe Bryant autographed card:

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2000-01 SPx Winning Materials Jersey/Warmup Autograph

This card is from the first SPx Winning Materials autographed set. It has a piece of Kobe's game-used jersey and warmup. The autograph is on-card and he even wrote his number 8 besides it.

It books $400 at the Beckett Price Guide before but now settles at $250.

I got this from dhmhoops of eBay.

Please help me with my Kobe Bryant Autographed cards want list.

08-09 SPx Box Break (2nd)

kobe bryant

The itch to open basketball boxes is becoming unbearable again  so I decided to buy unopened basketball boxes from Dave and Adam's Card World last November 3. The package arrived two weeks later on November 19.

Here's my  08-09 SPx Basketball box break. This is actually my second box break of this product after last July's 08-09 SPx box break.

A box of 08-09 SPx contains 10 packs. Each pack contains 3 cards. Each is guaranteed to contain one autograph or memorabilia card.

These are what I got:

I got base cards of Kobe Bryant, Lebron, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan among others. The whole base set is composed of 60 cards. With what I got in my first break, I now lack only 20 cards to complete the set.

The rookie / autographed cards
* Chris Douglas Roberts Auto Jersey RC #d/599 HOME - I also got a similar one in my first break

* Marreese Speights Auto Jersey RC #d/599 AWAY
* Joe Crawford RC #d/99 HOME
* Ramon Sessions auto

The jersey cards
* Vince Carter dual
* Rudy Gay dual
* Corey Maggette dual
* Channing Frye / Martell Webster dual
* Chris Douglas Roberts rookie
* D.J. Augustin rookie


VERDICT: ***** 5 out of 10 stars!

Mail Month 1st Half of November: OJ Mayo Ultimate Auto RC, Brandon Roy UD Black Auto, etc.

kobe bryant

From November 1 - 15, I got a few mails of my recent card pickups from eBay and the local online trading site: NBA Cards Philippines.

Check out my mail month for the first month of November.

The lot contains the following cards:

Brandon Roy 07-08 UD Black Ticket Auto #d/50 - I traded my Tyreke Evans 09-10 Timeless Treasures RC Auto #d/399 and two Tyreke Evans jersey cards plus I got P1,300 cash in exchange for this card. Thanks to bounty_hunter23 of nbacardsph.com

O.J. Mayo 08-09 Ultimate Auto RC #d/150 and Russell Westbrook 09-10 Timeless Treasures auto #d/10 - paid through PayPal. From Wink3 of nbacardsph.

Kobe Bryant 97-97 Hoops Frequent Flyers UPGRADE Plastic Parallel - with high odds of 1:360, this is a RARE card and books $80. Bought from dhmhoops of eBay.

Jason Kidd 02-03 Ultimate Signatures Auto - bought from emiebou2007 of eBay.

Brook Lopez 07-08 Chronology XRC Parallel #d/99 - bought from greatliving2008 of eBay.

Michael Jordan 97-98 Topps Chrome and 96-97 Ultra GOLD Medallion Parallel - bought from cloven of nbacardsph.

Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh 07-08 Finest REFRACTORS - bought from willsmith48  of eBay.

Thanks for looking!

Mail Day: Shaq Last Numbered Auto, Roy Epic Signature, etc.

kobe bryant

I got three packages waiting for me at home today.

One came from eBay and the two from online trading sites: sportscardforum and ozcardtrader.

Check out my September 15, 2010 mailday.

I got the Brandon Roy 2008-09 Epic Signatures Auto in a trade with stoner of ozcardtrader.

The two Shaquille O'Neal jersey cards: 01-02 Topps All-Star Remnants and 02-03 Topps Finest and the Kobe Bryant 07-08 Topps Chrome Refractor were traded to me by basketball fiend of sportscardforum.

The centerpiece of this mailday would be the Shaq auto which is hand numbered 655/655!

Find out more about it: 1995 Classic Five Sport Hot Box Autographs #6 Shaquille O'Neal /655