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The PC Top 25 countdown contest for the Donruss Rated Rookies is over, but the Timeless Treasures giveaway is still going strong! So if you what some free Timeless Treasures auto'd and jersey cards, make sure to enter. Click here to view the rules of the Timeless Treasures giveaway and to enter.

'92 SkyBox Dream Team Plastic Card

I was a little worried that no one would be able to guess what my favorite card is in my PC. I know that was a tough task with all the different players, sports and sets I collect, but Offy over at Sports Syzygy put all the contest clues together. Offy, please make sure to email me your mailing address at Hoopography@yahoo.com, so I can send you the cards. Thanks to Panini and everyone who participated.

My favorite card in my PC is the 1992 SkyBox Plastic Dream Team card. Aside from the fact that the '92 Dream Team is my favorite team of all-time and features many of my favorite players in NBA history, this was one of the first plastic cards ever made. It was a precursor to the acetate technology that I love so much. It's a really great looking card with the red, white and blue of Team USA and was pretty hot back in the early 90's.

The card doesn't have crazy book value at $30.00, but the sentimental value attached to the card for me is invaluable. I added this card to a very early trading card collection on a family road trip to SeaWorld in Ohio during '92. I was just ten years old at the time. In a sense, this is not only the top card in my PC and the Countdown, but it was also the first. Because of the great family memories this card conjures up, the trading card technology used and the players/team featured, the '92 SkyBox Dream Team Plastic card takes the top spot on my countdown.

Thanks for checking out the countdown. It was a lot of fun putting it together over the past couple months. I'll do a post this week with cards I received while I was conducting the countdown that likely would've made the countdown. Congrats again to Offy for guessing my favorite card in my PC. Don't forget to checkout the Timeless Treasures giveaway and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Over the past couple months, I've been conducting a Top 25 PC Countdown. I've gone from #25 to #2 and am finally down to my favorite card in my entire collection. If you've been following the countdown, I'm sure you've noticed a pattern. I'm a huge fan of 90's inserts, but can you guess what my favorite PC card is?

To celebrate the conclusion of the countdown and giveaway some of the cards Panini recently sent me, I thought it'd be fun to giveaway some Donruss Rated Rookie cards and a Tyreke Evans Production Line jersey card. Here's what you need to do to enter:

• You must be a follower of Hoopography and/or the Hoopography Facebook page
• You must give the year, make and name of the card. Example: 1996 Topps Finest Kevin Garnett RC. Try to be as specific as possible.
• The contest will go on as long as it has to. In other words, the contest is open until someone guesses the #1 card on my Top 25 Countdown. I check the blog a few times a day and will announce a winner within a few hours of the correct guess being posted.
• First participant to guess correctly wins.
• One guess per contestant. However, if you publicize the contest on your blog, you will get a 2nd guess. Make sure to include a link to your "pub" post when guessing.
• Post your guesses in the comments section of this post.
• Please read and adhere to all rules above.

'93 Topps Stadium Club Shaquille O'neal Beam Team RC

My Top 25 PC Countdown is getting down to the end with the #2 card on the list: 1993 Tops Stadium Club Shaquille O'neal Beam Team RC. I'm sure the appearance of this card so high on the countdown isn't really much of a surprise to readers. I'm a big fan of the early 90's TSC sets with their great photography and early Shaq cards (Orlando Magic and L.A. Lakers). This is also the 7th appearance of an O'neal card on the countdown. What can I say? I was too young to afford any of these cards back in the day. These are like white whales for me.

This was easily one of the most sought after cards in the hobby during 1993 and for good reason. The "Shaq Attack" was well underway and TSC was hot. In fact, the entire TSC Beam Team set was on fire (click here). I remember seeing this card, along with the Jordan Beam Team, in cases at card shops for around $150-$175. That's a much different story today (click here). I somehow pulled an eBay miracle out with a $35 winning bid (plus $5 for shipping) for the entire 21 card Beam Team set!

As great as all the other cards in my countdown are, no card symbolises the fingerprint smudges and fogged up showcases than this. That's why it takes the #2 spot on my Top 25 PC Countdown.

'94 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings

I know it's been over a week since the last installment of my PC countdown, so let's get right to it. This '94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings insert is easily one of the most sought after Jordan cards in the hobby and for good reason.

The front of this tremendous looking card is all foil. That means two things. First, the card surface looks great with that lightning image in the background. The second importance of the foiling is the effect the foiling has on the condition of the card. Similar to the '93 Upper Deck SP foiled Derek Jeter RC, chipping and corner wear is prevalent with this card. I was able to find a mint version of the card at a very affordable price, and was very happy to add it to my collection.

This is easily one of my favorite Jordan cards in my collection. I have a number of cards in this set, and will complete it one day. Luckily, I have a strong start to the set with the Jordan. Stay tuned for the final two cards in my PC Countdown and remember to "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball" this holiday season.

('92 Classic 4 Sport Gold Future Superstars Quad Auto 5,510/9,500: Phil Nevin, Shaquille O'neal, Roman Hamrlik & Desmond Howard)

The O'neal theme continues in my PC Top 25 with the #4 card in the countdown. This early O'neal auto was a card I bought almost two years ago on eBay and I'm still excited about the purchase. If you've been following this countdown, you'll know I'm obviously an early O'neal collector. This card is certainly a gem in my O'neal collection, but what's really cool is "The Heisman" himself is also featured on this sweet quad auto:

(Shaquille O'neal 1993 NBAHOOPS Redemption RC)

Is there another O'neal RC that was hotter than this 1993 Hoops Redemption RC back in the day? Maybe, but not many. Will I highlight one of those other hot Shaq' RC's in a future Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown post? Absolutely! But more importantly, did anyone every have a bigger and more squared-off hat sitting on their giant head than that Orlando Magic billboard sitting on the top of O'neal's dome? Not that I could find.

The "Shaq' Attack" was pretty hot back in the mid 90's and this Hoops Redemption card was right in the middle of the "Attack". I love this card. It totally screams 90's with the previously mentioned giant square hat and graphically rad necktie. The card once had a huge $100+ book value, but now has a more modest $60 value. Luckily for collectors, this O'neal gem can be had for an eBay price of $25 - $35. Not bad for one of Shaq's most sought after RC's.

Between the 90's feel this card oozes and the amount of time I spent fogging up my local card shop's showcase glass, this '93 Hoops Redemption O'neal RC takes the #5 spot on the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown. Stay tuned for the top four cards in the countdown and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

(1994 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Power In The Key)

The 90's was filled with great Michael Jordan inserts and this '94 Fleer Ultra Power In The Key insert is one of the best. Sure there are Jordan inserts that dwarf the $30.00 book value, but not many that look better than this foil covered gem. I know card perfection is subjective, but this is as close to perfection that I've seen. That's why this '94 Michael Jordan Fleer Ultra Power In The Key insert is # 7 on my Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown.

(1994 Shaquille O'neal Fleer Ultra Jam City)

The Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown continues with this 1994 Shaquille O'neal Fleer Ultra Jam City foil insert card. This masterpiece of foiling combines many of my favorite card attributes including being a 90's insert as well as an Orlando Magic era O'neal card. This was a hot item back in the day and commanded a pretty solid price of $30 - $40. I never could afford a card anywhere near that when I was a younger collector, but I remember admiring this card behind the glass in the local card shops. Today the O'neal Jam City card sells for a much more affordable $10 - $15. However, buyer beware! Foil cards are notorious for edge chipping and soft corners, and these Jam City cards are no different. It took me some time to find a mint version.

I've had a lot of fun with this countdown, and hopefully everyone else has enjoyed it as well. There're only seven cards left in the countdown, and I'm sure you'll pickup on a common theme. For now, stay tuned for the next Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown post and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

1. Checkout those Nike Air Jordan XI's. The Jordan XI's might not only be the best Jordan kicks ever, but they might just be the best basketball sneakers of all time.
2. The 90's featured some great trading card technologies, but UD mastered the art of the hologram and subsequent holoview. The background on this card is truly awesome.
3. That's one cool picture of "His Airness"!

(1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist)

The top 10 of the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown is finally here with a gem from the mid 80's! This 1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist card is a Star Co. card from Michael Jordan's rookie year. It also includes some of the best high flyers of the 80's including Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins. Oh, and the card is also a giant 5 x 7 inch goliath. Total Awesomeness!

The Star Co. cards are some of my personal favorites, just not my wallet's favorites. They feature bold colors and some pretty decent photography. The Slam Dunk Supers set had a total of nine singles player cards of the participants from the '85 NBA Slam Dunk Contest plus this group photo for a total of ten cards. The set has a book value of $200. Much of that value is tied up in the Jordan, but the group photo card that occupies the #10 spot on the countdown has a respectable $40 book value. I've seen these group photo cards all over the price spectrum on the secondary markets like eBay, but here's a crazy Buy Now eBay auction (click here).

So what do you think, does this '85 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist card deserve the #10 spot on the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown? Stay tuned to future posts for the rest of the top 10 in the countdown!

The top 10 in my Hoopography Top 25 PC countdown is in sight, but for now, number 11 sure is a good one. My favorite New York Yankee is Mr. Paul O'neill. He was a glue guy on those World Championship teams of the mid and late 90's. He could do everything from driving in runs and playing a great right field to scaring Gatorade coolers around the Majors. O'neill's intensity is legendary. Yankees' YES Network announcer, Michael Kay, razzes O'neill from time to time in the both about his outbursts and cooler incidents. I loved that fiery attitude O'neill brought to the diamond every day. That's why he's my favorite all-time Yankee.

Here's the number 12 card in my personal collection Top 25 countdown. This 1993 Shaquille O'neal Classic Future #NNO is really a no brainier for me at the number 12 spot in this countdown. It's an extra large acetate early Shaq' card. As many of you know, I love the acetate plastic cards. This Classic Futures card is translucent, but it's tough to tell from the scan. It's really one of those cards that looks better in hand than on scans. Checkout the basketball Shaq' is dunking. He truly had the world in his hands when he came into the Association.

This spot in the countdown of my favorite 25 cards in my personal collection features a New York Yankee and a 90's insert. If you've been following Hoopography for any amount of time now either here on Blogger.com or the previous Apple iWeb blog, you certainly know my affinity for the New York Yankees and the design of 90's inserts. This 1997 Derek Jeter Flair Hot Gloves card is an excellent combination of the two. The Hot Gloves cards were inserted in the Flair Showcase packs at a rate of 1:90 which doesn't make this the rarest Jeter card ever. They actually pop up on eBay relatively frequently a couple times a month. The die-cut flames are what make this card great, but just think about how Flair was able to incorporate a full bodied silhouette on that smaller die cut card. Sure, you can shrink any image down to fit whatever background, but the finished product doesn't always look this great. Pretty cool stuff.

I love acetate cards. It's easily my favorite trading card technology even though I've been cheating on it with refractor cards lately. Acetate is basically the name given to cards that are produced by encasing or printing an image on a translucent piece of plastic. The heyday for acetate cards was in the mid 90's. Unfortunately, trading card companies have gotten away from this technology which really is a shame. No doubt, I'd love to see a company come out with some acetate inserts featuring some of the modern day superstars, but I'll continue to also hunt down some of the better acetate cards of the past.

One of my favorite acetate cards also happens to be #15 on my PC Top 25 Countdown. The '98 Metal Universe Titanium Anfernee Hardaway is really a tremendous card. It not only features Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, but Michael Jordan as well. Actually, many collectors pick this guy up because of MJ's presence. That's made the modestly valued card sell for almost double its $15 book value. It's not uncommon for this card to sell for $20-$25 dollars. That's pretty good during a time in the hobby when most cards fail to even reach their book values on the secondary markets.

For me, the Hardaway (with Jordan) is the gem of the set. I'm a huge Hardaway fan and collector, and consider this Metal Universe Titanium one of his best inserts. As many of you know, I'm a huge 90's insert nut as well. That means I'm currently attempting to put this awesome looking set together along with every other 90's insert set (or at least it seems like that).

I recently doubled my ’98 Metal Universe Titanium collection by adding the Antoine Walker, Juwan Howard (K. Garnett in background) and Kerry Kittles (A. Hardaway in background). I also have the Marcus Camby and Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen cards from the set. I really like the J. Howard, but the Hardaway with MJ in the background is still my favorite of the six in my collection.

With six down, I have fourteen more to go. If I really concentrated my time and funds on putting the set together, I could probably put the rest of it together relatively quickly with the exception of the pricey Jordan and Kobe cards. I have too many sets I'm putting together right now though, so this one might take me some time. These Metal Titanium cards are fairly common. They were inserted into packs at a rate of 1:72. That’s really not too bad, and there usually are a few different auctions featuring these cards every week. Unfortunately, A few of the cards can get a little expensive (’98 Pippen Titanium completed eBay auction,’98 Jordan Titanium completed eBay auction, ’98 Rodman Titanium completed auction).

Although it's going to take me a while to put the entire '98 Metal Universe set together, I'm pretty happy to have what I consider the gem of the set in my collection. That's why this "Penny" Hardaway Metal Universe Titanium acetate card is #15 on the Hoopography Top 25 Countdown.

Sometimes a card just comes together perfectly. This 1993 Upper Deck 15,000 Point Club Michael Jordan insert isn't the most valuable 90's insert. It also doesn't feature an auto or swatch of jersey fabric. It does however feature a great action photo and a simple, but solid design. That's why this Jordan insert makes it to number 16 on my favorite PC Top 25 Countdown.

So these are some of my favorite cards, what are some of your own favorites that you've been able to add to your collection? Stay tuned for a post on number 17 in my "Hoopography Top 25" countdown!