Showing posts with label LeBron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LeBron. Show all posts

The Next Golden Age of the NBA. Is It Already Here?

For many sports fans, the "Golden Age" of the NBA started with Bird versus Magic and culminated with Jordan hitting a game winning shot over Byron Russell in the '98 NBA Finals. Without question, it's hard to argue that claim. Sure, the NBA's "Golden Age" was built by the likes of the above mentioned Bird, Magic and Jordan, but the Association was littered with exciting stars throughout the league. From Clyde "The Glyde" Drexler in the Great Northwest to Sir Patrick at MSG or "The Human Highlight Film" in A-Town and Shaq and "Penny" in the wonderful world of Disney, the NBA was working on all cylinders throughout the mid 80's and 90's. Even perennial cellar dwellers like the Dallas Mavericks had "The Triple J's" or the Golden State Worriers with "RUN T.M.C.". There's no denying the state of basketball and the Association during that time, but today's NBA is certainly on the cusp of rivalling that time. Just think about it. Even the L.A. Clippers are actually palatable now.

One issue that has plagued the NBA over the past decade has been the lack of true superstars throughout the NBA. This could be for a number of reasons, but I attribute much of this problem to the influx of high school players into the league. Simply put, the vast majority of prep stars are not ready both physically and mentally for the NBA. Sure, I'm not going to argue one bit that players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett haven't achieved their full potential, but there have been far more that haven't. Say what you want about the one year removed from high school rule, but it's apparent that the vast majority of NBA prospects need a few semesters of higher learning to develop leadership, basketball IQ, fundamentals and physically. Not all, but many players need to go through a progression to develop both basketball and mental skills. It seems the influx of potential talent during the end of the 90's and the beginning of the last decade has hurt the development of that potential and thus, the NBA.

Fortunately for us fans, the state of the NBA game has been improved somewhat by young players who are forced to develop at a slightly slower rate than just being thrown into the fire that is professional basketball. I would argue that prep players should have to wait two full years before they can enter the NBA. I believe that would improve the NBA product even further. It's a matter of requirements/experience for a job posting, but this is really an issue for another post, the NBA CBA or at the very least, maybe Facebook.

The one to two years that prep stars are serving in the collegiate ranks seems to be paying off, but it's not the only change that is ushering in a new "Golden Age" in the NBA. Quite simply, LeBron has a huge affect on the state of the Association. Just like Jordan, Magic and Bird did in their day (Ok, not quiet like those greats, but close). Look, I'm not saying LeBron is better or even as good as either one of those three all-time greats. Although he should be, he simply doesn't have the same fire and competitiveness as many of the greats, but he does have mass appeal. We all tuned in to "The Decision" several months ago to not only see what the fate of the Cavaliers franchise was, but also the NBA. Lebron has brought emotion back to the NBA fan and casual sports fan. For example, I despise Team South Bitch and Prince James. However, the fact of the matter is whether you like him or not, LeBron matters.

Although many of the stars and superstars may not have the same mass appeal as Lebron, the placement of those stars is important. It's always a good thing when a league's biggest markets have stars and successful teams, and that's no different for the NBA. My Knickerbockers have a little swagger back at MSG with Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton in the "Big Apple". Although I'm not much of a fan of his intensity or a lack of winning attitude, D-Rose is putting up MVP like numbers in Chi-Town. Kobe is Kobe in the city of glitz and glamour. Dirk is holding court in "Big D", and "Durantuala" is bringing big time hoops to the Mid-west. The big cities are hoppin' with hoops.

My final point on the second coming of the NBA's "Golden Age" has to do with attendance. Since 2005, the NBA's average league wide attendance has steadily climbed to or hovered right around 17,500. Attendance during the '08-'09 season did fall by 2.0%, but remember, we are in a recession (You can see this years attendance numbers thus far by clicking here). I'm guessing the numbers are going to level off for a bit until we fully recover from the recession. Important to note, the fact that attendance numbers have not tanked since the recession hit back in late '08 is a testament to the resurgence of the product on NBA courts today.

Yes, the NBA is poised for a "Golden Age" out on those hardwood courts. New rivalries are being forged, there are plenty of current and future stars around the league and sports fans are getting excited (at least this fan is) about the product. So enjoy the NBA's new "Golden Age" and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball".

 

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2010 Panini Court Kings Box Break Review

I received a box of 2010 Panini Court Kings yesterday from Panini America for review. I've been waiting for this product to come out ever since Panini started posting product images on their Facebook page (click here). All-in-all, it was a fun box to open with some really good looking cards, but I also had a couple of knitpicking complaints that I'll get into. First thing's first though, I need to thank Panini for thinking enough of Hoopography to send me a box for review. This is the second box I've received from Panini for review, Timeless Treasures being the first. Also, I will be giving away one of the cards from this box right here on the blog, so look for an upcoming contest giveaway sometime this weekend or early this coming week.

As mentioned above, I've been waiting for 2010 Court Kings to come out for a few months now. The cards have a "painting on canvas" look to them that I think looks really great and adds a sort of elegant sophistication to trading cards. Simply, its a little something different in an industry that is often flooded by the same designs product after product. No where is this "painting on canvas" effect more evident than on the box topper.

The Court Kings box toppers are part of a 5 x 7, 50 card sub set. Each box contains one individually sealed box topper. I opened it last and it was like opening an added bonus after going through the 11 card pack. Some of these box toppers are auto'd and I'm sure would be a great addition to any collection. The box topper in my box was this Devin Harris card numbered 111/349. If you look at a checklist for Court Kings, you'll see quite an impressive list of current and former NBA stars including: Kobe, Patrick Ewing, Kevin Durant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Chris Bosh and Pete Maravich.

There were four base cards in the eleven card box. Each card is serial numbered depending on whether the card is a non-parallel #'d/450, a bronze #'d/149 or a silver #'d/99. The David Lee was a low print #'d 03/99! I'm never opposed to metal foiling of any kind. However, I wish David Lee was still with the Knicks so I could add this low print card to my PC.

I'm a big fan of great photography and Court Kings delivers on that. It's also cool how some background details are highlighted and some aren't due to the "painting on canvas" effect. This characteristic is really evident toward the top of the Hedo Turkoglu card with the blue arena advertising standing out. Plus I really like how KG is coming around Hedo to block his shot. Because of how the Celtic Green stands out, it almost looks like the card is supposed to feature KG and not Hedo. These Court Kings base cards are pretty solid all the way around, and the parallels add another fun dimension.

For as much as I liked the base cards, I felt these Artistry inserts were pretty pedestrian. They're basically a base card with out the great action shots or cool backgrounds. I do however like how tuff Carmelo looks and am rooting for the Knicks to trade Eddie Curry to the Nuggets for 'Melo. Hey, A guy can dream… right?

Each box is supposed to contain four auto's or memorabilia cards per box, but I was lucky enough to pull four auto'd/memorabilia cards plus a rookie redemption. That's a total of five in an eleven card box. Not too bad. In past Panini releases, I had been critical of some of the patch/jersey placements that were simply cut into the middle of a players torso. That design flaw is not a problem in Court Kings. Checkout the Allen Iverson dual jersey #'d 46/99. The memorabilia was placed on the sides so as not to arbitrarily cut into the image of the player. One complaint I do have about this card is the centering of the foiled "Court Kings" logo. It's… "just a bit outside", thanks Bob Eucker.

The Wayne Ellington Rookie Auto is nice. Nothing to get too excited about. It's #'d 194/649 and looks cool because of that "painting on canvas" effect again. I'm not a fan of sticker auto's, but I do understand their place in the hobby to keep product prices down. Also, there're plenty of other subsets in Court Kings 2010 that do feature on-card auto's.

As mentioned, I did receive a redemption. I know some collectors despise redemption cards, but I'm not one of them. I think they're fun and I've heard from other collectors that Panini does a pretty good job about getting them out to collectors in a reasonable amount of time. I was obviously hoping the rookie redemption I pulled would be for Blake Griffin or Brandon Jennings, but it was instead for Jonas Jerebko. He actually did have a decent rookie season last year with 9.3 points and 6 rebounds/game. It could be a good prospecting card in the future.

The final memorabilia cards that I pulled were pretty nice. This is the second Lebron James Jersey card I've pulled in the last two boxes of Panini product that I've opened. Those are pretty good odds, and this John Stockton card with the old school Jazz uniform isn't a bad looking card either. The James card is from the "Masterpieces" insert set that features 20 current and past NBA Stars. Again the "painting on canvas" theme is carried through the "Masterpieces" set and is even highlighted with the picture framing image on the card. Panini also came through again with the great photography and action shots. Just like a Van Gogh, James' expression is priceless. The "Dribble Kings" Stockton card is my favorite out of the entire box. The card is #'d 88/299 and is part of a 15 card sub set. Those are some short shorts Stockton is sporting there, but it's still a cool looking card.

The bottom line on Panini's 2010 Court Kings is that it's a pretty well done product that I would definitely recommend. Between the individually sealed box topper, four memorabilia /auto'd cards and redemption card, this was a fun box to open. Also, I can't say enough about the "painting on canvas" effect on all the cards. It really brings out the subtle details from a players tattoos to the arena advertising. My only complaint is really a luck of the draw complaint. I can't argue with five auto'd/memorabilia cards in a box that's supposed to yield four, but one on-card auto or prime patch would've been nice (prime: Panini's designation for a mutli-colored jersey swatch/patch). Again, that is simply the luck of the draw and me knit-picking. All-in-all though, this was a fun product to open and continues to show how Panini's basketball products improve release after release.

Ok, so you probably read about an hour ago that I'd be giving away a card from this box. If you managed to read the entire review, you deserve to know which card that will be. I'll announce a contest either this Sunday or Monday for one lucky reader to win the LeBron James "Masterpieces" jersey card #'d 194 of 299. So stay tuned and good luck!

 

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