Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less: Kevin Durant

('08 UD Rookie Box Set)

I recently received a great email question from a reader called Joel. Joel asked which reasonably priced Kevin Durant RC I think is the best to add to ones collection? That's such a great question on so many levels Joel. First, it gives me a chance to utilize the Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less post series, but more importantly, I get to write about one of the best players in the NBA today. There are a number of great card options for well under the $10 price tag. Actually, there're a few good looking Durant RC's that can be purchased for under $4 - $5. However, the best cards are always the ones that you think look the coolest and you're going to enjoy the most. So the short answer is to pick out the card that you get the most excited about. Here's the long answer:

There's no questioning Kevin Durant's talent and upside. At 22 years of age with a 25.3 point/game and 6.2 rebound/game averages in three NBA seasons, Durant hasn't even scratched the celling on that talent (if there even is a celling). Just as Durant's game should improve, so should his collectability amongst collectors. While many this week are arguing who would win a one on one matchup between Kobe and Lebron, Durant is catching up. He and the Oklahoma City Thunder are an up and coming team. Winning typically catches the attention of collectors and the Thunder should be in the playoff hunt this year again. What will catapult Durant into the collecting stratosphere is team success. If he can do that, here are two of his Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less you might want to add to your collection.

2008 Topps RC

The '08 Topps RC is not the fanciest card out there by any means, but it is one of the best. I'm a huge fan of this Topps design. Aside for the fact that you can typically buy this card form $1 - $5 (click here), there are also plenty of parallel versions including a white and really cool orange color (click here). There are plenty of these out there on the secondary market. Patients is said to be a virtue and can be the best friend to a collectors wallet on this one. That being said, I would grab one of these before the season starts and "Durantuala" fever sets in this season.

2008 UD SP RC

I'm an Upper Deck fan. I always have been and always will be. The '08 Upper Deck SP Rookie Edition Premier Prospects Durant card is another inexpensive base card that collectors can purchase for right around $1 - $5 (click here). My favorite thing about this card is the Texas Longhorn Orange Durant rocked during the '07 NBA Draft shown in this cards. Beware with this one. Some sellers are tying to get $15 - $30 for this card on e-marketplaces like eBay.

If you're looking for something with a bit more pizazz and don't mind spending a few extra bucks, here are several more Durant RC's that have collectors salivating:




- '08 Upper Deck SP Authentic Profiles (click here)
- '08 Topps Chrome RC (click here)
- '08 Topps Chrome Refractor RC (click here)
- '08 Topps Echelon RC (click here)

Thanks for the question Joel. I hope this post helps you and other collectors looking to pick up a few Durant RC's. If you have a trading card or sports memorabilia question, feel free to email me via hoopography@yahoo.com or on the Hoopography Facebook fan page. Good luck in your collecting pursuits and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less: Shawn Kemp Fleer, SkyBox, Upper Deck

Basketball fans can’t talk 90’s NBA basketball without mentioning the “Reign Man”. Shawn Kemp was a devastating 6 foot 10 inch athlete who could catch an ally-oop from fellow running mate Gary “The Glove” Payton better than anyone in the Association. In addition to his athleticism, Kemp also had the skill-set to work down low in the post. He averaged 14.6 points/game and 10.9 rebounds/game with a .488 field goal percentage during his NBA career. Those numbers are a bit skewed because of a few seasons when his averages dipped for a number of reasons including weight issues. It was reported that Kemp showed up to Cavaliers’ training camp weighing a hefty 275 lbs. during the ’99 lockout shortened NBA season.

I like to remember the Shawn Kemp that many referred to as “Man Child”. This was the player that no team had an defensive answer for during the mid 90’s. For all of Kemp’s natural abilities though, it would have been fun to watch how much better he would have been if he had only put more time into the game and himself. As it is, I'm still a fan and enjoy watching old clips of Kemp Reignin’ down on Seattle.

I've done a couple of these “Rookie Cards for $10 Bucks or less” posts thus far, but this is the first time i'm featuring three rookie cards of one player. The best part about featuring Kemp’s three rookie cards is that you can add all three of these RC's to your collection "...for $10 Bucks or Less”.

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   -The ’91 Fleer RC features a great action shot of Kemp doing what he did best, dunking. This is my favorite Kemp RC out of the three. Just checkout that awesome blue and red trim around the photo of Kemp. Coupled with the yellow surrounding Kemp's name, this card is so bad it's actually cool. The card has a book value of only $1.50 due to the over abundance of the card. In fact, that is the case for all three of these cards. Trading card manufactures mass produced their sets and thus killed the value of their own products during the late 80’s and early 90’s. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 Fleer Shawn Kemp RC).
   

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   -The ’91 NBAHOOPS RC has a fairly simple design. I can’t say it’s the best looking card ever made, but it’s a nice buy at around $1 on the secondary markets. Again, the card only has a book value of $1.50 like the ’91 Fleer RC. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 NBAHOOPS Shawn Kemp RC).
   

   
   

   
   

1. -The final Kemp RC is a ’91 SkyBox card. The ’91 SkyBox set is one of my all-time favorite sets. I actually like both the ’91 and ’92 SkyBox sets. They have some really funky early 90’s graphics and designs. The Kemp RC from the ’91 set has some of those funky graphics and is a good looking card. Nothing like some randomly colored lines going through the background of a card. Kinda like the always cool laser background used in 90’s school photos (you know the ones I'm talking about). This Kemp RC has a book value of $2.50, but typically sells for right around $.50 to $2. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 SkyBox Shawn Kemp RC)
   

   
   

(Just for good measure, Kemp's Top 10 Slam Dunks)

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Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less: '84 Star Company Ralph Sampson RC

Rookie cards are a huge part of the hobby that we love. Collectors chase down the first trading card of a player for a couple of reasons. There certainly are those who "collect" RC's as if they were stocks or commodities. Just look at the recent example of Stephen Strasburg's RC's. There also are those collectors who add a RC to their collection not because of the anticipated value, but rather for the thrill of owning a card of an athlete who they admired as a kid or even today. Maybe the RC of a player also reminds them of a particular time in their life or of a favorite team. If you are later of those types of collectors, than this Rookie Cards for $10 Bucks or Less series is for you.

This Rookie Cards for $10 Bucks or Less post features the 1984 Star Company RC of arguably one of the best collegiate basketball players of all-time, Ralph Sampson. Sampson was the #1 pick of the '83 NBA Draft out of the University of Virginia. As a collegiate player, there are few who can measure up to the career of the 7'-4'' Sampson. He was a three-time Naismith Collegiate Player of the Year award winner and two-time Wooden Award winner. He was also named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team in 2002.

After receiving that kind of hardware, it's no wonder Sampson was highly touted coming into the NBA during the '84 season. Many felt Sampson was going to dominate the NBA as he did the ACC, and he did for about a three and a half season span. Sampson and the then Akeem Olajuwan formed the devastating "Twin Towers" for the Rockets during the '85 season after Houston won the rights to the first pick overall for a second year in a row. The talented tandem formed an intimidating two-headed monster and eventually led the Rockets to a birth in the '86 NBA Finals against the vaunted Boston Celtics. The Rockets did go on to lose that series, but cemented themselves as a formidable team to dethrone the Lakers'-Celtics' dominance of the 80's with a core of young and up incoming superstars in Sampson and Olajuwan. Unfortunately, three knee surgeries derailed the promise and talent Sampson showed during his first three and a half seasons in the Association.

Sampson played for a number of NBA teams during the remainder of his career and was eventually waived during the '91-'92 NBA season by the then Washington Bullets. He finished his NBA career as the '84 NBA Rookie of the Year, '85 All-Star MVP, '85 All-NBA Second Team, Four-time NBA All-Star ('84-'87) and a whole lot of unfulfilled promise.

His '84 Star Company RC is a steal today with a book value of only $8.00. Many collectors and hoops fans forget just how dominate of an athlete Sampson truly was. His RC often sells for right around $.99 -$5.00. Here's a recently completed eBay Buy Now auction (click here). I really like the Star Company cards of the mid-80's. There obviously are a ton of noteworthy players in those sets like Jordan, Worthy, Jabbar, Thomas, Drexler, Wilkins, Ewing, Magic and Bird, but it's the simply design, photography and use of vibrant color that make these cards standout. Just look at the bright orange an red colors used on the Sampson RC. So if you're looking to add a solid RC to your collection at a modest expense, checkout the '84 Star Co. Ralph Sampson Rookie Card for $10 Bucks or Less and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".