My NBA at 75 Collection

[BasketBawlers]

In celebration of the NBA's 75th Year Anniversary, I decided to focus my collecting efforts this season on building a special set featuring the top 75 players of all time (which due to a weird technicality from the judges actually ended up being 76 players). As you might recall from my previous "Type Set" binder that I shared, I'm a strong believer that the research and the presentation are just as important as the cards themselves. Have a look!



Using the player descriptions available on NBA.com’s 75th Anniversary Team page, I designed a template for informational card dividers that includes key facts about each player;

• First and last name
• Team(s) played
• Jersey number(s)
• Position played
• Team logo(s)
• Major awards
• Brief player bio
• Featured career stats

I also included a few extra details on the info cards such as using the team logos that were specific to the year that each player joined their respective team, and I used a color palette that samples the colors from their team logos. I printed the cards on glossy cardstock and then hand-cut them using an exacto knife (though I recommend getting a professional to do this if you’re not highly experienced with using an exacto knife, it's really easy to mess up!)



As far as selecting which cards to feature in the set, my goal was to find an autograph card of as many players as possible within my budget (which I set to a max of $50 per card, though I did make a small exception for the Magic Johnson auto. Most cards in the set were under $20 though). On this budget, I was able to find authentic autographs of over 40 of the 76 players!



For the players whose autograph cards I couldn’t afford, I prioritized finding their rookie cards, which filled up over 20 more spots in the case. Lastly, for the remaining 15 or so players where both their autograph cards and rookie cards were out of budget (i.e. Bill Russell, MJ, and Pistol Pete Maravich), I selected either licensed rookie reprint cards, or just picked cool non-rookie cards.



Finding a case that was an appropriate size for the collection was difficult, but I settled on this one which does the job. I made a few modifications to the case, including adding a basic hinge using black duct tape, embedding a battery-powered motion sensor LED light into the lid of the case, and I added the 75th Anniversary NBA emblem to the top of the case.



Each of the cards is stored in a standard-sized magnetic one-touch holder. Rather than paying full-price for 75 of these (which gets expensive quickly) I bought a case of lightly used ones on eBay for about one third of the cost. Most of them were in good shape, but for the ones that had some tape on them, I was able to restore them using a bit of “Goo Gone” and a microfiber cloth.



Other than learning a ton about the history of basketball through building this collection, what I love about this project is that I can continue to improve it over time. I’m hoping to eventually have authentic autographs or rookie cards for every player in the case. I hope you enjoy this project and I would love to see what other NBA@75 collections are out there!

[Mahomie]

That's a really cool project - looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Deadshot]

This is really cool! Do you have a picture of the outside of the case as well?

[ninjacookies]

Very cool project...really love the custom touch with the personalized bookmarks. GL with the completion!

[Hoopscardz83]

This is what collecting is all about.

[Cheken]

That’s amazing. Any chance a set may be available fs? Been looking to do a similar project myself in putting something together for the top 75

[benny collects]

Cool project m8. Looks great and I'm impressed with the effort you've obviously expended.

[nman84]

Originally Posted by Hoopscardz83

This is what collecting is all about.

+1

This is a really cool project!

[Basketball B]

That...is an amazing project. Bravo!!!

[byronscott4ever]

Great idea!

I’m disappointed that exclusives keep anyone from creating a set of cards/parallels like they did 25 years ago.

[rogueriver]

I would have too much trouble when you hit the final players. I could never decide who to leave off.

[ragingbull]

Except for Pistol Pete, I have all the autographs of the 76. I have Maravich’s ungraded RC though.

I have made three youtube videos to showcase my collection of the 76 anniversary team on my channel. Each vlog containing 25 autos of the 76. Alphabetically arranged. I speak in both Filipino and English languages in the vlogs. So, bear with me if you dont understand what I say, at times.

Here are the links:

Part 1: https://youtu.be/ar5RCSU3mmk
Part 2: https://youtu.be/pXLPYKuD9lg
Part 3: https://youtu.be/E2yBh4mQ0gM

I hope you’d watch and then subscribe to my channel. Thanks guys!!!

[OriginalRapsfan]

Congrats! That's a big accomplishment. I have the set of reprints of the NBA@50 50 greatest players inserted as chrome/finest reprints in 1996-97 topps and topps stadium club. I have thought about adding cards of the next 25/26 players as well.

[bulljh]

Since you’re from the Bay Area, I hope you’re adding Klay Thompson at number 77

[BasketBawlers]

Originally Posted by ragingbull

Except for Pistol Pete, I have all the autographs of the 76. I have Maravich’s ungraded RC though.

I have made three youtube videos to showcase my collection of the 76 anniversary team on my channel. Each vlog containing 25 autos of the 76. Alphabetically arranged. I speak in both Filipino and English languages in the vlogs. So, bear with me if you dont understand what I say, at times.

Here are the links:

Part 1: https://youtu.be/ar5RCSU3mmk
Part 2: https://youtu.be/pXLPYKuD9lg
Part 3: https://youtu.be/E2yBh4mQ0gM

I hope you’d watch and then subscribe to my channel. Thanks guys!!!

Beautiful collection, thanks for sharing. A lot of those signatures are way out of my price range, but big respect for committing to finding them all. I think your collection deserves a special display case of some sort as well!

[BasketBawlers]

Originally Posted by bulljh

Since you’re from the Bay Area, I hope you’re adding Klay Thompson at number 77

Klay will be the first plater ready to add for my NBA at 100 collection. Just wish I didn't have to wait another 24 1/2 years...

[BasketBawlers]

Originally Posted by Deadshot

This is really cool! Do you have a picture of the outside of the case as well?

Even better, I'll send you a short video of it!

[ragingbull]

Originally Posted by BasketBawlers

Beautiful collection, thanks for sharing. A lot of those signatures are way out of my price range, but big respect for committing to finding them all. I think your collection deserves a special display case of some sort as well!

Hey! Thanks man!