20-24: A Nesmith Odyssey

[Nomad]

Was just looking back at the checklist. So actually 20-21 Hoops does not have a /5, green or otherwise. Just Hyper Green – /25 and then green /99. Both Beckett and CC say that the /10 is hyper gold, but its actually a plain gold, not sure what gives. Could be Artist's Proof gold, except that usually is notated on the card.

Bottom line, I have only seen a gold Hoops appear on the Bay once in four years (obviously, I bought it). Love how the simplicity contrasts with all the other parallels, which have a flash design.

[msink28]

Flux parallels are really nice compared to many of the other chrome-stock sets.

[Nomad]

"ATTACK ON TITAN" is probably one of my favorite groupings aesthetically. It's shiny and encased, and has a BO approved design.



20-21 Flux Titan:
gold 1/5
black scope /8
2x gold scope /18 (including 1/18)
2x purple /25
purple scope /38

20-21 Flux Equinox Auto:
2x blue /5 (including 1/5)

• That Titan set that launched a research thesis. Not anything like PMG in my humble estimation.

• Note Panini upside-down Flux encasement sticker error on the black scope /8. Kind of cool with this set, cause the bottom space probe should detach from the mother ship.

• Major prospects like Ant and Lamello have three Titan variations, minor prospects two, and scrubs like Aaron one. Thank god.

• The "golden egg" /5 in hand is really nice. The coloration is a bit sharper than say Deja Vu.

[jcardstore]

Idk how you do the upside down card. That would annoy the sh*t out of me. I couldn't look at it

[Nomad]

"ROOKIE RECONNAISCANCE"

Probably my favorite insert of the year, coupled with an underrated and affordable Recon base. And the obligatory Revolution.



'20-21 Recon:
blue platinum 1/1
red /199
base

'20-21 Recon Rookie:
gold /10
blue/99
2x Red /199

'20-21 Revolution - Rookie Revolution
cubic /50 (on order)
fractal

• Recon titanium blue is the only 1-1 I possess that meets the definition of what I think a true 1-1 rookie should be: base and no other 1-1 variations. I mean, even Prizm and Mosaic don't qualify there. I think Hoops does... probably other hobby only sets like Black, Obsidian, Noir.

• Dislike the look of the base Revolution Nesmith so much, have passed up multiple opportunities to buy low numbered.

[Nomad]

"POCKET A's" poses the age old question of whether three of a kind beats two pair and a 1-1 rookie, or if two pair and a Boston GOAT take down the pot.



'20-21 Obsidian:
Orange Etch /50
T-Mall Gold
T-Mall Red

'20-21 Flux Incoming:
2x Gold Shimmer /10
2x Red Shimmy /25
Payton Pritchard black 1/1

'20-21 Crown Royale:
2x Red /49
2x Blue /75
Jaysun Tatum Royal Purple /25

• Numbered or unnumbered, those Obsidian color variations are some of the most beautiful base parallels Panini makes.

• Ditto Crown Royale autos. I like these so much I've got a couple more blues on hand. On order: royal purple /25 and gold /10 rookie autos, as well as a gold /10 22-23 Pacers uniform auto.

• Incoming is up there with Recon Rookie as my favorite 20-21 insert. I have quite a collection of this, including five black 1-1 (Cole Anthony, Precious Achiuwa, I forget) which are just magnificent. Hitting the Pritchard in a break got me started. Actually have a classy Pritchard gold in an SGC case, which really matches. Hope when the class dust settles, this becomes an insert set collectors chase.

• Added the rookie teammate cards just for fun. Basketball is a team sport after all.

[msink28]

Recon Rookies look very nice.

[Nomad]

This one is probably one of the most meaningful groupings to me. Got the idea from that BO holiday cards thread and then cleverly combined it with the pandemic tissue narrative.

May I present "HOLIDAY SWEATER"




'20-21 Select RHSA (Rookie Holiday Sweater Auto) /199
'20-21 Donruss RR holiday disco 26/99 (jersey number)
3x '20-21 Hoops Rookie Sweaters
4x '20-21 Mosaic Red n' Green Wave

• This grouping is a memento of pandemic height, when the logistics thing was so messed up that Panini could not even get a store bought uni in time and so used what was available for Select, a left over ugly sweater (you can see the pattern matches the Hoops Sweaters on the left and right).

• What an amazing artifact. Reminds me of the story of the British Guiana 1 Cent Magenta. (A supply chain issue prevented England from shipping colonial stamps to South America for a few months. So the local printers improvised and printed in the interim. The Guinana-printed stamp was invariably thrown away because it was so cheap that it was only used to send newspapers. So only three copies survived. Random things that make things valuable or interesting as stories).

• As far as holiday sweater patches go, I think I have three prime ones. A reindeer, a snowflake, and a bushy tree.

• This starts a two-part series of groupings questioning collector common sense. No one sane would argue that a grouping of cards with value of around $20 has anything on a normal chase. The next grouping I would say, a sizable minority of Blowout members would argue is more valuable than any other in the Nesmith Collection. And yet the majority would say it's middling at best. I'll give a hint. It expands upon the idea of value embodied in the 26/99 Donruss RR jersey number card in this grouping.

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Idk how you do the upside down card. That would annoy the sh*t out of me. I couldn't look at it

You must be OCD or sumink. I am strictly an investor, practice non-attachment.

Although I will say humbly this collection is activated.

Interesting though, I was thinking of the value of the collection. One value has been faith. I haven't sold out because I know, after all, I made a pretty sensible investment, which will sooner than later (unless WWIII breaks out) allow me to pay the costs of making art prints or whatever I decide, myself, and on my own terms. If you retain intellectual property rights to your own output, it's ultimately more valuable. Just the same as if you somehow maintain a collection intact (and even expand it in meaningful ways)... eventually it should have recognized value. Don't let the haters tell you otherwise.

Keep the intellectual property until the Internet (or eBay) respects it, I say. As with my old literary agent, I finally got the rights to the still unpublished 800 page novel back from her. But still will not write another word of fiction until I'm paid.* Just as I would not sell one element of the core collection, such as the gold Deja Vu, on its own. If I amassed this collection in good faith as a Nesmith supercollector, I should give first dibs to another. I don't know exactly who, but that's the beauty of collecting other than a GOAT. The hobby is a lengthy journey.

* Anyway, nonfiction real is most satisfying. I mean at this point I could probably write a chapter about coming up with "you do you" (when 'be here now' didn't sit quite right) in Cali over a period of several minutes two years ago, and who Oaktown graces was with me at the time, and it would sell. Just like (as Wanda Sykes would attest) the expression is still being used to sell.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by Nomad

You must be OCD or sumink. I am strictly an investor, practice non-attachment.

Although I will say humbly this collection is activated.

Interesting though, I was thinking of the value of the collection. One value has been faith. I haven't sold out because I know, after all, I made a pretty sensible investment, which will sooner than later (unless WWIII breaks out) allow me to pay the costs of making art prints or whatever I decide, myself, and on my own terms. If you retain intellectual property rights to your own output, it's ultimately more valuable. Just the same as if you somehow maintain a collection intact (and even expand it in meaningful ways)... eventually it should have recognized value. Don't let the haters tell you otherwise.

Keep the intellectual property until the Internet (or eBay) respects it, I say. As with my old literary agent, I finally got the rights to the still unpublished 800 page novel back from her. But still will not write another word of fiction until I'm paid.* Just as I would not sell one element of the core collection, such as the gold Deja Vu, on its own. If I amassed this collection in good faith as a Nesmith supercollector, I should give first dibs to another. I don't know exactly who, but that's the beauty of collecting other than a GOAT. The hobby is a lengthy journey.

* Anyway, nonfiction real is most satisfying. I mean at this point I could probably write a chapter about coming up with "you do you" (when 'be here now' didn't sit quite right) in Cali over a period of several minutes two years ago, and who Oaktown graces was with me at the time, and it would sell. Just like (as Wanda Sykes would attest) the expression is still being used to sell.

What're you gonna do when you realize that you won't profit on these cards?

Even if Nesmith miraculously improves his game to the point of the hobby caring, and going to a team that has a base of collectors that care, you've admitted to overpaying for half these cards already.

[Nomad]

I dunno. I think that the Panini era has evolved the collecting ecosystem and that's only gonna expand with Fanatics. its gonna take a while for collectors to catch up. Any decent player now has a lot of rookie bling behind them and NBA is worldwide.

Prices of the rare Nesmith stuff has not gone down much, if at all. Not an 80 percent bloodbath or whatever. Example: I bought the NT "C" patch /99 for $400 (or did I have a best offer accepted, $350) in late 2021. Now those regularly still go for $300 to $400 on the Bay and I haven't seen a patch I liked sell in a long while. Overpaying is a relative concept... yes, I purchased the only Recon 1/1 for around $400. It may have sold for a little less, or sat around on the Bay forever (definitely, before he was a starter on a winning team) but once it's gone it's gone. Sell a similarly priced Anthony Edwards slab, buy another tomorrow.

Then there is the mint raw graded premium aspect. Most slab-focused people don't understand this. They assume that anything that would get a high grade has been graded or is in the hands of a collector who just prefers raw and would not sell. But if a singular collection is ungraded across the board simply because the cards were purchased when casual collectors thought Nesmith was a Mannion, those ungraded cards' value jumps significantly. Even if I was tempted to swap out these cards, I can't, because 90 percent of the important ones are serial numbered and my purchases are registered on the Bay.

Also, Layton folks still can't pronounce Nesmith (this actually is a positive). These are the people supposedly catering to the investing public. So it indicates that few fans outside Indiana have yet seen his impact. Much like I don't watch OKC, so I have literally seen Shai play a couple times, when they take on Indy. (Two weeks ago, as I recall, we decisively beat OKC in a critical game). The long-running Shai hype threads, which more or less proved correct, meant nothing to me. And I still get confused whether its "Shy" or "Shey".

Let's say I purchased the entire Nesmith collection for $10,000. If people are willing to pay $20k on the reg for single cards, and sometimes 500k, I think this collection is conservatively worth his jersey number. That's what it would take to have a discussion, anyway, and I bet if I hauled the entire briefcase to Indianapolis there would already be interest at that price. If Indy makes it the the ECF, there will be people (even in the Midwest) shelling out $5k for a single seat. Or making single bets worth more than $20k (hopefully not at the expense of their careers).

Anyway, I feel like ya'll only want to quibble and I'm really looking forward to sharing the next grouping, "PERFECT CONTENDERS."

[Nomad]

"PERFECT CONTENDERS" contains those rare "perfects," or cards with the serial number matching the jersey number and print run. With regards to Nesmith, these are two of the three that (I believe) are possible, with the third being the 22-23 Elite die-cut /23.



'20-21 Contenders Rookie Ticket Cracked Ice 1/25
'20-21 Contenders Playoff Ticket 26/99 (jersey number)
'20-21 Contenders Rookie Ticket die-cut 26/26 (perfect)

20-21 Contenders Prospect Ticket image variation /24
20-21 Immaculate RPA 24/49 (jersey number)
20-21 Contenders Prospect Ticket 24/24 (perfect)

2x '20-21 Contenders Prospect Ticket /23
1x '20-21 Contenders Conference Ticket /23

• The Immaculate RPA pictured is not actually the jersey number card indicated. The one on order has a similar "waves n' mountain" Vandy patch, so it's a stand in.

• Adhering to the jersey-number-should-match-the-card ethos here. In Nesmith's case, it's 24 Vanderbilt, 26 Celtics, 23 Pacers.

[Nomad]

To put it another way on the value tip, a PMG Damon Stoudamire is still a step above a PMG Walt Williams, right?

And actually to have around 23 examples of the equivalent for a first-time starter in the current playoffs, whatever team, is bonus right? 90s player prices may fluctuate, but rarely more than 1x either way unless manipulated.

I wonder how many players league-wide are having their first meaningful playoff minutes this year. I know most of the Pacers are like this. I think Edwards and Zion have already starred in some playoff games, right? I don't think Pritchard started last playoffs, but he had a meaningful role. And he sure is starting this year.

If you believe in the Pacers, stock up your Nembhard, Toppen, McConnell, Sheppard, and arguably Haliburton (says his hamstring is feeling back to normal).

[thesportslab]

Excellent thread. Thanks for sharing. Glad to see behind the curtain on the reasoning for some purchases. And, think it’s great how you expanded beyond just rookie year to grab some nice Pacers cards (the black and gold Mosaic looks awesome). Surprised how much I liked the Flux Titan. The sweater patches are top notch too; incredibly hard to find non-solid color patches on those.

[bkcardcollector]

man the pacers best chance at winning a playoff game in years starting in a few hours.

can u handle it?

i may even watch the pace...

[bkcardcollector]

Originally Posted by Nomad

To put it another way on the value tip, a PMG Damon Stoudamire is still a step above a PMG Walt Williams, right?

And actually to have around 23 examples of the equivalent for a first-time starter in the current playoffs, whatever team, is bonus right? 90s player prices may fluctuate, but rarely more than 1x either way unless manipulated.

I wonder how many players league-wide are having their first meaningful playoff minutes this year. I know most of the Pacers are like this. I think Edwards and Zion have already starred in some playoff games, right? I don't think Pritchard started last playoffs, but he had a meaningful role. And he sure is starting this year.

If you believe in the Pacers, stock up your Nembhard, Toppen, McConnell, Sheppard, and arguably Haliburton (says his hamstring is feeling back to normal).

knot knee smitty? for tree fiddy?

[oshmeehan]

OUCH. Baptised

[drwnnglifgrds]

nesmith stunk it up tonight. oof

[boxbuster7]

I'd blame haliburton more for the loss than Nesmith - 9 points ain't gonna cut it from your teams best player. The former is supposed to be a star. The latter isn't

[ninjabum87]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

I'd blame haliburton more for the loss than Nesmith - 9 points ain't gonna cut it from your teams best player. The former is supposed to be a star. The latter isn't

But their best player scored 7 points, tho.

[Nomad]

I'm still in shock. But in the last two postgame segments Ty looks shook and Aaron looks serious and says they are going to fix everything by next game.

Personally you know I would like to see Nesmith take the reins a bit with Nembhard. That''s what they did when they won critical games when Ty was out. Let them whip it to Siakam in rhythm, or do a shadow thing to basket. Get Myles the ball.

That will let McConnell, Sheppard, and Toppen operate as a unit, without pest constantly having to cover for the first unit. The way he stunk it up, Ty may be on the bench by next game. Or injured, if Dame breathes on him.

If I had to diagnose the real issue, he's not getting enough sleep, probably in some kind of pain. Did they vote All NBA yet? On the other hand, by the end of his segment Ty points out that they did get the ball moving by the second half. Maybe the issue was just contagious first playoff game jitters and this wake up call at the end of the day is only one loss. Really rooting for this squad.

[Nomad]

Pertaining to the collection, I have purposefully weaned myself off looking up card prices on the Bay and searching for elusive pieces I let swim by, like the Gala/8 (cause it's not perfect and how many mountains of Chroinicles need to be ripped).

The macro-structure of the collection is complete and about 60 percent there. The rest is fill in.

Also it's nice to let others have grails at affordable prices, I saw a Donruss RR black and gold auto (again not perfect) pass through at auction at $39.95* and there are not too many of those. It leaves a space to fill for whatever collctr or investor takes on the project. The perfect neighborhood is between two of my favs, an unnumbered mojo Optic RR and a Donruss orange-fire RR /99. So yeah that is gonna be a difficult quest, but nice.

As to the game tonight. Myles and Aaron in the pregame interviews indicated that they had fixed things offensively and defensively, and all was fine. Everyone is supposedly healthy except Giannis. This is (I think) where more recent collection values start to sink or swim. What we have been waiting for.

Lakers have an interesting narrow way. They almost had Denver last night. They only need to win two at home to have a memorable series. That's more realistic than the 76ers approach. Because Embid is such a critical part of their offense, when they have to over-capacitate defensively to keep him on the floor, it's hard for them to adapt. And Maxey is no Nesmith or Nembhardt backcourt (I looked up the game again, he actually guarded Dame well, dolla just went unconscious in the first half). Hield is a good addition but in terms of strategy, he was not top on the Pacers. He might be feeding Philly outdated information.

I think Lillard still feels disrespected by Haliburton and maybe the perceived superficiality of proclaiming yourself anything prior to a playoff appearance or two, much less reading the time). IST ist, past tense, doesn't mean it amounts to much other than Vegas entertainment at this point. It definitely didn't allow the Pacers to coast, in fact it put a target on their jerseys. And Ty did really try, he was suddenly given maximum defensive pressure on a nightly basis. Blame the contract carrot, but chalk it up to inexperience. Like water flows, trying to find a weak link at the supposed strongest point.

* And I guess probably the only purchaser was a flipper, which is fine, because they power the industry (as long as we come up with a sustainable plastic alternative within a few years, I am ok with that). But really, what I am not ok with is the great slab phenomenon. With the advent of object recognition technologies, every significant card can simply be scanned and dotted remotely. Use the same systems that are in place when doing remote ID verification. No need for encapsulation.

[Nomad]

Alright, less go

[bkcardcollector]

purple gold

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by Nomad

Alright, less go

Love this card