With all the “hoopla” surrounding last year’s rookie class, (i.e. Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, et al.) it wasn’t a question of how much of an encore Topps would put forth, but rather when it would be unleashed to the collecting public.
Well…let me start by saying that Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects is a masterful continuation of one of my favorite all-time hardwood releases. I mean, Bowman Chrome equals cardboard gold in the baseball circle.
Why not begin with the hobby-favorite Gold Refractors, which again are serial-numbered to just 50 copies per card. In my box, I was luckily enough to pull a Chris Webber gold refractor, phantom time-out and all. These are seeded approximately one in every three hobby boxes.
In addition to the gold refractors, there are also serial-numbered refractors (300 sets) and x-fractors (150 sets) as was the case with last year’s product. While I didn’t score an x-fractor, I did pull refractors of Chicago Bulls lottery pick Ben Gordon and future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.
Also seeded at one per box, on average, is both a relic card and a certified autograph. In my box, I pulled a certified autographed Bowman base version of Stephon Marbury’s cousin, and Portland TrailBlazers first round draft pick, Sebastian Telfair, and a game-worn jersey relic of Shaquille O’Neal.
The one new addition to the Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects lineup is the severely underrated Topps Originals rookie buybacks. These are embossed with the official “Topps Original” stamp and come hand-numbered on the back of the card. There are original Topps rookie cards of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, just to name a few.
This was one of the best products released so far this year. From autographs of Emeka Okafor and Shaquille O’Neal to rookie relics of Dwight Howard and Ben Gordon, this set has all the makings of a slam-dunk.
Here’s what you might find in a randomly selected hobby box of 2004-05 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects basketball:
10 NBA Draft Pick Autographed Rookies (1:105)
10 NBA Draft Pick Autographed Rookies (1:314)
156 Gold Parallels (1:1)
146 Chrome Refractor (1:18)
146 Chrome X-Fractor (1:36)
146 Gold Chrome Refractor (1:59)
10 NBA Draft Pick Autographed Refractor Rookies (1:1,579)
10 NBA Draft Pick Autographed X-Fractor Rookies (1:3,135)
10 NBA Draft Pick Autographed Gold Chrome Refractor Rookies (1:8,737)
Topps Originals (Group A: 1:483, Group B: 1:4,369)
Remembering Rookies Autograph (Group A: 1:658, Group B: 1:1,579)
Signs of the Future (1:38)
Instant Impact (1:120)
Twice as Nice (1:207)
City Scape (1:150)
Rookie Registration (1:44)
