Kyrie Irving NSCC promo card picks up steam
By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor
What happens when a player has no regular-issue NBA cards?
It means what had been a free promo card is now a $40 in-demand commodity.
That’s exactly the case as the only card of No. 1 overall draft pick Kyrie Irving can be found in the 2011 Panini National VIP set (No. 5), a card selling so well of late that it’s been bumped up from its previous high of $6.
Since we don’t yet have any 2011-12 NBA cards — and we’ll get to wait even longer for NBA Rookie Cards — this is the only option as of now. It’s the card getting all of the attention as he’s averaging 18.3 ppg for the Cavs.
The card of the Cleveland rookie is from a six-card set given away in VIP bags at the NSCC last year in Chicago. It also includes the only card of Derrick Williams, the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft last year, who also signed with Panini.
Other NBA stars in the set include Panini spokesmen Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, John Wall and Kevin Durant.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Super Cool!
And no rookie cards in the Hoops set either, great job Panini!