By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

It’s a busy time in the NBA with the postseason marathon ongoing and the awards season generating headlines beyond the court.

On cardboard, it’s just as busy with several new products arriving and stars making their own pushes with strong performances. (Need a checklist or OPG for one of the 541 basketball sets already made this year? Click here.)

Here’s the latest Beckett 20 Questions on cards and the court. Tell us what you think about the state of cards today, its stars and more with your votes and the comments below.

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See the remaining 19 questions … after the jump.

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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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

As 2012 winds down, we figured we’d take a few minutes to take a look back at 2012 via the covers of Beckett Basketball — a magazine that only published eight times this year but will be making the move back to monthly in 2013.

Heck, we’re already working on March’s issue.

It was a choppy time for NBA collectors with limited releases and no Rookie Cards, but that time is over as we’re pretty fan into a new season and a double-dose of RCs to make up for lost time.

Here’s a gallery of the 2012 covers — we want to know, just for kicks, which one you liked best.

And if you want to give us your rundown of 2012, do that in the comments.

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

The auctions have ended, the numbers have been crunched. The ranges have been tabulated and the OPG has been posted.

The 2011-12 Panini Gold Standard basketball card set has arrived on Beckett.com with the favorites, autographs and memories in tow. Let’s take a look inside the numbers crunched by Beckett Basketball Senior Market Analyst Rob Springs – and see even more — after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Total value:  $26,526

Average price: $28.86

Highest card:  24K Memorabilia Prime Kobe Bryant, $175-$350

Other Notable Cards:
– Marks of the Hall Autographs Scottie Pippen $150-$300
– 2012 Draft Pick Redemptions Anthony Davis $125-$250
– Private Signings Derrick Rose $150-$250

Springs Says:  Panini Gold Standard has followed in the footsteps of Limited, in terms of really strong price guide value compared to the previous year’s release.  Not only are the autographs strong, but the memorabilia sets are very strong as well, especially the sets that feature jumbo swatches (and jumbo prime swatches) like Black Gold Threads, 14K Memorabilia and 24K Memorabilia.  The Gold Rush cards (which feature an actual oval of gold) are much more attainable this year, with all the cards in the set numbered out of 49.  The value for these cards are very strong with commons and unlisted stars easily selling in the $20 to $40 range.  The Solid Gold redemption cards have been few and far between in early breaking.  It seems like they were coming out more frequently in early breaks last year.

Olds’ Opinion: I really liked this brand last year from its packaging down to its card design. It stands out among the pack because it has a concept and follows through on it on many levels. If the hobby had more products with as much thought put into every aspect — although at perhaps a lower-end price — we might have a ton more collectors out there.

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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

Derrick Rose is done for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, prematurely ending the reigning NBA MVP’s chances of being Like Mike anytime soon.

That also means that he’s done for the rest of the year, out for the Summer Olympics and probably for another nine months.

“Derrick’s not only a great player, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great person, but it’s not a death sentence,” Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau told ESPNChicago.com. “It’s not a death sentence for him, it’s not a death sentence for our team. He’s going to come back. He’ll come back better than ever. It’s just the way it is and we’ve got to deal with.”

The coach is perhaps optimistic, but perhaps not. The real question for collectors is how the injury might affect Rose’s basketball cards moving forward. (Need a Derrick Rose checklist or OPG? Click here.)

In short, one must wonder … is the injury a death sentence for his pricey cardboard?

In all, Rose appears on 1,448 cards in the Beckett.com database, a collection valued at more than $100,000. Presently, 11 of his 26 Rookie Cards command $350 or more with his 2008-09 Exquisite Collection card pushing $4,000 at times.

Last year, he was among the hottest young stars in the NBA — and clearly the past sales support that.

Now? Well, there’s going to be whole lot of waiting going on — and maybe some collectors getting rid of his cards because they simply have too much money invested in them.

Let us know what you think with our poll and a comment below.

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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.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

Panini America‘s first NBA product of the 2011-12 card season is nearing completion — and one of the most important stages for one card type to be found has been completed.

The autographs — rather, the on-card autographs — and they can be found in 2011 Preferred.

One of the high-end product’s sets, Silhouettes, carry rather striking signed prime patch cards and they are one of the sets found in the product, which is comprised of cards echoing three past products in the company’s portfolio — Panini’s Choice (a nod to Cramer’s Choice from the Pacific days), Crown Royale Silhouettes and Donruss Signatures. In fact, it’s a “three-brand” product without “base” cards at all as every card in the set is autographed except for a selection of booklet cards.

Now set to arrive on March 21, this $200-per-pack product will include three autographed cards and one six- or eight-piece booklet card in every pack.

All autographs will be limited to 99 or fewer copies.

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.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

With basketball season in full swing, collectors seem to be jumping for cards once again – even if there isn’t a single new NBA product out just yet.

It seems as though last season’s parallels from Panini America’s 2010-11 Totally Certified are doing extremely well on the secondary market.

But there is one parallel in particular that collectors seem to want more than others.

Perhaps there’s just something about the color green that we like.

“These cards have been selling substantially well over the past few months – many trying to compare them to the much more elusive Metal Gem Green cards – and many (on several different message boards) questioning the validity of the prices paid,” Rob Springs, Beckett Basketball analyst said. “I’m not sure these are the hottest cards in the hobby right now.”

The basic green parallels and the autographed parallels are numbered to five.

Recently, a Kevin Durant Totally Certified green autograph sold for $1,800 on eBay and a Derrick Rose autograph came in behind him for $1,495.

But these cards don’t need a signature to be worth big bucks. A LeBron James numbered 4/5 sold for $1,200 on Jan. 30. That’s right. No autograph, just a shiny green parallel to add to someone’s collection. The non-autographed Kobe Bryant sold for $999.

Even some of the less-popular players sell for a decent amount of money from a hobby box that runs for about $140. On the bottom end of the scale, a Brook Lopez autograph sold for $45.

But on the average, many of the green parallels have sold for $100-plus.

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

In the next issue of Beckett Basketball, we’re going to ask a simple question that might not be so simple for collectors to answer.

We want to know what you think right here with a couple of online polls.

The main question … who do you collect, reigning league MVP Derrick Rose or reigning Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin?

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Take the poll and let us know why you voted the way you did in the comments below …

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.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

When a player retires, card collectors check out their stash to see what they own of the guy calling it quits.

Usually, collectors can prepare for that day as a player gets older and skills begin to diminish. But sometimes a player has to call it quits in what looked to be the prime of their career.

It seems Portland Trailblazers‘ Brandon Roy is in that situation now.

Roy will be seeking medical retirement because of degenerative knees, ESPN.com reported. Teammates Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace said they were told by the team that Roy wouldn’t be coming back. But Roy has not publically confirmed the situation.

Roy was one of the NBA’s bright young stars. At 27, he was the Rookie of the Year in 2007 and a three-time All-Star.

But he’s been plagued with knee injuries and pain. He’s had surgeries and has said that there is no cartilage in his knees.

Roy has averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 in his career.

Roy’s rookie cards seem to do well on the secondary market. His top card from his rookie year is the 2006-07 Exquisite Collection autographed jersey card numbered to 99. The high book value on the card is $600.

Even now, some of his better cards – rare patches and autographs – sell in the $70-$100 range.

The last of his cards appeared in last season’s sets. He appeared on autograph cards with other young talent such as Derrick Rose, putting two of the top young talents on the same piece of cardboard.

Because of the NBA Lockout and subsequently no new product, these just might be the last cards of his basketball career (What are we going to do with all those sticker autos now?)

But Roy isn’t alone in having early career-ending injuries. Players such as Terrell Davis, Wally Pipp, Sandy Koufax and Bernie Parent all saw their careers end too shortly.

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.