Once again, I missed the Tom Brady market boom a few years ago. As a Peyton Manning fan, I always hated Brady. But when he got traded to my local Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, he was good for the team, he was good for the city, and he brought a lot of excitement in his Super Bowl to the town. So all everyone was chasing his Bowman and Bowman chrome and his playoff contenders rookies, I was able to track one of these down. Surprisingly, there are not a ton of cards of his from his rookie year where wearing his Patriots NFL gear. Still, I challenge you to find as nice of a card in as great shape as this for a reasonable price. I think I only have four Tom Brady cards in my collection, his Luxe on-card patch auto, his Fleer Metal emerald rookie, and an Autographics depicting him in his Michigan Wolverines uniform with an on-card autograph.

This is one of two or three Kevin Durant cards that I own. I do love the rookie refractors, essentially this is an XRC as it came out before his 2007 rookies. I boughtt this one primarily because I love the old sonics uniform, and the green color match of this parallel. Additionally, the grade really makes this higher end rookie. As I shift my collection more into rare, unique, and game-used patch autos, this might end up on the trade block sometime soon, it sparkles in hand and looks fantastic slapped - look at those subgrades!

A few years ago, there was a surge in Kevin Durant cards. Thankfully, I picked this one up a long time ago. Durant is clearly one of the top 20 or 25 players to ever play in the NBA. However, his basketball persona often rubs fans the wrong way and his jumping from the team-to-team decreases his overall fan base and collectibility. Still, Durant cards are on the low side of where he will be remembered, historically, I think. This is a nice opportunity to buy some of his cards. He will never be super high on my list, but I do like to have a couple key, rookies and autographs tucked away. And man, the sonics need a to be a team back in Seattle!

Another post for Kobe Day, 8/24. This is another one of my favorite Mobe cards for a few reasons. This upper deck SP signature set is amazing. The cards are perfectly represented with enough negative space to make the autographs shine. It helps that it’s in a perfect Gem BGS 9.5 grade.

Can’t beat a high-end beautiful looking, numbered/limited run rookie of one of the best to ever play! The BGS 9.5 gem mint grade doesn’t hurt!