There aren’t many players that had the same sort of impact on the game of basketball as one Lew Alcindor.

Alcindor’s dominance on the court was evident early on, as he won three NCAA championships with the UCLA Bruins and then six NBA championships with the Bucks and LA Lakers. 

Not only was Alcindor a great basketball player, but a prominent cultural figure for the African American community.

Alcindor boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics due to the unequal treatment of black players. He also changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in 1971 as a testament of his faith and to stand up for black Americans. 

The Lew Alcindor rookie card has taken on a renewed identity of its own in recent years, skyrocketing to among the hobby’s most valuable basketball cards, even despite a somewhat abundant supply.

As follows, we’ll examine the 1969 Topps Alcindor rookie card in detail, taking a closer look at overall value, scarcity, along with our take on future investment potential. 

Kobe Bryant’s rookie cards remain among the most sought-after basketball cards in the hobby.

His dominance on the court with the Lakers and tragic passing has renewed interest in Kobe’s rookie cards.  

Like Tom Brady’s rookie cards, we usually don’t discuss cards from the modern era, but there are a few players (aka GOATS) for which we make an exception.

In this piece, we discuss the best Kobe Bryant cards, reviewing Kobe Bryant’s rookie card values while discussing PSA population reports and the investment potential for each. 

We’ve written extensively about sports card grading and many of the controversies that have surrounded the space.

With the explosion in demand for card grading, collectors have faced long wait times and higher prices.

I felt like it was a good time to get a pulse of the collector community to get opinions on the best grading companies.

Let’s face it, a lot has changed, and new competitors have come into the market.

In what follows, I provide the results of our 2021 Sports Grading Collectors survey while also providing some of my experiences with the different grading companies. 

‘Deal or No Deal’ groups have become quite popular on Facebook. One of my collector friends sent me his thoughts on the format, which I’ve published here.  Note, if you’re a collector and would like to see your thoughts on our website, shoot me a line at chris@allvintagecards.com. 

Deal or No Deal Facebook groups annoy me. 

They wouldn’t if I didn’t belong to them, but I am a glutton for punishment.

Simply put, DOND listings are generally sucker bets.

Let me explain why.

One of my collecting buddies and I were recently discussing his quest to build a 1986 Fleer Basketball set.

Something that is not an easy feat, especially with the significant increase in values across the board on 86 Fleer Basketball cards.

While Jordan rookies have experienced a bit of a dip of late, I think all collectors could use a few tips in piecing together the set.  

Thus, here is his guide for collectors looking to build the 1986 Fleer set.  

Have anything you might add to the discussion?

Feel free to add any comments below!

While the bulk of my card collecting and writing on All Vintage Cards is focused on older cards, I admittedly have had the urge to buy some modern cards while shopping at Target or Walmart in the past.

However, when I went to Target recently to pick up some household items, I was disappointed to find the shelves that used to hold sports cards galore completely barren.  So I set out to find the truth.  

Can you still buy sports cards at Walmart or Target?

Unfortunately, it’s much harder today to find sports cards at Walmart or Target, as they both have suspended the selling of many sports and trading cards. They still sell some sports cards in-store and online, however, there is a huge variation in availability based on your specific location. 

The surge in modern card pricing and the resultant ‘rise of the flippers’ has led to some not so pretty situations in these stores.  And while there are rare cases where you might find some cards, the odds are quite slim.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for the supply disruptions and if you still might be able to score a find at your local Walmart or Target. 

Do you know of a location that is still selling cards?  Drop a note in the comments below to let us know!

For those that have been in the hobby for a while, this might seem like a strange question.  It’s sort of just an accepted fact that a player’s rookie card is worth more than any later issued card. 

But why is this true?  There has to be a reason, right?  I wanted to get to the bottom of this.  And my findings were kind of along with what I expected. 

The excessive demand for rookie cards leads to the cards having more value than any other later-year issues for a player. 

A rookie card is a player’s first official entry into the card collecting world, and these issues are in high demand by collectors hoping for the next big thing.

Plus, the first card issued for a player is their oldest card, which collectors tend to associate as being ‘more valuable’. 

In addition, there has always been a mystique that has developed over time with player ‘rookie cards’ being more sought after by collectors.   

Let’s dive into these a bit further.

The All Vintage Cards Large Cap Basketball Portfolio is a collection of ten high-priced vintage basketball cards that we think have great long-term investment potential. 

As we discussed in our introduction piece, we are launching three portfolios for each major sport–Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap.

For those not familiar with the lexicon, this corresponds to mutual fund portfolios in the investment world.  Large-Cap within the investment space equates to a portfolio of the equity market’s largest companies.

For this All Vintage Cards Large Cap Value Basketball Portfolio we have selected ten cards, each with a value of $3000 or more.

Note that these selections are based on what we perceive as ‘relative’ value in the marketplace, meaning that we think these cards offer a good value versus other comparative cards. 

I will also note that this information is not investment advice, nor are we making any promises in relation to future performance.  Please use your own judgment and budget when accounting for any acquisitions of cards in this portfolio. 

Please also see our All-Vintage Cards Small-Cap Value and All-Vintage Cards Mid-Cap portfolios. 

The All Vintage Cards Mid Cap Basketball Portfolio is a portfolio of ten ‘mid-sized vintage basketball cards that we think have solid long-term investment potential. 

As we discussed in our introduction piece, we are launching three portfolios for each major sport–Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap.

For those not familiar with the lexicon, this corresponds to mutual fund portfolios in the investment world.  Mid-Cap within the investment space equates to a portfolio of the equity market’s mid-size companies.

For this All Vintage Cards Mid Cap Value Basketball Portfolio we have selected ten cards, each with a value between $1000 to $3000.

Note that these selections are based on what we perceive as ‘relative’ value in the marketplace, meaning that we think these cards offer a good value versus other comparative cards. 

I will also note that this information is not investment advice, nor are we making any promises in relation to future performance.  Please use your own judgment and budget when accounting for any acquisitions of cards in this portfolio. 

Please also see our All-Vintage Cards Small-Cap Value and All-Vintage Cards Large-Cap portfolios. 

The All Vintage Cards Small Cap Basketball Portfolio is a collection of ten Small-Cap (or ‘lower priced’) vintage basketball cards that we think have strong long-term investment potential. 

As we discussed in our introduction piece, we are launching three portfolios for each major sport–Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap.

For those not familiar with the lexicon, this corresponds to mutual fund portfolios in the investment world.  Small-Cap within the investment space equates to a portfolio of the equity market’s smallest companies.

For this All Vintage Cards Small Cap Value Basketball Portfolio we have selected ten cards, each with a value of $1000 or less.

Note that these selections are based on what we perceive as ‘relative’ value in the marketplace, meaning that we think these cards offer a good value versus other comparative cards. 

I will also note that this information is not investment advice, nor are we making any promises in relation to future performance.  Please use your own judgment and budget when accounting for any acquisitions of cards in this portfolio. 

Please also see our All-Vintage Cards Mid-Cap Value and All-Vintage Cards Large-Cap portfolios.