A Look at Two Iconic Sets
Topps Chrome Basketball has long maintained a high status among collectors, providing high-end designs and products while giving basketball fans in the hobby the ability to collect some of the most essential cards in basketball trading card history. But today, we will look at two of the series’ iconic entries – the inaugural 1996/97 Topps Chrome Basketball and the impactful 2003/04 set. With both sets spearheaded by remarkable rookie classes, they have endured as two of the most covetable sets in the basketball trading card world. They both capture the NBA at critical junctures, from Allen Iverson redefining NBA cool to LeBron James taking the torch as The Next One. Two generation-defining years in the history of the modern NBA. Who you got?
While there’s no doubt that both of these sets are still highly sought after, it can be more challenging to find the best of 1996/97. “”96/’97 was the first release of Topps Chrome Basketball,” said Senior Product Manager Keith Howler. “The cool thing many people don’t know about is it debuted as a retail-only release. It was printed in super small quantities. So, back in ’96, I was working at a card store, and we would have to go and check with all the retail stores and see if we could find it out on the shelves because we couldn’t order it directly to the store.”
Quickly after the release, it became clear the set would have an impact. “Once it came out, we saw how popular it was. We knew it was something, you know, something amazing,” said Howler. Interestingly, Howler credits an important development from 1994 for helping push the inaugural Chrome set to great heights. “Topps Finest came out that year. That’s where the refractors started. That thing was super hot. Finest laid the foundation, and ’96-’97 just went crazy.”
The design of the inaugural set plays a real part in the appeal. Howler said: “It was a super premium version of that classic base Topps design. Everything on the card is super laid out, not a ton of design elements. The photos speak for themselves. I think the borders from the base Topps design set off Topps Chrome because that built the design for the future. You hit 2003 for the black parallels and the gold refractor parallels. You have that defined box around the card, that specific color that tells you which version of the refractor it is. And then for the base refractors, it was a nice clean area where you see that rainbow effect if you turn the card a specific way in the light.”
At the time, it was obvious that Allen Iverson rookie cards would help drive the 1996-97 set to prominence. “Iverson was your number one guy, but it was also guys like Shareef Abdur-Rahim pushing sales, Kobe not so much until a year, 18 months later,” said Howler. At first, the driver was the design, the ability for collectors to get their hands on a premium basketball product. The refractors provided a chase element that had not existed in the basketball hobby space.
“When it comes to ’03/’04, the rookie class pushed that set, obviously the popularity of LeBron,” said Howler. “It helped bring attention to the various parallels. It started in ’96 with just the one, but by the time you get to ’03, there were multiple versions of the refractor parallel. That brings us to where we are now, where you incorporate that rainbow into it.”
One intriguing difference is the coveted Youthquake insert, which started in ’96/’97. “That’s a hit. But it’s an insert that ’03/’04 doesn’t have. We are bringing that back this year, a powerful nod to nostalgia.”
Ultimately, it still comes down to the players; both sets are loaded. 1996/97 rookie cards include AI, Kobe, Steve Nash, Stephon Marbury, and Ray Allen. While 2003/04 is headlined by LeBron, it hardly stops there. “People were chasing Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade like crazy,” said Howler.
Chris Bosh’s rookie also appears here. And then, there’s Darko Miličić, who the Detroit Pistons famously drafted ahead of Anthony, Wade, and Bosh. “Miličić cards don’t sell for a lot of money, but they sell for more than you would think, just because it was such a part of the ’03 class story. When that set came out, Milicic was selling for the same as Carmelo.” It’s part of what makes collecting so amazing and why sets like these are so important. The cards help collectors tell the story of the defining moments in the sport’s history.
Beyond the rookies, 2003/04 stands out for its Shaquille O’Neal cards. “Topps was the only company that had an autograph deal with Shaquille O’Neal, so that was a big deal,” said Howler. One of the only places to get a Shaquille O’Neal autograph was in Topps Chrome that year.”
These two sets will no doubt continue to endure, but at the same time, there’s real excitement about this year’s upcoming release. Surprising rookies like Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Derrick Lively have their appeal, as does potential All-Star Brandon Miller. But the real hype is centered on San Antonio Spurs prodigy Victor Wembanyama. Howler said, “He could have the strength of the likes of Iverson and LeBron, from what I see with my own eyes, is a guy that tall who can do it all; we haven’t maybe seen this since someone like Wilt Chamberlain.”
