4 Essential Allen Iverson Basketball Cards
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Love him or hate him, you have to agree that during the early 00's, there was no-one more fun to watch on the basketball court than Allen Iverson. He single-handedly changed the culture of the NBA and became a pop culture icon, all during his peak of lighting up opposing defenses around the league. Iverson's maintained a steady presence in the sports card and memorabilia hobby - autograph signings are still in demand and his basketball cards sell for a healthy premium. While he was never on a championship winning team, his highlight reel lives on for many collectors.
TOPPS CHROME REFRACTOR 1996 ALLEN IVERSON
Iverson's Topps Chrome rookie is perhaps his most desired card - Topps Chrome was brand new to the hobby and refractors had only been around a couple of years. The product was limited in its release - it was a retail-only release, meaning your local card store couldn't get their hands on it. The set is famous as it inlcuded an amazing rookie class - not just Iverson, but also Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Ray Allen. The refractor parallel, pictured here, was a chase element which was also fairly new to collectors.
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SKYBOX PREMIUM AUTOGRAPHICS 1998 ALLEN IVERSON
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Autographs were still a novelty back in the late 90's - it took until 1998 for an Iverson NBA autograph card to be released as an insert in the Skybox product. Don't waste time looking for a gem-mint copy - PSA 9 is the highest grade up until now. Collectors may notice that Iverson signed these cards in both blue and black ink. There doesn't seem to be a premium attached to either color. The Skybox logo directly in the middle of the card is a little distracting, but not enough to take the shine off the great action shot and the nice, crisp looking auto.
FLAIR SHOWCASE LEGACY COLLECTION ROW O 1996 ALLEN IVERSON
A lot of what of we take for granted in today's sports market was born during this period. Not just refractors and autographs, but also low numbered parallels, which were first included in Flair Showcase. This, along with the fact that big stars were included, made this a hot product. The card above was one of three tiers (called rows) - each one had a parallel numbered to 150.
UPPER DECK GAME JERSEYS 1996 ALLEN IVERSON
Here's another throwback to when inserts like patches of game-worn jerseys were new to the hobby. Upper Deck included one of the first Iverson game-worn relic cards ever - the front shows a very young looking Iverson along with the jersey swatch. These cards, most containing a basic patch of jersey, perhaps wouldn't command a premium in a 2025 card product, but are very much in demand as they were some of the first ever of many legends.
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.