The essential 1997 Precious Metal Gems Basketball cards
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1997/98 Skybox Metal Universe Basketball is one of the most coveted basketball sets in the history of the hardwood hobby. The 125-card base set features a brilliant design and a quality checklist that includes rookies Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady. But, what really sets this product apart is the Precious Metal Gems parallels that have gone on to become some of the most valuable cards in basketball collecting. The parallels, in total, were numbered to only 100. The emerald, or green, parallel was numbered one through 10 of 100, while the red made up the other ninety. Let's look at some of the best Precious Metal Gems cards from the iconic 1997-98 Skybox Metal Universe Basketball set.
#81 Kobe Bryant
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Two of the three biggest Kobe Bryant card sales of all-time, per Card Ladder, are of his PMG Green parallel card. The card sold for as much as $2 million in Feb. 2022. Kobe Bryant, the 2008 NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, five-time NBA Champion and 18-time All-Star remains one of the most sought-after players across all sports in the hobby. More recently, on July 24, 2025 a Red PMG parallel sold for $144,000.
#23 Michael Jordan
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The Precious Metal Gems cards are such a hit that the offerings of the game's greatest are incredibly valuable, even moreso than rookie cards of Duncan and McGrady. Michael Jordan's Red PMG offers a a brilliant Chicago Bulls color match and sensational player image. The Red parallel has sold for as much as $564,000. On Jan. 31, 2025 a PSA 5 fetched $378,200 at auction.
#50 Shaquille O'Neal
Speaking of great player images on cards, Shaquille O'Neal's #50 card features Big Diesel casually posteriing Arvydas Sabonis. O'Neal, who won four titles and was All-NBA on 14 separate occasions, looks larger than life on this card. Card Ladder registers only a single sale of his Green /10, which sold for just over $175,000 in 2023.
#66 Tim Duncan RC
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Tim Duncan, one of the truly dominant players of his generation, and five-time NBA Champ, is the top rookie in 1997/98 SkyBox Metal Universe Basketball. The top overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan was seen as a generational talent coming out of Wake Forest and lived up to the billing from day one. He coasted to the Rookie of the Year Award, averaging 21.1 points to go along with 11.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. How good was Duncan from get-go? He finished fifth in MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting as a rookie.
#23 Michael Jordan
Excuse the double-dip, but Michael Jordan's card from another 1997 Skybox release has to be mentioned. Jordan's 1997 Skybox Metal Universe Championship Basketball Precious Metal Gems card numbered to 50 is nothing short of a gem. The 98-card insert featured cityscape backdrops of the city each player represented. Jordan's card is a classic. The player image of Jordan skying to finish among Chicago's skyscrapers simply pops out of the hand. To this day, the card is extremely valuable. As recently as June 27, this PSA 7.5 sold for $312,000.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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