As I continue to work my way through the million card purchase, I have found myself firmly entrenched in a run of late 90’s and early 2000s basketball.  I’m in the process of sorting and listing on Sportlots which has been rewarding up to this point!  There isn’t as much competition on the site for these basketball sets which is a nice contrast to what modern baseball inventories look like.

One of the sets I recently listed was the 2001-02 Fleer Platinum release.  I had never really seen too many of these, and I enjoyed going through them so much I thought I’d go ahead and do a full write up!

The Breakdown

Now somewhat of a staple in the trading card game, the 2001-02 Fleer Platinum set utilized nostalgia and a retro vibe as its primary selling point.  The set contained 250 cards, the first 220 of which used the 1961-62 design.  The rookies were cards 221-250 and used the 1986-87 design.  The rookie cards were inserted at a lower ratio than the “base” cards and lead to them carrying a bit higher premium.  In addition, cards 201-220 were short print series and were also more limited than the first 200 cards.

Kobe Bryant is one of the primary base set and insert draws, and there are a few notable rookie names in the checklist as well.  Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Andrew Kirilenko are a few of the rookies to chase.

A variety of insert sets added to the chase, and my favorite is the 15th Anniversary Reprints.  Fleer took 25 players and issued reprint versions of their rookie cards.  Fleer, Hoops, Flair, Emotion, Ultra, and eX, and Legacy designs were used.  Classic Combinations was a 15 card set which had a retail and hobby version.  It seems the hobby versions were serial numbered and the retail version was not.

The Lucky 13 set was serial numbered to 500 and highlighted the top 13 draft picks of the 2001 NBA draft. The Stadium Standouts set had a horizontal design and showed an image of the player overlayed on a photo of their home stadium.  There was also a Platinum Edition base set parallel which was serial numbered to a variety of scarcity levels. 

I’m a sucker for these type of sets for a couple reasons.  1) I’m a fan of vintage, so the retro themed sets also peak my interest.  2) This set was released in the era where I was not active in the hobby, so as I go through and sort them they are new to me!  Even though they are 20 years old, I’m picking out some of them to be new additions to my PC.

The Market

The base 200 cards aren’t exactly scarce, but cards 201-250 do carry a bit of a premium.  I’m seeing many of them in the $1-$10 range.  It seems like the premium you typically see with a Topps Heritage baseball short print checklist.

The base set of 200 cards sells for about $50, but there are no complete 250 card sets currently listed for sale.  The last sealed hobby box sold on eBay for around $200.

Final Thoughts

I like the combination of players on the checklist, the retro theme, and the unique inserts.  It’s sets like this that make me wish Fleer still was an independent manufacturer or that Upper Deck could still utilize the Fleer name to make basketball cards.

Oh well, a guy can dream.

Also, if you haven’t heard, I started a new Podcast called the WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute!  It’s available here directly on the site at the Podcast link at the top of the page, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and TuneIn!  Check it out, let me know what you think, and tell your friends!