NBA All-Star Jerseys

[legaleagle92481]

It's just a matter of personal preference. You may not want the entire set, but I assure you Exquisite is not the only person who does. I would take the entire set in a heartbeat.

Are you sure that Lee and Horford are not going back? They seem rock solid to me. I'm on the fence about Wallace. And I agree with you that this was Z-Bo's one time to shine (long overdue in many analysts' opinions), so it is unlikely we'll see him back. Lee and Horford, though, have been consistent from day one. Neither one will ever be a superstar, but I could see them finishing with 3 or 4 A.S. appearances each before they are done.

Maybe they will who knows I just think it will be hard for them to. The team is extremely hard to make. The starters are a popularity contest that often has nothing to do with the year someone is having. Iverson was voted a starter this year, look at how many times Carter or Tmac got starts when they had no business being on the team. Some reserve slots then end up spent on guys who should be starting and as a whole they tend to go to guys on the good teams to the point that a 2nd or even 3rd star from a good team makes it over a player from a bad team having a better statistical year. Remember that year when four pistons made it? Look at Lee despite the year he is having Lee would have been left off the team if Iverson did not pull out of the game. Plus with the upcoming summer of expected player movement around the league who knows who will come to the East such as Amare or even Dirk or Yao (though it is unlikely) who will be a virtually lck based on who they are or where Lee will be next year he could go to a powerhouse team and see his stats plummet and if the Hawks lose Joe Johnson they may end up a lottery team next year making Horford hard pressed to make it and it is hard for a Bobcat to get there he was their first allstar ever. So yes they are solid players but I am skeptical of their getting more apperances.

[sportscentury]

Maybe they will who knows I just think it will be hard for them to. The team is extremely hard to make. The starters are a popularity contest that often has nothing to do with the year someone is having. Iverson was voted a starter this year, look at how many times Carter or Tmac got starts when they had no business being on the team. Some reserve slots then end up spent on guys who should be starting and as a whole they tend to go to guys on the good teams to the point that a 2nd or even 3rd star from a good team makes it over a player from a bad team having a better statistical year. Remember that year when four pistons made it? Look at Lee despite the year he is having Lee would have been left off the team if Iverson did not pull out of the game. Plus with the upcoming summer of expected player movement around the league who knows who will come to the East such as Amare or even Dirk or Yao (though it is unlikely) who will be a virtually lck based on who they are or where Lee will be next year he could go to a powerhouse team and see his stats plummet and if the Hawks lose Joe Johnson they may end up a lottery team next year making Horford hard pressed to make it and it is hard for a Bobcat to get there he was their first allstar ever. So yes they are solid players but I am skeptical of their getting more apperances.

Legal, fair enough, but I don't think we've seen the best of these two players yet. They are young and their all-star appearances this year will only get their play more attention. Look, it's definitely not a no-brainer. If Horford or D-Lee were to never make another A.S. game, it certainly would not blow my mind. I just don't think we can count them out.

As to your points about the selection process, there is no one who thinks of it as more of a joke than I. I am a huge AI fan, but clearly he did not get in on his performance this year (far from it). T-Mac's vote count was even more offensive, given that he didn't even play. The process has hurt the game and needs to be fixed. Stern is well-respected for listening to fan, player, and analyst concerns, so perhaps he will do something to make the process reflect a balance of fan interest and performance-based merit. Unfortunately, the vast majority of fans have little clue as to what they are doing when voting. So, it should not surprise us when T-Mac and AI get vote counts like they did this year.

[worldchamps]

Reid,

Just random thoughts on this....for a hoops fan it is great to see so much dialogue on here


Do you really think this auction makes our collections/other items go up? I am not totally disagreeing with you, but for example, i have a Tim Duncan rookie (with memorial stripe - you rarely see that). Is that worth more or less than an allstar jersey, you could debate either side, but i dont think i could get $13,000 for it?

I do wonder if 1 person buying them all, does hurt the value/hobby. "Legal" will you be likely to bid that high again next year? Honestly i dont think i will even bid next year, it kind of seems pointless.

As far as exquiste, if you know this guys history, he got his name bc he BUYS UD exquiste cards. All those crazy prices you see for Lebron 1/1 cards or Jordan or any exquiste card was this guy buying them, then he got into game used. Correct me if I am wrong but he only buys from nba auctions, i have never seen him buy on ebay game used, and i am not sure if he is a player at any of the auction houses since they dont release winners names.

I emailed him once, and he was a really nice guy. I wish i still had a good email address for him, not to buy or sell, just would be a good contact to talk hoops to.

[jppopma]

I looked at the auctions and did not see any of the game issued jerseys this year. Did all of the picks suit up, or did MeiGray hold on to these GI ones?

Last year, I picked up one of them....primarily because that was the only way I was able to have any chance. I was blown out, like everyone else, on the rest. This year, I didn't even try.

[mbenga28]

Barry, please give us information if possible about what items will be available next for auctions. All Star game warm-ups, Rookies Sophomores game, Weekend events, etc.? Thank you and congratulations to all who participated in the previous auction.

[sportscentury]

Reid,

Just random thoughts on this....for a hoops fan it is great to see so much dialogue on here


Do you really think this auction makes our collections/other items go up? I am not totally disagreeing with you, but for example, i have a Tim Duncan rookie (with memorial stripe - you rarely see that). Is that worth more or less than an allstar jersey, you could debate either side, but i dont think i could get $13,000 for it?

I do wonder if 1 person buying them all, does hurt the value/hobby. "Legal" will you be likely to bid that high again next year? Honestly i dont think i will even bid next year, it kind of seems pointless.

As far as exquiste, if you know this guys history, he got his name bc he BUYS UD exquiste cards. All those crazy prices you see for Lebron 1/1 cards or Jordan or any exquiste card was this guy buying them, then he got into game used. Correct me if I am wrong but he only buys from nba auctions, i have never seen him buy on ebay game used, and i am not sure if he is a player at any of the auction houses since they dont release winners names.

I emailed him once, and he was a really nice guy. I wish i still had a good email address for him, not to buy or sell, just would be a good contact to talk hoops to.

Here are my responses:

Yes, each time one of these auctions runs, and we see the increments in realized prices, the values of basketball game worn items in general rise. People see these prices and it affects their willingness to pay more for top items. Could you get $13,000 for your Tim Duncan rookie jersey? I have no clue. Did its value go up or down since the auction? Consign it to MeiGray and find out! But the point is that buying prices in general will continue to go up because the results of these auctions are a reflection of an increase in market value.

Exquisite won the complete set of All Star jerseys last year, as well, and the bidding was far more ferocious this year than last. So, why would we expect the bidding to wane next year? I expect high-end collectors will be even more aggressive next year. Did you read Sonny25's post? I expect his sentiment is shared by others. He is more determined than ever to win a Kobe or LeBron. The auction results might discourage some, but these results will only make the jerseys more desireable to hardcore collectors. And these are the folks who were placing the serious bids on these lots.

There are many high-end UD Exquisite collectors. There are collectors in the U.S., Philippines, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Europe that have consistently paid very high prices for rare Exquisite cards since 03-04 when the product first hit the market.

I'm not sure why you would assume that any particular collector bids just on NBA Auctions. NBA Auctions is unusual in that we can see the bidders. Just because we can't see the bidders in auction houses such as Grey Flannel and Hunts doesn't mean that the bidders don't exist.

Please don't think I'm being argumentative - just wanted to be comprehensive in responding to all of your questions and points. I enjoy the discussion, too.

[BarryMeisel]

Mbenga,

As soon as we have the information ready, we will post.

And for those of you interested in consigning basketball items, we do have a list of private collectors who will pay for MeiGray authenticated basketball jerseys. If you are interested, please contact us at sales@meigray.com

Thanks, Barry

[encinorick]

Barry: We spoke before, I may take you up on your offer with somethings I have. You can see some of my things in this April's Greyfannel's acution. Best, Rick

[reed1216]

Reid- I also really appreciate hearing your insight on the NBA game worn market. I really wanted the Amar'e all star jersey, but I couldn't afford to bid more than $1500 for it, even though it would have made a great compliment to the Christmas Day Amar'e jersey I won last year from NBA Auctions. If I remember correctly, I paid a shade over $1500 for that one, which looks like grand larceny when compared to the price of the all star jersey. Plus, Stoudemire wore the Christmas day jersey for the entire game and played quite well (25 pts and 13 boards in a last second loss to the arch-rival Spurs), while only wearing the all star jersey that was auctioned for the first half.

I totally agree with your analysis of things, especially with regards to the buying trends of "high-end collectors." I think the frustration that I would have is that even if I was able to muster up and justify spending $13K on a jersey, I just can't see getting anywhere close to that on the secondary market, should I decide to sell it down the road. I had to work the night the auction concluded, but checked the final prices this morning and was absolutely stunned by the results. It'll be very interesting to see what effect these sales have on the hobby in the long term...

[sportscentury]

Reid- I also really appreciate hearing your insight on the NBA game worn market. I really wanted the Amar'e all star jersey, but I couldn't afford to bid more than $1500 for it, even though it would have made a great compliment to the Christmas Day Amar'e jersey I won last year from NBA Auctions. If I remember correctly, I paid a shade over $1500 for that one, which looks like grand larceny when compared to the price of the all star jersey. Plus, Stoudemire wore the Christmas day jersey for the entire game and played quite well (25 pts and 13 boards in a last second loss to the arch-rival Spurs), while only wearing the all star jersey that was auctioned for the first half.

I totally agree with your analysis of things, especially with regards to the buying trends of "high-end collectors." I think the frustration that I would have is that even if I was able to muster up and justify spending $13K on a jersey, I just can't see getting anywhere close to that on the secondary market, should I decide to sell it down the road. I had to work the night the auction concluded, but checked the final prices this morning and was absolutely stunned by the results. It'll be very interesting to see what effect these sales have on the hobby in the long term...

Reed, if you ever decide to sell STAT's Christmas Day jersey, please do drop me a line. I'll be happy to give you a good price for it. Thank you.