NASHAQ INDEX - Basketball Cards on a Budget

Nathaniel and Camden give their predictions for MVP, Rookie of the Year, All NBA, and predictions for the playoffs.  They also review their pre-season predictions to report on how well their predictions compared to reality.

Nathaniel and Camden are joined by Gary from the Hoops and Cards podcast.  Gary's Instagram account can be found @hoopsandcards.  Gary reveals how he got his start podcasting, and gives helpful tips on strategies for buying cards under $10.  Gary also gives some helpful strategies for buying cards at card shows, his favorite current rookies, and more.

In this Basketball Card Basics episode, Nathaniel and Camden discuss various card grading companies, starting with PSA.  They also discuss the three Beckett grading brands:  BGS, BVG, and BCCG.  They then continue discussing SGC, HGA, and a few other companies. Which are the best companies to use for grading now?  Will PSA retain their dominance in the market, or will other companies eventually catch up or surpass PSA?  Is the Fanatics acquisition of CSG a conflict of interest?  Nathaniel and Camden address these and other questions in their deep dive on grading.

Nathaniel and Camden conclude their 3-part series where they discuss ALL of the Zion Rookie cards from Panini's various brands, finishing up with Prizm, Revolution, Spectra, and Select.  They then discuss and refine their list of the 5 Levels of Basketball Card Brands:

Level 1, Lower tier:  Chronicles, Hoops, Certified, Donruss, Clearly Donruss, Donruss Elite, Hoops Premium Stock, Illusions, Revolution

Level 2, Overproduced mid-tier:  Contenders, Donruss Optic, Mosaic, Prizm, Select

Level 3, Scarce mid-tier:  Absolute Memorabilia, Origins, Black, Crown Royale, Court Kings, Obsidian

Level 4, Lower upper class: Spectra, Contenders Optic, Encased, Noir, Impeccable, One & One, Opulence

Level 5, Upper class: Immaculate, Flawless, National Treasures, Eminence

Nathaniel and Camden continue evaluating Zion Williamson's rookie cards from each Panini brand, continuing this week with Flawless, Hoops, Hoops Premium Stock, Illusions, Immaculate, Impeccable, Mosaic, National Treasures, Noir, Obsidian, One and One, Opulence, and Origins.  

Nathaniel and Camden talk about the wild NBA trade deadline that just passed.  Who benefits from the Nets/Sixers trade that made James Harden a Sixer and Ben Simmons a member of the Nets?  They also discuss the Pacers/Kings trade headlined by Domantas Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton, the Blazers sending C.J.McCollum to the Pelicans, the Mavs sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards, and more.  How do these trades affect the card market?

Recording a few days before the trade deadline, Nathaniel and Camden go over the Blazers/Clippers trade involving Norman Powell and Robert Covington, as well as the deal sending Caris LeVert to the Cavs.  They then start the process of discussing almost all of the Panini basketball card brands, through the lens of Zion Williamson's many rookie cards.  In part one, they discuss Zion rookies from the brands Absolute Memorabilia, Black, Certified, Clearly Donruss, Contenders and Contenders Optic, the 4 Levels of Court Kings, Crown Royale, Donruss, Donruss Optic, Donruss Elite, Eminence, and Encased.  Warning: some of the cards discussed in this episode do not fit the "Basketball Cards on a Budget" tag line!

Nathaniel and Camden hold a draft to compile their list of 30 NBA players to target as good card investments.  They have a "draft" where they go back and forth drafting players for their list.  They each draft one rookie, one sophomore, one retired player, and many other current players until they settle on a list of 30 players.  They each get one veto to "block the shot" of the other person's pick.  Camden tries a couple of decoy picks to try to avoid Nathaniel vetoing Miles Bridges from their list.

Camden presents Nathaniel with a Steal of the Week basketball card that Nathaniel does not hate this week.  They then discuss the vintage basketball card market through the lens of NBA's list of the top 75 players of all time.