Nathaniel and Camden give their farewell tour (at least for now) as they discuss the Topps Finest sets between 1993 and 2008. The podcast is going on a hiatus for now. Thank you for your support. You can feel free to email us at nashaqindex@gmail.com.
Nathaniel and Camden talk about the great Bill Russell, and evaluate the market for some of his basketball cards. They discuss some recent card purchases, and then turn to last year's rookie class. Which rookies are worth targeting from the 2021-22 class?
The Lost Episode was recorded after Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. Nathaniel and Camden rank the top 20 players in the NBA Finals, and list 2-3 different rookie cards for each player.
Nathaniel and Camden talk about Steph Curry's legacy. What would another finals win do for his legacy, and who could he pass on the list of All-Time Greats? Next, they play a game of True/False, and Nathaniel decides to use his own special terms in place of true and false. Finally, they answer some listener questions.
Nathaniel and Camden host Keith, also known as DirkNashty, from the podcast Hobby Time. Keith gives some great tips for using data analytics from the website Basketball Reference to help evaluate players. What are some of the more advanced metrics you can use to evaluate young basketball prospects? The guys also discuss DirkNashty's favorite team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Nathaniel and Camden go over the ESPN list of the Top 10 point guards of all-time. They also go over the card markets for rookie cards of all 10 players, and then talk about whether they would reorder the list. Is Steph Curry too low on their list? Who would Chris Paul pass on the list of all-time greatest point guards if he were to win a championship this year?
Nathaniel and Camden lament the demise of the Bulls and the Nets. Guess which 90s card Nathaniel bought 90s card for his PC? Nathaniel talks about the '96-97 Finest set he's now in the process of collecting. They discuss the Bam Adebayo Impeccable rookie auto /99 they just bought. They discuss the possibility of investing in Jordan Poole. They then systematically go through several of the teams that have been bounced from the playoffs, discussing some players that are potential "buy low" candidates. Are any of the Bulls worth buying now? Is KD still a "buy?" Camden throws up a buzzer beater from half court and wants to talk about James Wiseman for some reason.
Responding to a listener question, Nathaniel and Camden systematically go through all of the non-playoff teams and identify players for potential card investments.
Nathaniel and Camden give their thoughts on "The Icons Club" podcast series by Jackie McMullan, which appears on Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball 2.0 podcast. Which current players are likely to become icons? How does the basketball card market respond to icons versus other players? They discuss these questions and much more as they give their thoughts on the Icons Club.
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.