WOO-HOO! My 2019 NBA Champions set arrived yesterday! Short of a miracle Mets run to the World Series, this should easily be the best set of the year for me.
The set starts with a team logo card. That's bland, but you gotta start somewhere.
The backs of the cards stay consistent throughout, with the team logo and a write-up on the back. Only 49285 needed to collect them all!
We're not quite at the players yet, as card #2 is devoted to the coach. Although he did show up in the 2018-19 sticker set, this is his first card.
Now we're at the players. They go alphabetically through the team, which does mean it is somewhat odd to see them lead with OG Anunoby, who missed the playoff run after an emergency appendectomy just before the start of the Orlando series. Chris Boucher's first cardboard appearance is next to him, which makes this set even better as it adds new faces to my "every player who ever played for the Raptors" frankenset. Lots of familiar names to my binders after that, and this first group ends, suitably enough, on the longest serving Raptor with Kyle Lowry.
That top row? Those are all my first Raptors cards of all of them. In fact, these are also the first cards period for Moreland and Miller. The bottom row has more familiar names to my collection, and I really can't get enough VanVleet cards. After this season, the chances of him being left out of base-heavy sets like Hoops and Donruss should be nil.
The next 8 cards are game highlights - 2 per victory. I like that Panini spread the love around, getting 6 of the guys cards.
Kawhi with a pair of trophies - appropriate for the MVP.
And a team shot, in probably my favourite card of the set. You've got Kyle, Fred. and...what in the blue hell is Malcolm Miller doing in this photo? This might be the greatest unexpected cameo in a picture since
Edward Mallandaine. Card of the year from the set of the year!
The moment of victory photo!
My only complaint about this photo of Lowry from the victory parade is that it is cropped too close to see much of that sweet Stoudamire jersey that he was sporting at the parade. Although the reflections of the crowd are amazing.
Now that's a great way to end an amazing set.
Thanks for sharing. Though I loved the run, and enjoy watching the Raps, not going to bite on the basketball cards, but was curious to see what the set looked like. Agreed on the Lowry parade card though, a little less crop would have been nice.
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