2006-07 Topps Turkey Red Basketball
What I pulled--
Parallels and Inserts:
White - Mike Bibby, Earl Boykins, Nick Collison, Jarrett Jack, Mehmet Okur, Tim Thomas
Black - Paul Davis, Michael Finley, Tracy McGrady
Oversized Cabinet Boxtopper - Patrick O'Bryant
Relics:
Basic - Dwight Howard blue warm-up
White Parallel - Randy Foye black jersey (#35/50)
Review:
Topps has brought its Turkey Red line over to hoops from football and baseball and the results
are solid, if unspectacular.
When Turkey Red came out in 2005 with the maiden baseball and football sets, the collecting
world welcomed the sets with open arms. The dimpled texture of the cards was a great change,
and the original artwork was both unique and beautiful. However, the problem started when the
sets were brought back for an encore in 2006 as part of a continued "living set". Released on the
heels of Topps' stunning Allen & Ginter baseball set, Turkey Red felt like old news and an
unnecessary issue. The difference here, though, is that while that feeling might affect football and baseball
collectors, this is the maiden basketball offering of Turkey Red.
Let's get down to the basics. The artwork is beautiful, if a little busy in some cases. That is what this set is
all about. The original art is a change of pace for many collectors and makes this a fun issue for
setbuilders, who can opt to collect the main gray set or, for a challenge, the red parallel set that comes one
per pack, or even the white or black sets. As with all of Topps' basketball offerings, the player selection is
top of the line, featuring all of the game's best rookies and many legends of the game's past, such as Wilt
Chamberlain and Pete Maravich.
The product doesn't offer much more than that when breaking a box, though, so relic and autograph
collectors are going to be a little disappointed. Yes, there are two combined relics or autos per box, all coming with numerous
parallels, as well, but if someone is buying this product for the relics, they are going to be sorely disappointed. The same goes
for the boxtopper, which has become a standard for Turkey Red (of course, I hope everyone else has better luck with the
subject of their boxtopper than I did).
In all, I think I summed up Turkey Red faily well when I began this review. Solid, but unspectacular. Maybe that means Turkey
Red has run its course..........
B
