2006-07 Bowman Elevation Basketball
What I pulled--
Short Prints, Parallels and Inserts:
Rookies - LaMarcus Aldridge (#757/999), Paul Davis (#542/999), Adam Morrison (#734/999)
Blue Parallels - Andrea Bargnani (#66/399), Larry Hughes (#106/399), Troy Murphy (#340/399), Chris Paul (#344/399), J.J.
Redick (#321/399)
Red Parallels - Kirk Hinrich (#119/299), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (#129/299), Steve Novak (#132/299), Sebastian Telfair (#134/299)
Gold Parallels - Paul Davis (#76/99), Tracy McGrady (#3/99)
Relic Cards and Autographs:
Power Brokers Relic - Andrew Bogut white jersey (#2/99)
Power Brokers Dual Relics - Shareef Abdur-Rahim white and purple jerseys (#24/99), Rashard Lewis green and white jerseys
(#52/99)
Executive Level Relic - Pau Gasol blue jersey (#41/49)
Board of Directors Relic - Manu Ginobili white warm-up (#13/25)
Rookie Writings - Alexander Johnson
Power Brokers Autographed Relic - Luol Deng red jersey (#5/9)
Review:
Topps isn't wasting any time with its 2006-07 releases, going high-end right out of the gate with Bowman
Elevation.
Let's get down to business right away. This box is absolutely loaded. For around $150 a box, the sixteen
packs contain seven relics or autographs and over a dozen numbered rookies or parallels. That is quite a
bit of bang for the buck, making a box purchase box worth the money and a whole lot of fun to open. Factor
in that the relics are numbered no higher than 99 and the value of the pulls increases. Topps deserves
super high marks for putting out a product that packs a wallop before even putting out their base set.
Topps also deserves high marks for the inclusion of so many rookies in the set. There are some
high-profile names in this rookie class, starting with Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick. Down the
road, though, the biggest one in the bunch might end up being Italian Andrea Bargnani. Those
three lead a total of 40 rookies in the set, which makes the total base set 130 cards after the 90
veterans.
The actual base cards are not among my favorites. Very glossy, lots of stripes...I have no problem
with the concept, but the execution leaves my with a slight headache when I'm done looking at
them. The parallels are slightly better, with the different colors standing out a bit and helping take
a bit of the glare away, but only marginally.
Now, let's talk about the fun stuff. There are tons of hits in a box of Bowman Elevation. Relics, patches, autographs. Lots of
them, all numbered to 99 or less. The pieces are a nice size and some of the patches I've seen are visually striking and, dare I
say it, beautiful. The autographs contain some of the biggest names in the game, while the Rookie Writings set claims all of
the big rookies as part of it. And yes, the numbers dwindle as the cards get nicer, with my Luol Deng auto-relic #ed to 9 a nice
example. Like the base cards, though, a lot of these cards are a bit too busy for me - the spots are a bit much for me.
I will be honest. There have been a few sets put out by Topps recently that I prefer over this. I have professed my love of Luxury
Box, for instance, and that set is head and shoulders above this one. But if you are looking for a fun break and a chance at
some beautiful cards, you can't go wrong here..........
B
