2004-05 Upper Deck Basketball

Greetings!

Hope everyone is doing well.  Game 2 of the NBA Finals is happening right now (I say OKC in 6), and since it’s been a while since a basketball pack has been posted here, now’s a good time as ever to dig into the (then $1.49) Target discount bin.  Here’s a pack of 2004-05 Upper Deck Basketball!

It’s a retail pack to be specific, but since no one’s posted a hobby pack, the title stays.  There’s 9 cards per pack with a Rookie Scrapbook insert in every pack.  The big rookies that year were Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala (they’re short prints in the set).  Here’s what I got:

#32 – Kirk Nowitzki

#95 – Shaquille O’Neal

#60 – Yao Ming

Not a bad start to the pack.  Upper Deck is almost always associated with excellent photography, and the trend continues here.

#4 – Tony Delk (back)

#179 – Ray Allen

#123 – Jamaal Magloire

The head shot on the back of the card is taken from the card front, hence showing the back of the Tony Delk card (he’s just standing there all serious-like on the front).

#156 – Damon Stoudamire

#196 – Larry Hughes

#RS15 – Tony Allen (Rookie Scrapbook)

To me, the Rookie Scrapbooks look like the old Press Your Luck board.  No Tony!  No Toni! No Toné!  Stopped at a Tony…then a cheesy animated Tony Allen comes breakdancing across the screen and steals the basketball.

Anyway, that's the pack.  Not a bad one overall.  I should have another Upper Deck pack next time.  Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there...Thanks for reading!