The 2012-13 NBA regular season is right around the corner. For fans, this means it’s time to re-up on your team’s merchandise. Anyone can go to the nearest sporting goods store and pick up a brand new jersey or hat, but what about the unique collectibles that separate the dyed-in-the-wool fan from the bandwagon supporter? These can be found on eBay. In the days leading up to, and after, NBA tip-off, Bidding Basketball will scavenge the online auction site’s “infinite inventory of NBA junk” for rare, memorable and/or quirky basketball memorabilia from every team around the league.
RELATED:
–How To Be A Superfan In The Southeast Division
–How To Be A Superfan In The Atlantic Division
–How To Be A Superfan In The Central Division
We shift West today, with a look at the Southwest Division.
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DALLAS MAVERICKS
Live Auction: MARK CUBAN SIGNED RARE SIMPSONS PROMO PHOTO AUTOGRAPH COA DALLAS MAVERICKS
Buy It Now: $71.49, plus shipping
Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban made a lot of noise this summer with his comments on Deron Williams, the Brooklyn Nets and Skip Bayless, but given his history of trash talking, I suppose that should be expected by now. Cubes’ penchant for controversy sometimes makes it easy to forget that he’s more than a loud-mouth sports executive – he’s also a billionaire businessman. Indeed, in addition to the Mavericks, Cuban owns Magnolia Pictures, Landmark Theatres and AXS TV. He is also an investor on the ABC series “Shark Tank,” and a recent endorser of Sketchers shoes. You may also recognize Cuban from several television and film appearances, such as “Entourage” and “The Simpsons.” The above auction is a signed photo of Cuban, rendered as a Simpsons character, from his guest episode in the show. At this point, the composition of the Mavs’ roster (sans an injured Dirk Nowitzki) might make Cuban’s signature the most valuable of anyone in the organization.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Live Auction: 1997 Galoob’s NBA Houston Rockets All-Star MVPs Figures, Barkley, Drexler, Hakeem
Buy It Now: $4.99, plus shipping
Maybe one of the most disappointing teams of the 1990s was the 1996-97 Houston Rockets. After winning consecutive NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, the Rockets added Charles Barkley and Kevin Willis to its roster in 1996 to form a roster of four multiple-time NBA All-Stars: Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Barkley and Willis. They were aging stars, to be sure (all in their mid-30s), but still talented nonetheless. The Rockets finished the regular season that year with a record of 57-25, placing third in the Western Conference. However, in the playoffs, the Rockets lost in the Western Conference Finals (4-2) to the Utah Jazz on a buzzer-beater by John Stockton. This incarnation of the Rockets never made it past the Jazz, losing the next year in the first round. Not long after, the team disbanded: Drexler retired, Barkley suffered a career-ending injury, and Willis and Olajuwon were separately traded to the Toronto Raptors. This listing of MVP Rockets figures from the 1996-97 season, then, is a lasting memory of a championship that never was.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Dead Auction: adidas Memphis Grizzlies Spain Marc, Pau Gasol Europe Live Promo Pro Cut Jersey
Ended: $188.78
The Memphis Grizzlies, of course, have a history of Spanish big men. Pau Gasol led the team from 2001 to 2008, with 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. I would suggest he is the most important player in Grizzlies history. Indeed, he holds franchise records in games played, minutes played, field goals made, total rebounds, blocked shots, and points. After Pau was traded/fleeced away by the Los Angeles Lakers, the torch was passed to his younger brother, Marc, who was sent the other way to Memphis. Marc now anchors the Grizzlies’ frontline alongside Zach Randolph, and in 2010-11, helped the team reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time. The Spanish history of the Grizzlies appropriately sent the team overseas to Espana during the preseason with NBA Europe Live Tour. This authentic jersey is a promo from the 2007 preseason campaign, and features a Spanish flair with red and yellow piping. It’s a beautiful uniform as is, but if you don’t like the promotional lettering, it could easily be stripped and re-customized with “GASOL” on the back.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Live Auction: 2002-03 New Orleans Hornets Basketball Media Guide Jamal Mashburn Baron Davis
Buy It Now: $5.95, plus shipping
After trading star point guard Chris Paul before last season, the New Orleans Hornets find themselves at the start of a rebuilding period. They have young talent – namely, 2012 No. 1 pick Anthony Davis, as well as Austin Rivers and Eric Gordon – but they have a ways to go before becoming a contender in the West. It’s only fitting then that this auction be an item from the 2002-03 season, another period of transition in the Hornets’ history. In 2002, after years of dwindling attendance figures and an aging arena in Charlotte, owner George Shinn relocated the team to New Orleans. It was an unfortunate and certainly unpopular decision for the residents of Charlotte. Nevertheless, the team moved on to New Orleans, where Baron Davis, P.J. Brown and the rest of the Hornets achieved mediocre success, reaching the playoffs in consecutive years before finishing 18-64 in 2004-05. In that summer’s draft, New Orleans selected Chris Paul with the No. 4 overall pick. Paul, of course, led the Hornets franchise to its most successful season ever (.683 winning percentage), and a division title in 2007-08. Certainly, Hornets fans hope the Davis-Rivers-Gordon trio can recreate that buzz in the years to come.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Live Auction: Retro ’90s San Antonio Spurs David Robinson #50 Chalk Line Jacket Men’s XL
Buy It Now: $145.00, plus shipping
Let me just say: This jacket is awesome. It screams style. I don’t care if it’s satin. I don’t care that it’s silver, black and probably a yellowed shade of white. I don’t care that I can’t think of a single instance where I would actually wear this jacket. All I care about is the gigantic portrait of David Robinson against a teal, purple and orange background on the reverse of the jacket. Why? First, respect to Tim Duncan, but “The Admiral” is still my favorite San Antonio Spur of all time. The April 24, 1994 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, in which he netted 71 points (63 percent from the floor), 10 rebounds, five assists and two block shots, in order to singlehandedly capture the season’s scoring title, remains one of the most dominant single game performances of all time. Second, and maybe more importantly, how often do you see a satin jacket with a huge face plastered on the back? HARDLY EVER. So, Spurs fans: celebrate The Admiral and buy this jacket. If I don’t see the multi-color satin shimmering in all its glory during a broadcast from the AT&T Center this season, I will be very disappointed.
Would you rock that David Robinson jacket?
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