5-Star Superstar Moments > 4-Star Player TS debuts?
First off, I want to address a concern. There has been a lot of commotion & uncertainty surrounding NBA Top Shot lately. We are so unsure of what Dapper Labs & the NBA have in plan for utility & the community is running out of patience. Even the OGs. It has been a wild ride & it is a very concerning sight when I look at my Julius Randle TS debut & see that the price has dipped nearly 40% in just 2 months. I know a lot of people can relate to this sentiment & it makes you understand why people are so frustrated with the platform. I am still bullish on NBA Top Shot as we are in the birth of NFT’s & bumps on the road are expected. But the lack of market stability is something to be weary of.
Until Dapper & the NBA figure out a way to stabilize the market, I believe that going after the 5-star, superstar players is the (100%) way to go. Don’t get me wrong. I still believe TS debuts have value & have the potential to obtain great worth. But if we put our heads back & think practically, will the average basketball fan value this Mike Conley TS debut half-court shot or this vicious block by Lebron James? Don’t think about it in terms of scarcity & tier but in terms of player status & moment. You can think of it in terms of how big was the moment? How sick was the play? How popular is the player? Mike Conley is a nice, veteran player but Lebron is King. Both just simply don’t compare & you can get Lebron’s moment for cheaper.
Would you rather get this Draymond Green TS debut block or Damian Lillard’s historic spin out 3-pointer to go to double OT? You can buy Damian’s moment for practically half the price of Draymond’s moment. You get the idea.
Now an exception could be in regards to epic TS debut plays like Terry Rozier’s smooth side-step 3 in OT or Fred Vanvleet snatching Fultz’s ankles. I can side with these TS debut moments all day if you are a big fan of the player or team.
These superstar moments will be more sought after & will have a broader, stronger connection to the average basketball fan than some of the TS debut moments we see of good players. But to be honest, all in all, I could be wrong about this. You never know how people can perceive a player or moment & their relation to it as it could have a profound, emotional attachment to them.
To support, it is imperative to take into consideration the heritages of these NBA players as their moments could draw huge demand from their country of origin. Somebody could have flew 5,114 miles from Argentina to San Antonio, US to see Manu Ginobili play basketball. Or Joe Ingles’s strong display of pride for being an Aussie NBA player & the impact that he has on my favorite NBA TS Youtuber, Blockchain Steve! (A-Must Follow!)
Better yet, Canada’s love for basketball is growing rapidly as they show love to their team’s stars & Canadian players. There are so many good players coming out of Canada like Shai-GIlgeous Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barret, & Andrew Wiggins.
In addition, NBA TS seems like the perfect place for Raptors fans as they embrace their players more than I have ever seen from any other team during this decade.
Nothing like a shoutout from the biggest Raptors ambassador, Drake in which he raps in Lemmon Pepper Freestyle: “my city love me like Demar Derozan.”
To think about it, so many players have the chance to be the first or very few to make it to the NBA in their nation. This draws newer fans into the beautiful game, not just giving the nation excitement but also giving hope to the younger demographic, indirectly implying that big dreams are achievable, no matter where you are from. & that is beautiful!
So I would understand why the international basketball fans would want a specific TS debut moment or if a diehard fan wants a good player’s TS debut moment from their favorite team. But otherwise, I believe a large demographic of the NBA fandom is going to go after the Giannis’s, Luka’s, KD’s, etc..
To sum up, just collect what you love!
(All subjective opinions & not financial advice)
