Brand new to the Topps hoops lineup, 2008-09 Topps Hardwood Basketball hits the court running with a mix of numbered rookie cards, relics (memorabilia cards) and autographs. The wood theme comes though in the parallels, and rare sketch cards and autographed patch cards make for nice chase elements.
Five-card packs of 2008-09 Topps Hardwood Basketball come 18 to a box. Expected content includes a rookie and parallel in every pack, two relics and an autographed card in every hobby box, and one sketch card and one rookie autographed patch card per hobby case.
Base Cards and Parallels
Though the set is themed for the NBA's playing surface, it's not necessarily apparent by looking at the base cards. Instead, 100 veterans and retired players and 25 rookies appear on a clean, mostly white layout.
Card backs have nice write-ups that detail what the players do "On the Wood" and "Off the Wood." Rookie cards are numbered to 2009.
The parallels are named for different types of wood and have print runs that are smaller than Topps originally solicited. The levels are Hardwood (#'d to 299), Maple (#'d to 175), Mahogany (#'d to 75), Redwood (#'d to 25) and Ebony (1-of-1). Fittingly, the photo backgrounds are also done up like they are the corresponding finished wood - they're still cardboard underneath, though.
With a rookie in every pack, a hobby box gets you closer to finding all of the first-year players than you will to having the rest of the base set. I opened a random box and came up with 51 of the 100 veteran/retired cards and 18 of the 25 rookie cards (including Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love). I also pulled eight Hardwood, four Maple and three Mahogany parallels.
Autographed Cards
One signature per box doesn't exactly make Hardwood scream out to autograph collectors, but there are some pretty nice ones to find. Most of them are Hardwood Signatures, which look like the parallels but add an autographed sticker. The checklist is split between present and past NBA players and is pretty much scrub-free, with names like Magic Johnson, Dwight Howard and Paul Pierce and fairly low numbering.
Seeded one per case are Hardwood Fabric Signature Patches, which put player-worn material and autographs together in visually attractive fashion. The players sign right on large jersey swatches, and there's an extra patch swatch underneath. The cards are numbered to no more than 50 copies, and 30 rookies signed in all - five more than appear in the base set.
The About.com sample box delivered as advertised with a Hardwood Signatures Tracy McGrady autograph numbered to 39.
Relic Cards and Sketch Cards
The two-per-box Hardwood Relics are pretty straightforward, with game-worn pieces on the front of cards that look like the parallels. Like the autographs, the checklist is solid all the way through, and the cards are numbered to various quantities.
One unusual element comes in the form of Sketch Cards, which can be found one per case. These are actual hand-drawn sketches of 25 top NBA players, signed by the artists and all unique one-of-ones. Very popular in non-sports trading card products, they aren't seen too often in basketball or other sports.
T-Mac popped again on one of my box's two Hardwood Relics, with Greg Oden appearing on the other. Both cards were numbered to 175.
The Last Word
Though it's a nice effort, Topps Hardwood is a product with distinct pros and cons. On the plus side, the cards look nice and the relic and autograph checklists are solid. Balancing that are the theme (which has been done before), the high-numbered rookies which may as well be unnumbered and the cost (over $100 a box), which seems just a little stiff for what you get.
Taken together, Hardwood feels a bit like a jack of all trades, master of none, but I bumped it up a bit because Topps produced just over 500 cases, making it the rare current brand that really is limited. That could interest some collectors who wouldn't ordinarily bite, and multiple types of hobbyists will end up finding things they like inside.