New to the Upper Deck family of basketball products for 2007-08, SP Rookie Threads returns for another go-round in 2008-09 still boasting multiple game-used and autographed cards in every pack. The set also has some of the more interesting autographed jersey rookie cards around, using acetate to hold the jersey pieces so the autograph can be placed right over the top.
Every box of 2008-09 SP Rookie Threads Basketball contains six packs of five cards each. Every pack should contain at least two memorabilia or autographed cards, and Signature Threads rookie cards fall 1:3 packs.
Base Cards and Parallels
Veteran base cards aren't really the focus of a brand like this, so the set begins with a tight group of 60 current NBA players. The cards have an interesting look, with the photos appearing to pop out of the background, and all of the other visual elements look like they are embroidered or stitched.
Rookies take the set to 100 cards and fall into three levels. The first level consists of six players on regular cards numbered to 99, most notably New York Knicks first-rounder Danilo Gallinari.
The aforementioned Signature Threads rookie cards fall in the final two levels, with 28 newcomers numbered to 599 and a select group of six - Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless - numbered to 399. The swatches are in the shape of the number "08," and there are patch versions available that are numbered to the spot the player was taken in the draft.
I opened a single pack of SP Rookie Threads Basketball for this review and found a Chris Paul base card, but no other veterans or rookies.
Memorabilia Cards
Despite the large number of jersey and patch cards SP Rookie Threads has to offer, most of them come from just a couple of insert sets. Rookie Threads cards offer up two swatches from a 2008-09 rookie, while SP Threads cards do the same for an NBA veteran.
Both of the sets have dual versions (one swatch each from two different players), and Rookie Threads also has triple versions. All of the memorabilia cards also have numbered parallels and patch variations.
One of the nice things about this product is that it's very possible to find two or more memorabilia cards in a single pack. Such was the case with my sample pack, as I pulled a Rookie Threads O.J. Mayo parallel numbered to 125, plus an SP Threads patch variation of one of this season's breakout players, Devin Harris.
Autographed Cards
Somewhat surprisingly, there is a greater variety of autographed inserts than memorabilia inserts despite the fact that they are found in much more limited quantities. The fun begins with Authorization and Scripted in Time, two basic unnumbered sticker autograph sets that total 55 different players between the two of them. As is the case with many Upper Deck autograph sets, the checklists range from blah (Luther Head) to fantastic (Michael Jordan).
Signing Day is devoted to 2008-09 rookies, with 30 players signing. Last but certainly not least are two sets of signed jersey letter cards, one of the most popular trends in today's hobby. By the Letter covers 60 current players with print runs equal to the number of letters in the players' last names, and Letters of Introduction does the same for rookies with quantities equal to the total letters in the players' first and last names.
Even with two memorabilia cards already unearthed, the About.com review pack had one more goodie: an Authorization signature of young Memphis star Rudy Gay.
The Last Word
With only two seasons under its belt, SP Rookie Threads is still searching for a memorable hook that will earn it a place alongside perennial Upper Deck favorites like SP Authentic and SPx. It may need more time to find it, but it's hard not to like the content this year's set has in store.
It's not a cheap product, with packs around $50 and boxes upwards of $250, but you get a lot more bang for your buck than you would have at the same price point just a few seasons ago. That sense of value is always a good thing, and this should be a fun product to open for collectors who can fit a pack or box into their budgets.