Upper Deck Is Back In The NBA For A Different Type Of Release

Upper Deck has an official NBA licensed product releasing this year but in a very unique style. The set isn’t cards per se, but more memorabilia with a trading card style and it will be sold in pack/box form. The checklist will include retired players, stars and rookies including the three NBA players that Upper Deck has signed to exclusive deals; Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Ben Simmons. Some other stars on the checklist; Allen Iverson, Jerry West, Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Dennis Rodman.

The NBA has given UD the “Ok” to produce the set because it is being sold as memorabilia so the “cards” depict each of the stars in their NBA uniforms with full logos and names.

The 2017-18 Upper Deck Authenticated Supreme Hard-Court Basketball release is different because each card is a 5x7 piece of game-used wood from a Charlotte Bobcats floor and is basically designed to look like a card.

Each box will contain two packs and each pack will contain one card, no release date or price has been announced yet but I have found information saying there are 17 signers on the checklist and the price may be around $500/box.

I wonder if this works out for UD, if they will continue to work with the NBA for similar memorabilia sets. These small and very limited products gives Upper Deck an NBA presence without encroaching on Panini's license and gives the NBA control over what Upper Deck produces. Kind of a win-win for both.