2003-2004 Topps Rookie Matrix

A couple of days ago I bought a few packs of Topps Rookie Matrix. The price per pack was rather high compared to the other packs this particular vendor was selling. Therefore I decided to give this set a shot. Personally I am not a big fan of the base cards in this set. The design of the base cards gives it a weird gooey feel. These cards remind me of those Goosebumps books. Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway was one of the base cards I pulled. Man how far has this man fallen. Back when he was with the Orlando Magic many people were anointing him the next Michael Jordan. But since his knee injury, he has not been the same. He did alright with the Suns but his days with the Knicks and Heat were horrible and sad to see. One must think what his career would have been had he not had his knee injury.


I pulled a total of four rookie cards from these packs. Instead of having individual rookie cards, each card consists of three mini cards. I have never been a fan of three in one cards (I do however like those 3 in 1 autos/jerseys/patches). Having three separate mini cards where you can rip them apart is the worst imo. It demeans the value of the rookie cards or just cards in general. But nonetheless, this was probably the best draft class in recent memory. These minis I pulled consisted of some good players such as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Too bad I didn't pull any minis of Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony.


The hit of these packs would have to be the Shawn Marion Jersey. This memorabilia card is basically a mini Shawn Marion card that is encased in a frame. The mini card of course embedded a small piece of Marion's game used jersey. It is actually not a bad looking card but the emphasis this set puts on mini cards makes this set a bit unappealing for me. I must say though that the frame used to protect the Shawn Marion jersey card is pretty cool looking.