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Kelly CohenESPN
Beginning Thursday, fans of the NBA and cool memorabilia will have a new collection to pick from.
Pop culture collectible company Funko is releasing new NBA trading cards, along with a new NBA SLAM Magazine collection.
Funko is partnering with Panini, the NBA’s exclusive trading card partner, to release new exclusive Pop! trading cards of Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson.
New Funko vinyl figurines are also being released modeled after SLAM Magazine’s covers of Allen Iverson (March 1999), Shaquille O’Neal (June 1999) and Vince Carter (August 1999).
There’s also cover art inside the packaging that matches the original SLAM Cover.
The world of sports memorabilia — everything from trading cards to NFTs — has boomed since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, eBay saw a 142% increase in sales. Goldin Auctions, which has emerged as the largest auction house in memorabilia, pulled in $100 million in 2020 — and doubled that amount in 2021.
Source: www.espn.com