Kobe stormed to the bench in these Nike Zoom VII's. Thanks to Panini, I own a piece!
 

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I haven't done a mail thread on here in a long time, but I figured this was a fun card that deserved to be shared.

This card comes from the 2012 Panini Father’s Day set. I’ve seen this card several times in the past and didn’t think much of it. It’s just a single-color purple relic. It has a pretty plain design. There’s nothing that really sticks out about it initially.

Well, several months ago, I saw this card again and I got a chance to see the back of it. It turns out it's not just a regular jersey relic. It's a shoe card. [URL="https://www.beckett.com/news/panini-bringing-rarely-done-relics-to-nba-cards/"]And according to the Beckett Blog[/URL], it was the first basketball shoe relic Panini made and the first basketball shoe relic since 2004.

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On top of that, the back features picture of the exact pair of shoes and the date of the game that Kobe wore them. It was a March 25, 2012 game against the Grizzlies.

I was hoping he did something crazy this game like hit a game winner or score 50 points. Well, he only scored 18. But there was some drama on this night, nonetheless.

With a little under 6 minutes left in the 4th, the Lakers trailed by 14 and Mike Brown decided to sub Kobe out. As you can see in the following clip...Kobe was none too pleased.

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When reporters asked Kobe about the substitution, he responded, "if you're looking for a story, I'm not going to give it to you."

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Previously, I mentioned that I hoped he scored 50 points in these. Well...Kobe did that 25 times in his career. But later in his career, how many times did Kobe get pulled like that from a game?

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I went on [URL="https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/grizzlies-lakers-2012?assettype=image&events=136215129&family=editorial&phrase=grizzlies%20lakers%202012&sort=best&specificpeople=201466"]Getty Images[/URL] and found 8 pictures from the game that feature these shoes. Unless he changed into the exact same model at halftime, it seems like a pretty safe assumption that he was wearing these when he got benched.

This card checks multiple boxes for me…it’s got a Hall of Famer, it’s a unique relic, and it’s game-dated. This stuff is getting harder and harder to find and I’m very happy to own this one. Thanks for reading!

This kind of relic makes sense. "A Piece of History" as the old slogan went. Now, tissue...

so awesome, thanks for sharing. What a joke Panini has become with today's relics...10 years later.

Cool piece. All Fanatics has to do to win over the hobby immediately and forever, is to use game used/date specific patches. They do that...and people will lose their minds. Panini who?

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When you said Kobe shoe card, I knew I had one and it is from 2000 Upper Deck Ovation. Very nice card OP

Love that you are always able to find a backstory. Great card!

[QUOTE=Nomad;17738022]This kind of relic makes sense. "A Piece of History" as the old slogan went. Now, tissue...[/QUOTE]

:(

[QUOTE=90skid;17738030]so awesome, thanks for sharing. What a joke Panini has become with today's relics...10 years later.[/QUOTE]

They did a great job with relic sets from like 2012-2015. Things have changed so much since then.

[QUOTE=SupermanBrandon;17738069]Cool piece. All Fanatics has to do to win over the hobby immediately and forever, is to use game used/date specific patches. They do that...and people will lose their minds. Panini who?[/QUOTE]

The Fanatics takeover has a lot of interesting possibilities!

[QUOTE=Earvin32;17738636][IMG]https://sportscardalbum.com/c/rn5dg694x450.png[/IMG]
When you said Kobe shoe card, I knew I had one and it is from 2000 Upper Deck Ovation. Very nice card OP[/QUOTE]

Love the design on this one

[QUOTE=ClipsandVols;17738860]Love that you are always able to find a backstory. Great card![/QUOTE]

Thank you!

Hey! You pulled the trigger! Congrats man. A very cool piece with a very cool story.

I believe that Panini did something similar with the "Stat Line" cards and booklets, but they are for jerseys. Wish that the company would do more with game-used material.

[QUOTE=bjho852;17739665]I believe that Panini did something similar with the "Stat Line" cards and booklets, but they are for jerseys. Wish that the company would do more with game-used material.[/QUOTE]

That's correct, except there was no picture of the memorabilia on the back

[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/7901/46630150124_157c777e2c_z.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Deadshot;17739706]That's correct, except there was no picture of the memorabilia on the back

[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/7901/46630150124_157c777e2c_z.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]

Loved that set. I liked when they did it as a booklet too with the acetate finish.

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I had a Klay patch from that set and foolishly sold it :(

[b]“Yeah, I would’ve been exhausted.”[/b]

I got this in a trade not so long ago from a forum member. Always loved this set.
[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/m88poATl.jpg[/IMG]

With so many threads about investment and value and flipping, this is exactly the kind of thread that makes me want to come back to the forum. :)!

I love to learn about cards I didn't know even existed and about the story behind it. Great card! And with the black background, not easy to find in good condition.

[QUOTE=MJ23Collector;17740616]With so many threads about investment and value and flipping, this is exactly the kind of thread that makes me want to come back to the forum. :)!

I love to learn about cards I didn't know even existed and about the story behind it. Great card! And with the black background, not easy to find in good condition.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for reading! There are some multicolor pieces out there, too, but they're all fairly tough to track down.

[QUOTE=TBarn291;17739901]Loved that set. I liked when they did it as a booklet too with the acetate finish.

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These patch are insane, never seen these before