There was big news out of the NBA Developmental League this week and it involves a player with plenty of cardboard you could want to collect.
Delaware 87ers guard Russ Smith scored a league-record 65 points in a 140-129 loss, connecting on 24 of 42 field goals and 16 of 20 free throws in the game.
The former Louisville star was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft. He appeared in 12 games for the New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2014-15 season and he played in 15 games for the Grizzlies earlier this season. He’s logged just 131 minutes on the court for his NBA career, scoring 53 points.
On cardboard, the statistics are much higher with more than 250 different cards — 14 of those being Rookie Cards and nearly 100 of them being certified autographs. Three of his RCs carry ink with those being found in 2014-15 Gold Standard and Preferred from Panini America.
Is he a long-term buy? Probably not, but a scoring record is a fun piece of trivia to build a collection niche around. Though consider this — the record he broke, 61 by former Tennessee Vols standout Jordan McRae, had only stood since January.
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