Boston Celtics and NBA lose legend as Jo Jo White dies at 71

One of the NBA’s greatest teams has lost one of its greats.

Hall of Famer Jo Jo White who won two championship rings and was the NBA Finals MVP in 1976 as part of a 12-year career with the Celtics, Warriors and Kings has died after battling several health issues for years. He was 71.

“He was a champion and a gentleman; supremely talented and brilliant on the court, and endlessly gracious off of it,” the Boston Celtics said in a statement. “His contributions to the team’s championship legacy may have only been surpassed by the deep and lasting impact that he had in the community. The thoughts and sympathies of the entire Celtics organization are with the White family.”

Aaron Rodgers signs autograph exclusive with Steiner Sports

The Green Bay Packers’ quarterback has a new home — at least for autographs.

Steiner Sports revealed on Tuesday that it has signed Super Bowl champion and two-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers to an exclusive deal for autographed memorabilia.

He joins a roster of new signees that includes the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius and a football roster that previously included Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., Lou Holtz and Archie Manning among others.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (June 1)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: NBA Finals, dueling Epsteins … and two Superfractors in one box?

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Dec. 28)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Some beefy mixed breaks from MLB and the NBA as well as a first 1/1 card, some In The Game hockey and an Allen & Ginter Rip Card that really delivered.

Klay Thompson’s 60-point night already gets card via Panini Instant

A big night on the court spawns a big piece of cardboard.

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson scored 60 points on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers and the dazzling performance is already captured on cardboard thanks to Panini America’s real-time card platform, Panini Instant.

Panini America catches up with NBA MVP Stephen Curry for a big-time autograph-signing session

Panini America recently caught up with NBA MVP Stephen Curry to get all of his outstanding redemptions signed and catch up on other signing that needed to be done.

There’s not much to say here — but plenty to show.

Keep reading to see it all …

Golden State Warriors lose icon in Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond

The Golden State Warriors lost one of the greatest players in team history on Saturday as Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond lost his battle with leukemia. He was 74.

Named to the NBA at 50 squad and elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, Thurmond was a seven-time All-Star in his 14 seasons spent with the Warriors, Bulls and Cavaliers. He averaged 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds a game for his career. He still ranks 11th on the NBA’s career rebounds list with 14,464, while his career average ranks fourth-highest in league history.

“We’ve lost one of the most iconic figures in the history of not only our organization, but the NBA in general,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said in a statement. “Nate represented this franchise with class, dignity and humility as both a player and community relations ambassador for over 40 years. Without a doubt, he is one of the most-beloved figures to ever wear a Warriors uniform and both a Hall of Fame player and Hall of Fame person, hence his No. 42 jersey hanging from the rafters at Oracle Arena. On behalf of the entire Warriors organization, our thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family, including his wife, Marci. We’ll miss his presence in his customary seats at our games next season, but his legacy will live forever.”

Buzz Poll: Kevin Durant is a Golden State Warrior … what does it mean for his basketball cards & hobby?

Kevin Durant will be a member of the Golden State Warriors next season, opting to join a team that lost just nine regular-season games before coming up one win short in the postseason.

We want to know what you think this means for his basketball cards …

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>>> Collectors react to the news on the Blowout Forum.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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Board Buzz: Must-read NBA Finals threads on the Blowout Forums

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: The NBA Finals sparked a flurry of posts and opinions. Check out the chatter from Blowout’s collecting community with the small sampling of links below.

Panini Instant NBA Finals cards for Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship run coming on Monday (updated)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are your NBA Champions — and on Monday Panini America will have the cardboard to prove it.

The first real-time Panini Instant basketball cards will document the NBA Finals and the Cavs’ unlikely and historic championship beginning on Monday.

The company teased the images above shortly after Game 7 on Sunday night, confirming the previously teased cardboard and giving us all a hint of what’s to come.

Panini Instant trading cards are forthcoming for NBA Finals

The NBA Finals had already begun when Panini America recently revealed its new real-time trading card platform called Panini Instant, but that’s not stopping the showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers from getting a bit more cardboard.

That will start sometime soon as we await Game 5 of the series tonight.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (June 9)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Big pulls, building a rainbow of parallel sets and finding NBA Finals stars.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (May 29)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Big wrestling pulls, more 1990s NBA box breaks, favorite Panini NBA releases and … what if the Golden State Warriors lose?

Steph Curry makes history — but hobby expectations remain high

Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James and Steph Curry.

Those are the players who have taken home the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award in back-to-back seasons — and none of them have done it in unanimous fashion except for Curry, who made history on Tuesday.

It’s an elite club for sure.

First Buzz: 2015-16 Panini Preferred basketball cards

What: 2015-16 Panini Preferred basketball cards
Arrives: July 27
Box basics:  Two autographs and two memorabilia booklets per two-pack box (eight boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: Playbook gets a slight revamp to include an auto and a booklet in each pack, while continuing to include game-specific memorabilia booklets and a massive autograph set that is free of stickers.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

eBay Buzz: We all know Stephen Curry Rookie Cards are hot sellers … but can they really be this hot?

Every once in a while, a player takes over the spotlight in a sport and leading non-collectors to be so intrigued that they battle for cardboard in online auctions without the typical (restraining) mindset of what something should sell for.

There’s nothing wrong with that — if they want it and they’ll pay it, that’s what it’s worth to them  right then.

Right now, Stephen Curry is that player, and, right now, one of those cards is his 2009-10 Topps Rookie Card — one of 27 RCs that he has and one that has no frills and shows him in the simplest of forms. It’s essentially a mugshot in a T-shirt or warmup jacket as Topps was finishing its run with the NBA license at that time.

This no-thrills piece of cardboard — and its parallel counterparts — are scorchers that just might surprise collectors right now.

This *totally* explains why Steph Curry wasn’t a McDonald’s High School All-American …

Just for fun with this one — Lil’ Stephen Curry starring in his dad’s Burger King commercials.

Stephen Curry’s Contenders Rookie Ticket is among many selling well

Stephen Curry is the reigning NBA MVP on the defending NBA champions who are 19-0 to begin the season.

What is there to say? Not much other than the NBA’s win streak record is 33 set by the 1971-72 Lakers and that his Golden State Warriors ended last season with four wins — so you do the math. We all know the NBA record for most wins in a regular season is 72 set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls — so you do the math. Those are the bars that are set on the court — and it sure seems like it’s all or nothing is the expectation for the Warriors right now.

Those kinds of expectations are a good thing to have — just like an autographed Curry Rookie Card these days.

Auction Buzz: Jo Jo White sale via SCP includes Hall of Famer’s rings & plenty more basketball brilliance

Jo Jo White was a Kansas Jayhawk before he was a Boston Celtic and an NBA-championship winner inducted into the Hall of Fame. Since then, he’s also worked in the Celtics’ front office.

A 25-lot sale open now via SCP Auctions includes memorabilia from all those times, including his Converse College All-America honors, two replacement rings for his titles with the Boston Celtics (the originals were lost) and his honorary 2008 Celtics championship ring from when he worked for the team.