1996-97 SP shared many of the same characteristics as previous SP seasons. Slightly higher price at $3.99 for eight cards. A compact set with only 146 cards featuring a higher percentage of stars. Cards were still organized alphabetically by team with about five players per team. And after the base cards, like the previous year, there were twenty rookies grouped into their own subset under the Premier Prospects name. The SP logo became even simpler with just the main components outlined in foil. So many things remained the same…but the main difference this year is the removal of the SP Championship set. The previous two years had two sets, SP and SP Championship. The first was hobby-only and the second was retail-only focusing on the playoffs. But in 1995-96, SPx, a smaller die-cut set was introduced. Upper Deck must’ve felt this was enough of a supplement, so in 1996-97, they chose to cut SP Championship, leaving only regular SP and the die-cut SPx.
This #134 Kobe Bryant rookie card is part of the Premier Prospects subset that ends 1996-97 SP. The photo on this card, and all the Premier Prospects cards, is really interesting. The action photo is actually on the back of the card. The front photo is a studio, posed photograph. Allen Iverson is the one exception. His isn’t a staged photo, but even his is a casual non-action photo. Another interesting fact is that there is a postcard-sized version of these cards. It was a separate boxed set of just the Premier Prospects cards from ’96-97 SP.
The Kobe Bryant cards all treat his jump from high school to the pros slightly differently. he SP rookie includes what they can of his high school statistics including, from his last season, rebounds per game, assists per game and scoring average. They also have his total high school points. This was known because it led to him being the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern PA history. What’s unique about this rookie card that you don’t see in many others is a portion of the reason that the Hornets traded him to the Lakers. It mentions Charlotte acquiring Vlade Divac. Charlotte had just traded Alonzo Mourning and other injuries on their team left a huge need for a center. So although the whole situation is more complicated, this card at least gives a small bit of insight.
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