For the second year in a row, Topps took their regular Topps set, applied their Chromium technology to those cards, and produced a Topps Chrome set. Some of the regular Topps insert sets were reproduced in Chrome versions, including this Topps 40 insert set. Here with this 1997-98 insert set, Topps wanted to mark 40 years from its legendary 1957-58 basketball card set. But you can’t really say “40 years of producing basketball cards” because collectors are well aware that Topps took a really long break after its 1981-82 set, not returning until 1992-93. So this “40 years of cards” idea isn’t the strongest statement considering this long gap. The idea behind this insert set was that players, coaches and writers would contribute with Topps effort to come up with the 40 best players in the NBA. This importance of the number 40 really isn’t subtle in the design with the large “40” behind the Topps logo on the front being the main design feature of the set. The first twenty insert cards were found in Series I and the remaining twenty in Series II. The cards are numbered with a “T40-” prefix before the card number. The cards could be found 1:6 packs but there are refractor parallels at 1:18 packs.
This particular Topps Chrome insert set brings up kind of a random point though…Does Topps have something against Latrell Sprewell? There is no T40-7 in the Chrome Topps 40 set, although it appears in the regular insert set. That T40-7 is the Sprewell card. He’s missing. But here’s what’s interesting…they made the same mistake in the Topps Chrome Season’s Best insert set too! Topps forgot to make a Chrome version of the #8 Latrell Sprewell in the Season’s Best Chrome set! Seriously, is there a logic why he is consistently missing from the Topps Chrome insert sets?
Back to this card… Topps does a short, but nice explanation of why the player is chosen as one of the top forty. Here, Topps admits that Mutombo is one of the few selected who isn’t a high scorer. But they couldn’t overlook him since he is the all-time leader in blocks per game. And the fact that he was the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in the last three seasons is pretty powerful as well. Hard to disagree on this particular selection.
When talking about any Topps Chromium card, we have to deal with a fact disappointing to collectors. Many of these cards are turning green. Topps’ Chromium technology and patents that gave cards a unique, metallic shine was innovative and the cards had a strong reputation. Unfortunately, with this technology came what collectors today call “greening,” or the more accepting word with a touch of humor, “Hulking.” This Dikembe Mutombo card is holding up well with just a touch of green starting around his legs and arms and a bit on his jersey. Unfortunately, there’s not too much we can say about greening that’s conclusive. There’s lots of stories…One half of a set turned green while the other didn’t. Cards turning green while in grading slabs. Collections that seem to avoid greening for 15-18 years and then suddenly, one day, the cards begin to turn. There are stories of cards coming from the pack with some green. There are people who swear that if humidity and light are avoided at all costs, there is no change. And there are also people who seem 100% confident that the fate of all early Chromium cards is to turn green at some point in time. So what can we say for sure? First, it never hurts to avoid best practices and avoid humidity and sunlight when storing cards, whether this is the solution to greening or not. Many factors probably contribute, but there seems to be a reaction between the ink and other materials in the cards causing the greening. This 1997-98 season does appear to be the end of it though. Changes were made and cards produced after 1998 aren’t yet affected by this phenomenon.
This Chrome insert set is overlooked because collectors can search for the regular Topps insert set and the Chrome refractors. But the idea of honoring the 1957-58 Topps cards with the forty best current players is a really fun idea. And with these Chrome inserts, collectors can obtain the set easier than the refractors while still having the quality that the Chromium technology brings.
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