A thread for all those who DON'T go for the Golden State Warriors

[hackadeandre]

Hi All,

With the result of the 2018-19 season all but written (damn you Cousins), I thought it may be fun to see who supports which OTHER team. Requirements are:

• why you follow that team
• what they are looking forward to in the upcoming season; and
• a pic of your favourite card of that team

So I will start with my team. The Clippers

Why I follow them
Like many people here, I was a huge fan in the 90's and actually followed Orlando (with my second favourite team being the one I can't mention). Anyway, lost interest in cards for a while and whilst I would still follow the NBA it wasn't that exciting in the 2000's (let's be honest here), so I really didn't 'follow' any team for a while. Got back into collecting cards and watching the NBA back again in 2011 and not much care for Orlando anymore. So there it was, 29 other teams to choose from. Blake Griffin got me, sucked me in. The uber-athletic rookie dunk-on-you machine was too hard to resist! So there my love for the red-headed (literally) stepchild team in LA was born!

What I am looking forward to this season
Whilst I'm not going to go overboard with excitement about the Clippers this season, I'm happy with the way things are going. Having Jerry West on board pulling some strings adds that element of 'he's done it before, can he do it again?' (refer to team we can't talk about). Was stoked to see Austin Rivers shipped out (I would have taken a half-eaten Mars Bar for Rivers); I felt at the time when Doc signed his son it was the beginning of the end (and it was). The biggest thing I'm excited about though this season is that we had a semi-decent draft pick and was hoping we ended up with SGA. When he was picked by the Hornets I was disappointed, however it wasn't long before disappointment turned to excitement when the draft trade went down. I think passing on MPJ with the 13th pick was a mistake though, but we'll see and what would I know!

Best Clippers card
Lucky enough to pull this in a box break, the last piece of 'lob city' to leave and my alias' namesake!:

 

[warriors_man]

Cool thread idea Liam, here's mine for the Celtics:

Why I follow them

Have always loosely followed the NBA but never really followed a team (except LeBron) until I started collecting NBA cards in 2015. I entered a few group breaks and hit some decent Marcus Smart cards so decided to collect him. Through following him and watching a lot of Celtics games I was hooked, and ended up collecting Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as well once they were drafted.

What I am looking forward to this season

Having the team back to full strength (return of Kyrie and Gordon), further development of Tatum and Brown, hopefully making the finals. Also hoping Marcus Smart re-signs

Best Celtics card

Maybe not my best but they are my favorite (sorry I couldn't pick one)

 

[hackadeandre]

Wow Kenny, those 2 Galactics are mad! Great grades too. Yeah I think the Celtics would be mad to let Smart go, he seems like the 'glue' guy. Thanks for adding to the thread!

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

Orlando Magic

Why I follow them
Similar to yourself Liam. As a kid in 90s Shaq was the man to follow (that wasn't Jordan) along with Penny Hardaway. Their always seemed to be a lot of magic merchandise around as well so that probably helped whether it was binders for school / cards, starter caps, shorts etc so was an easy team to be able to follow for me. Pulling shaq base cards from packs and then going to school and showing them off or cutting them out and sticking them on the front of my school books (blasphemy now but back then it was the thing to do) was one of the best memories of the hobby as a kid. Then like a lot of people fell out of the hobby for a few years was still watching and following the Magic when I could. When I came back about 05 or 06 the Dwight hype was starting to take off, now working full time and having some money I got back into things and collected Dwight since.

What I am looking forward to this season
No high expectations, but they have a pretty young core that should be starting to get some more wins. Biggest relief was that they didnt mess up the draft pick this year and Mo Bamba could be the next face of the franchise if it all works out for him!


Best Magic card
Such a hard decision to pick just one. It is hard to go past an Exquisite RPA of your pc guy though so I will go with this.

 

[BeauZo]

Who do I follow? Knicks/Bucks

Why I follow them?

Who does not love watching Giannis play? When I started getting into cards a couple of years ago I hadn't watched little to nothing in the past 15 years so I searched who was up and coming. I watched so many highlights of Giannis it surpassed pornhubs ranking on most visited sites. I only go for the Bucks because of him, so when he leaves, the Bucks will be dead to me.

Same as for the Knicks, if they dare trade Frankie Smokes Frank Ntilikina, skinny French boy no one had heard of. He was actually born in Belgium like my Mum which is why I was drawn to him straight away. Watched a few highlights (actually a lot) and got sucked into the vortex of a PC. He and Kristaps will be unreal together once healthy, along with Knox who kinda reminds me of Giannis a little, and the core is looking solid for the Knicks. Fast forward past this season to next, it'll be exciting times for the Knicks which haven't had something to excited about for ages.

Expectations for the season

Bucks hopefully make some progression in the east. Upgrade Bledsoe. Knicks development young guys so when Porzingis returns they'll be .

Best Card

Watch this space. (Card incoming)

 

[Billyhoyle]

Why I follow them
Growing up in Tassie we didn't get much access to NBL/cards/magazines but my mum used to be packs of 1990 hoops when she would go to Launceston. My first memory of the Bulls though was a 1990 Hoop magazine that had an article on MJ and an amazing poster which as a grade 6 kid was enough to convince me that he was the best thing since sliced bread.

What I am looking forward to this season
Honestly - not much.
Lauri and Dunn are about the only things of interest. I cannot see the BUlls making a trade or being a player in the FA market any time soon. Wendell Carter Jr will be interesting to see his development and paring with Lauri.
I don't really like the resigning of Lavine, he'll be a star in the weak East. I think we've way overpaid and don't really he see how he fits with Lauri.

Best Bulls card
sadly probably this one

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

Best Bulls card
sadly probably this one

That's a Warriors card... this is the anti warriors thread

 

[wasportsfan1]

Who do I Follow ? - Spurs

Why do I follow them?

Two guys David Robinson & Manu Ginobili, they were two beasts back in the day (getting a David Robinson 93 scoring Kings helped a bit) and the way the Spurs would play as a team and have coach Pop getting into every playoffs since forever made me a fan, with the big three came together I followed the team a lot more and started again in collecting around 9 years ago, which made me grab the holy grail of David Robinson Cards after a very long process you will see it at the end!

What I am looking forward to this season

Well since Parker left and slomo Anderson left and Kawhi out the door, not alot sadly the West is getting better and well the Spurs just cant keep up without Kawhi I doubt Ginobili will go around again so that's the end of a golden era for the club. I would like to see some youth get played and see what we get in return for Kawhi.

Best Card

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

Best Card

Damn Bill that is beast!!!!

 

[wasportsfan1]

Damn Bill that is beast!!!!

thanks mate

 

[Billyhoyle]

That's a Warriors card... this is the anti warriors thread

it did turn into a warriors card

 

[Telfs Card Park]

Who do I Follow ? - Spurs

Why do I follow them?

Two words, David Robinson. He was my hero growing up as I know he was to a lot of people. People are quick to dismantle D Rob's reputation based on one series against Houston but they forget what he did for the San Antonio franchise. The Spurs nearly folded until The Admiral came along and turned rags to riches in one season. Timmy, TP and Manu were great but they would have suited for a different outfit if the Spurs did not land D Rob. Another cool thing is that we share the same Christian faith and I found out recently that he converted to Christianity about the same time that I did way back in 1991 (a few weeks apart). He has always been a role model for anyone looking for one, his charity work is amazing and he is the all round good guy you rarely see in the league today. Anyways, like most people I lost interest in the hobby or the hobby lost interest in Australia and life moved on and it wasn't until 2008 that I got back into following the NBA and decided to stick with the Spurs as my team because of those childhood memories of The Admiral. At the time I bought a few boxes from the States but didn't really get back into collecting NBA until 2012 when the Aussie dollar was on fire (like $1.30 compared to 70c today) so purchases were frequent. It was amazing in 2013 and 2014 to see the Spurs take on the Heat in The Finals and win a championship, a feat that is all the more special to me now that I know its the last one for a while. Kawhi was a big part in getting me excited about the Spurs again as well and I PC'ed him when his RC autos were $5-8 each and then sold them off for $40-50 after he won Finals MVP. I have always had D Rob cards lying around and figured why not focus on him completely so I just collect D Robs now and I know that his prices should always remain pretty strong especially for the pre-Panini stuff.

What I am looking forward to this season

There is not a lot to look forward to for non-GSW fans but for me it doesn't bother me where we finish as long as we continue to play the Spurs way. Losing TP and Anderson is not so bad as they were holding us back, particularly TP who is surely reaching the twilight of his career and Anderson's slo mo style wasn't really working. Losing Kawhi is obviously huge and franchise players do not come along every day, so I hope we get something decent in return for him and he doesn't just sit out the season and walk for nothing next season. I personally was hoping for Randle but now that he is signed on with NOP I am hoping that we can land Kuzma or Ingram and Isaiah Thomas as I feel we need some experience at PG and I think Thomas can do well in the Spurs program. Other than that I am keen to see how Lonnie Walker goes in his rookie season, his athleticism and energy will be huge for the Spurs moving forwards and will hopefully go some way towards filling the Kawhi void. A full rebuild needs to happen at some stage and I am looking forward to seeing how RC Buford and co. manage our roster heading into 2018-19.

Best Card

 

[Aussiemullet]

Sweet thread idea. I'm kinda torn, old school Bulls Fan but loving the Celtics these days. Looking forward to seeing how the young Boston team grow and how Irving fits back into the team. Also looking forward to seeing Dunn and Markkanen develop at the Bulls and if Lavine ends up being what Chicago hoped he would be. Fav card.. My first purchase a year ago that started my addiction.

 

[nichj99]

My Team: Los Angeles Lakers

Why I Follow Them - Like everyone else, I collected NBA cards in the 90's - often picking them up at the local markets, etc. However, it wasn't until June 14th, 2000 that the Lakers became my team. Why that date? I was 13 years old and at my grandparents house for dinner, who had just acquired Optus Cable TV. While channel flicking I discovered the pre-game intro of the NBA Finals, Game 4 - Lakers @ Indiana. Kobe had just missed Game 3 due to injury and had was returning and Shaq had put the team on his back despite a 9 point loss without his sidekick. I sat and watched the game unfold, including Reggie Miller drop 35 points (6-9 3P), followed by Diesel fouling out (36 points, 21 rebounds) and Kobe (28 points) stepping into the role of hero for (what I didn't realize at that moment) the first time as the game went into OverTime! Eventually the Lakers prevailed 120-118 and Purple & Gold began running through my blood.

Why I Am Looking Forward To The Season - #LABron . Whilst I've been a spoilt Laker fan for the last 18 years with so much success, the last 4-5 years has been gut wrenching to sit through with very few bright spots until last season. Seeing Lamar, Bynum and Pau all slowly leave one by one, the death of Jerry Buss and the arrogance and failures of Jim Buss almost rip this once great franchise to the ground has been a tough pill to swallow however I'm fully on board the #InMagicWeTrust movement, it makes perfect sense that the franchises greatest ever player returns to lead us back to the top of the standings and it starts with his first recruit - Lebron James and the youth movement in Ingram, Kuzma and Ball.

Best Lakers Card - Whilst technically not one card, I have a hard time passing up this. All 1/1 letters of LAKERS
I know where the E is and I'm trying to make a deal for it so if anyone finds the K & R let me know!