As interesting as the NBA Top Shot “virtual cards” are, today’s release of a special Holo pack containing rare, legendary moments was just too much for me at $999. For that price, you get 10 cards:

• 1x legendary
• 3x limited edition gold metallic
• 6x regular aka base cards

The value of these ten moments match the cost of the pack, but still, I’m thinking the price of this pack is too ahead of this nascent market. But then again, seeing how collectibles are really taking off, who knows what this pack (and its contents) might be worth a year from now.

I’ll stick with the common packs that are somewhat expensive at $9 a pack.

Here is Seth’s review.

Even if you don’t have the time, watch these videos. Yao’s is the shortest, but if you want impact, watch the Answer, and for laughs, watch the Big Aristotle.

Allen Iverson

Yao Ming

Shaquille O’Neal

Headed out to Times Square in the morning to see how many people never sleep in New York. Yes, it was crowded. Got discounted Broadway tickets from the already packed TKTS booth.

Needing to get above the crowds of people, we walked to Rockefeller Center to ascend to the Top of the Rock. Overall, a much more enjoyable experience than the Empire State Building. Yes, the Empire is iconic, but the Rock is better planned. Scheduled arrivals make the crowds of visitors more manageable and distributed. Even the elevator ride is better with a see through ceiling that you can watch the animated ascent. At midday, everything went quickly, and we were atop the Rock in a matter of minutes. The views are much better with the less intrusive safety glass surrounding the observation deck.

The only negative I could nitpick is the mobile connectivity. Although 800 feet up and all these rooftop antennas, I was still getting one bar of AT&T 4G service. Kinda hard to Instagram the awesome scenic pics with only one bar of service.

After touring the top, down below has many options for dining and entertainment. From hot and humid on previous days, the weather became overcast and cool so a nice warmup came in the form of a mocha from Blue Bottle.

With limited time to look around, we stopped by the Lego Store and saw the New York inspired skyline and the Flatiron building.

But I also liked the White House.

Our party separated to watch different Broadway plays while I went exploring amongst all the other people. My first destination was the NBA Store. Right outside its doors, I spied these tricked out cars.

Yup, you guessed it. Fast and Furious 8 was filming somewhere in the area. No actors were around, just the rides.

Inside the three-floor store, there were more people, oh, and all things NBA. I was going for a Derrick Rose Knicks tee, but despite being one day old, this new release was sold out of larges. Even mediums and XL were scarce.

There were items from the 2016 Championship including a tee depicting LeBron’s rim defense.

Dwyane Wade’s Li Ning kicks pack was there for $330.

I got a chuckle from Kevin Durant’s clearance gear from Oklahoma City. His OKC jersey was down to $65 from $110, but I still passed. Unfortunately, KD’s Golden State gear hadn’t yet arrived so you could only custom make items at a higher cost.

After the NBA and FF8 experience, Grand Central Station was my next stop. Yes, more people and armed guards strolling around.

There’s an Apple Store inside of Grand Central but rid all your knowledge and experiences of other Apple Stores. Because even when you see this…

You get this…over two city blocks of fruited goodness. This is not a small enclosed store. The expanse is the Grand Central Station. It’s actually integrated with the station.

I made a Genius Bar appointment to check out my Apple Watch but had 30 minutes to wait. Headed downstairs to check out the dining concourse. Said no to Shake Shack.

But yes to cheesecake from Magnolia Bakery.

Back at the Genius Bar, I was told to reset my Watch and redo the pairing process to fix my software glitch. Satisfied with the simple fix, I had to make my way to Koreatown for dinner. Walking there, I saw more of New York. There were bridesmaids crossing the street.

And nakedness at the public library for national body painting day.

Dinner brought endless ban chan and this curious sign.

And the day wasn’t done with a trip to the largest Macy’s.

Followed by a quick jaunt to Eataly.

The Flatiron building is right outside.

And that’s more than enough for one day. Good night!

Did you catch that Spurs and Thunder report? Yes, OKC took the Western Conference Semifinal series from San Antonio, 4 games to 2. Unfortunately, Alexa is saying the next game of the (finished) series is Sunday at San Antonio.

Although not relevant to DeAndre’s decision, the Jordan Brand got with the emoji motif, reminding everyone that Michael Jordan is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).

?

— Jordan (@Jumpman23) July 8, 2015

So it gives me great pleasure to say, that with the next pick in the 2014 NBA draft, the NBA selects Isaiah Austin out of Baylor University.

Make sure you unmute the audio track in Vine.

Must be the music that’s putting me in the mood as well.

“Victoria’s a secret down there,”
– Charles Barkley.

Heinous or holiday, the new sleeved NBA jerseys are coming to pro basketball teams on Christmas day. Along with the short sleeves, these contemporary jerseys feature the big logo front and center and for the NBA, additional advertising space on the sleeves themselves.

Check out the online NBA Store for a selection of sleeved replica jerseys of your favorite players. $110 for adult sizes, $50 for youth sizes, and a more affordable, look-alike shirt for $26 (my favorite is the orange World Peace shirt).

No promises that the extra sleeves will improve your outside shot, but after watching this Jingle Hoops ad, you have to believe they will.

How many of these magical moments did you see unfold?

Maybe you also need these Oreo-inspired shoes for that 2.2-second burst.

Though not a signature shoe, I’m liking Nike’s HyperPosites made for LaMarcus Aldridge.

Though you have to give it to your teammates who do the dirty work like setting screens.

What surprises me more is the amount of time it must have taken to sift through all this footage! Now that’s passion.

Anyways, Happy Birthdays are in order for a pair of NBA’s finest!

So if you too want to be successful, you need to read a few books to clear then focus your mind. Here is LeBron’s reading list that earned him his first NBA Championship.