This week's card: a 1996-97 Skybox Z-Force rookie edition of former Suns guard Steve Nash
Front Side
Greg Esposito: Could the front of this card BE anymore 90s? Chandler Bing references aside, this screams what that informative decade of my life represented: bold, florescent colors with weird designs and everything having to have a letter Z in it somehow. (Don’t lie, you all wrote things like “Mad Skillz” on your Trapper Keepers.) It’s fun, but when the jersey is the best looking thing on the card, you can’t score higher than a 2.5, even when the jersey is one of the all-time best in NBA history. Score: 2.5
Ben York: My first thought was, “They put Steve Nash in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy; holy moly, that’s amazing.” Thus, that automatically makes this card a 4.0 or higher. The kicker, though, was seeing Nash in action seemingly on a fast-break getting ready to dish the ball. How many times have we seen him photographed in this position over the years? Also, seeing the two-time MVP in those unforgettable sunburst jerseys made this a perfect card. Score: 5.0
Matt Petersen: The Sun of Phoenix clashes with the teal-and-blue galaxy of the mid-90s Hornets. Color coordination isn't necessary. Sometimes offsetting colors are even a blessing. But Skybox is clearly undecided between using the team color scheme (purple and orange, in this case) or its own. Between that and putting Nash inside a star-studded hoola-hoop, I'm not overly impressed. Score: 2.0
Back Side
Greg Esposito: The back of the card is only slightly less obnoxious and really makes Nash the focal point. The wood court and Suns logo is cool and the shooting form is the thing legends are made of, but the font his name is in and the fact that the weird outline around the logo makes it look off is why it gets a three for me. Score: 3.0
Ben York: Goodness gracious; look at his shooting form. Perfection. Arguably the greatest Sun ever in the greatest team jersey ever. Score: 5.0
Matt Petersen: Looks like designers agreed on the back side design, as opposed to the front. And you can't go wrong with making that Suns logo a big part of the plan. With all that empty space to work with, though, why squeeze the bio and info in small fonts toward the bottom? They're also harder to read against the light-colored backgrounds off Nash's jersey and the court-colored center. I agree, though, that Nash was indeed "cagey." Score: 3.0