I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the one you want to listen to for trading card investments. Sure I have hit some bangers for a nice flip but more often than not, I’m buying for the memories, the artwork, the photography, or if I think it’s a good time to buy and hold for the come up… I participate with all of these. But nowadays a player that you like might have 100 different rookie cards and variations of those same cards… it’s pretty exhausting… so what do I do? Just find something that resonates with me. If we’re talking Ja Morant, that would be this card… it’s not even worth much either but dog…. just look what he is doing in this photograph. His balls are in Kevin Love’s face and he’s about to have the craziest dunk man has ever seen.
I watched Ja play and I fell in love… The game… Sure he was out of control at times but the raw athleticism this kid has was something I had never witnessed before. Sure you see dudes with quick twitch muscles that make you realize why you’re not in the league but then when you see somebody do some monster move you’re like, whoa… what the fuck was that?
Look, I used to have the NBA package and watch every game back in the day. Nowadays, I don’t see any cool NBA highlights unless my friends are watching and sadly, I don’t think many are… but now if I just type Ja Morant there are crazy highlight reels from him from like a few days ago… I know Ja Morant will never win a title… I know people will hate on him a bit… but from a watching hoops occasionally standpoint, he is the best player in the NBA. And if you totally disagree with that, drop who your guy is in the comments so I can study up more… I’m an old head… Not an NBA head… But Ja?
Now going back to the pandemic, much more time was spent at home as we didn’t have to drive to our jobs and be miserable. We actually got more time at home with family and found space to get back into hobbies you had forgotten how much you loved. I had a lot of time at home… I have always loved sports… I have always loved rap… and at times, trading cards have dominated my life… so… when I first heard about this Ja Morant rookie card I lost my sh*t. Now look… let me take you back… you know the Menendez Bros rookie card right? Hold up….. YOU KNOW THE MENENDEZ BROS ROOKIE CARD RIGHT? Regardless, here you go.
I have always loved weird oddball type things like this. Did the photographer know that the Menendez Bros were in the front row? Probably not? So this photo ends up coming such an amazing snapshot in time… These kids had killed their parents and then some point after (days? weeks? months?), they had to get epic tix at The Garden to rep The Knicks. Then they get caught via a photo on a basketball trading card that came out sometime later… think of the person who actually noticed this first… hilarious.
So when I saw this Ja Morant rookie card and found out that Memphis rappers Young Dolph (RIP) and Key Glock were behind him in the crowd, I needed the card. The simple fact that Ja is flexing is pretty classic too. Why is he flexing? Did he just dunk on some fool and get an and-1? Or was it a slick finger roll where he picked up the and-1? Maybe it was a key part of the game and he had a great defensive stop… Unlikely, but I look at this card and I just wonder. I wonder what happened that had Key Glock standing up and looking at the scoreboard alongside Young Dolph and Crunchy Black…
but wait… Todd Bridges is in the mix here as well? Michael Oher’s parents who that movie The Blind Side were about? Just stop please and take all of this in… This is a vibe i need in my life in 2026… rappers… actors… good people… Ja flexing… a lot to like here… who else was at this game? Project Pat and Juicy J? Eightball & MJG? In some alternate world, I like to imagine that everybody in Memphis was there for this game… was it a big game?? playoff implications? Was NLE Chopper there? Justin TImberlake? Ric Flair? Pooh Sheisty? Shannon Doherty? RIP Shannon… you were a god in Mallrats. But anywayyyy…
Just look at this card.
and I’m not saying to go buy a PSA 10 at $250 but, you do Ja, Dolph, and Glock in the mix here… You following Key Glock’s career? Why is he so slept on? You sleeping on him?