Trading Thursday: Premium Packs
Premium Packs are back again, but which moments will be the most expensive?
Premium Packs have returned for the second drop of Season 2. At 5 EDT, you’ll randomly get generated a spot in line; but like the Holo drop last week, there will be an additional 50,000 rebound packs if you don’t secure the Premium Pack. Each Pack contains one Metallic Gold LE Series 2 Moments, ranging from serials 1-499, with five Base Set Moments. Each Premium Pack costs $99, and the Rebound Packs will cost $9.
Additionally, there are stricter requirements for this drop than the Holo drop. Below are the requirements:
Own 1+ Metallic Gold LE Moments; OR
Own 2+ Rare Moments; OR
Own 15+ Moments
Plus have spent $99 on the marketplace
The list of Metallic Gold Moments are posted on this thread by Top Shot:
This makes you think, what will the requirements be for the next Holo drop if for this drop you must’ve spent $99 on the marketplace? $500? $999?
Anyways, which five Metallic Gold Moments could be the most expensive out of the bunch?
De’Aaron Fox
De’Aaron Fox has been on a tear this season. Fox leads the league in 4th quarter points and is putting up fantastic averages of 25 points and seven assists a game while swiping nearly 2 steals a game. His nickname is “Swipa” for a reason.
The only reason you don’t hear about Fox is that he’s on the dreaded Kings, and if not for their record, should've been an All-Star this season in the loaded Western Conference. If the Kings start to win games next season, undoubtedly Fox will be crowned an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Fox is one of the fastest players in the NBA in the open court and coming out of Kentucky drew comparisons to John Wall and Russell Westbrook. His game is all coming together, and yet, he's only 23 years old. The only piece of his game that needs improvement is his 3-point shooting, but once he gets that down, the rest of the league will take notice if they haven't already now.
In Fox’s Moment, he does what he’s best at and runs the open floor with rookie Tyrese Haliburton, who sees the streaking Fox and lays it off where Fox flushes home the break with a one-handed slam. I love how the break is between the Kings' future guards in Haliburton and Fox, as they could be the Kings backcourt of the future. It's also Fox's first Rare Moment of Season 2.
Jaylen Brown
Next up, we have Jaylen Brown, who was dubbed an All-Star for the first time in his young career. Brown has made significant strides in all aspects of his game since being the #3 overall pick out of Cal.
In college, players would sag off Brown at the 3-point line as that was a glaring weakness to his game, but those days are long behind Brown. Brown is shooting an astounding 40% from three with nearly seven attempts a game launched from beyond the arc.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are one of the youngest and brightest duos in the association. Brown is also a great two-way player - meaning he’s an impact on the offensive side of the ball but is also a tricky defender to get around.
His Moment starts out guarding Tyrese Haliburton and ends up poking the ball free, eventually going coast-to-coast to throw down the easy two in transition. This will be Brown’s second Rare Moment of Season 2, accompanying his All-Star Game Moment. Expect his and Fox’s Moment to lead the Pack price-wise.
Kyle Kuzma
Any Los Angeles Lakers player is a highly coveted one in Top Shot, and Kyle Kuzma is no different. Kuzma has finally seemed to adjust to his role beside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, averaging 12 points a game. Another ring this season wouldn’t hurt Kuzma’s case either.
Laker’s Moments tend to go higher than other teams just for the fact it’s Los Angeles, and they’re potentially the biggest market in the NBA, even with the New York Knicks surging. They are reigning NBA champions, too, after all.
In Kuzma’s Moment, he acknowledges the mismatch with Kendrick Nunn (also receiving a Metallic Gold Moment) and takes it baseline with Bam Adebayo’s help coming a second too late. Kuzma soars over him, slashing to the rim, depositing home the easy dunk.
James Wiseman
James Wiseman just went down with a season-ending injury suffering a meniscus injury in his right knee, and will be out the remainder of the season. This will hinder the recently turned 20-year-old in the short term, but there’s no doubt in my mind he'll come back stronger in his sophomore season.
Wiseman has had a disappointing rookie season averaging 12 points, six rebounds, and a block a game, which isn’t terrible for a rookie. That should show you the potential this kid has, even with NBA fans and Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, being disappointed in how Wiseman has looked this season. Teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have expressed confidence in the rookie, stating they see him as being a threat in the league for a long time and being an All-Star before you know it.
The sky is the limit for Wiseman and his potential, considering he only played three games in college. Wiseman will have to be a better rim protector, though.
Speaking of rim protection, that’s what Wiseman does in his Metallic Gold Moment, swatting a shot by Jake Layman out of bounds. Now - with Wiseman's injury - there will only be a set amount of rookie Moments, making them more scarce.
Isaac Okoro
Another rookie, joining James Wiseman, is the fifth overall pick, Isaac Okoro, from this year’s draft.
Okoro has the chance to be a defensive stud in the league guarding some of the league’s best players this year, ranging from Steph Curry to LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers. When at Auburn, Okoro had the highest block percentage out of any wing in the NCAA with an exceptional steal rate to go along with it. With Collin Sexton and Darius Garland as the backcourt of the future for the Cavs, Okoro slots in perfectly next to the rising backcourt.
The downside with Okoro this year has been his lackluster offensive game. Okoro was never a great three-point shooter in college, but if he can add that to his repertoire, he would be a threat on both ends of the floor. It all depends on that three, but if he can work on that in the off-season, Okoro will fit seamlessly next to Garland and Sexton. Jarrett Allen and Okoro have a chance to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
Okoro has a nasty Moment coming in this drop. Okoro catches the ball in the left corner looking like he’ll settle for a 3-pointer but instantly dashes to the rim and posterizes the presumed MVP, Nikola Jokić. It’s a beautiful Moment, and with rookie badges to go along, it should be a nice Moment to add to anyone’s collection. It should be one of the higher-priced Moments in this drop.
Other Notable Moments:
Desmond Bane
Killian Hayes
Michael Porter Jr.
Norman Powell
Patrick Williams
All views are my own.