San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Nod if you know what these are worth
Who are the most valuable Spurs players of all time? Ask bobblehead collectors and they consistently give the nod to the same four players.
Of all the Spurs bobbleheads on the secondary market, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and David Robinson tend to fetch the most green with Silver and Black fans, especially when those merry Mini-Me’s carry an NBA championship trophy.
Here’s a look at four of the most fantastic Spurs bobbleheads on eBay.
Tim Duncan dominates the Spurs bobblehead market:
The Big Fundamental scores the biggest bucks by far of Spurs bobbleheads. In the past year on eBay, a bobblehead of Duncan with the 2007 NBA championship trophy sold for $203.51, while another Tiny Tim featuring the Hall of Famer with four championship trophies and two MVP trophies sold for $200.
Tony and Manu bring home the Benjamins, too: As with Duncan, bobbleheads of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili also have rung up three figures when they include championship hardware. On eBay, a 2005 NBA Champions Legends of the Court bobblehead of Parker and a
2003 NBA Champions Legends of the Court bobblehead of Ginobili sold for $150 each.
Salute the Admiral: David Robinson’s bestselling bobblehead tends to be a limited edition 2003 NBA Champions Legends of the Court piece, which features the Admiral holding the Spurs’ second Larry O’Brien trophy. Charlie DiPietro, owner of Sports Cards Plus just north of Castle Hills, once sold that Robinson bobblehead for $125, while on eBay it sold for upward of $120 over the past year.
Incidentally, Robinson was the first Spurs bobblehead to take the court as a home-game giveaway. In a March 2001 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Spurs gave out 3,000 lil’ Robinsons to ticket holders whose special numbered voucher
matched the number that the Spurs Coyote drew at center court.
Ahead of the promotion, Robinson told the Express-News he found his (not quite) likeness “pretty scary” and “messed up.” Maybe that’s why that bobblehead has sold for only around $7
to $14 on eBay in the past 12 months.
Future grails?: Forever Collectibles, now known as FOCO, made many of those bestselling Spurs bobbleheads. The New Jersey-based company is now taking preorders for special bobbleheads of Duncan, Robinson and Spurs great George Gervin to mark the NBA’s 75th anniversary. Each bobblehead costs $75 and is limited to 275 pieces.
As for which active Spurs players get the most play on eBay these days, Pounding the Rock blogger Jeph Duarte said some fans are purchasing new bobbleheads for Spurs guard Keldon Johnson for around $45 before they’ve even been released.
Because of supply chain issues, the Johnson bobbleheads didn’t arrive in time for their March 18 giveaway at the AT&T Center, so the Spurs handed out vouchers to the first 10,000 fans to claim the bobblehead at a later date. A few of those vouchers already sold on eBay. Dejounte Murray’s bobblehead could meet the same fate if it doesn’t pop up at the AT&T Center in time for its planned giveaway Friday.