1996-97 E-X2000 showcased a new era for basketball cards. The high-end, foil-bordered product featured 80 players set against a transparent background of blue sky and clouds. Parallel versions of each card — named "Credentials" — were each serial numbered to 499, making it one of the first serial-numbered parallels in the hobby. Credentials, with an alternate foil border, were difficult to find, especially given the product's composition of two cards per pack and 24 packs per box, and are condition sensitive.

The key cards in 1996-97 E-X2000, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson, take the product and its Credentials parallels to rarified air.

This lot features all 80 players, including two checklists cards, with two of its key cards graded in Mint condition, making this a must-have for any basketball fan or card collector. The graded cards seldom receive such high grades. Just 36 cards of a Kobe Bryant E-X2000 Credentials Rookie Card have been graded in the 9 tier – and only nine cards have ever received a higher grade, according to the BGS’s census report. Of the Iverson examples reviewed by BGS, only 23 have received a 9 grade with no cards grading higher!

While the remaining cards in this Credentials set are not graded, the set features a slew of NBA Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon.

The cards’ BGS condition reports:

Bryant: Centering 9.5, Corners 9, Edges 9, Surface 8.5.

Iverson: Centering 8.5, Corners 9, Edges 9.5, Surface 9.

This exciting collection of the full set of the 1996-97 E-X2000 Credentials parallel cards is filled with Hall of Famers and superstars. A complete set is difficult to obtain and even more thrilling is the added Bryant and Iverson Rookie Cards in Mint condition.

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