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Ira Winderman: In an interesting twist, the Heat's affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, have acquired the G League rights to center Mo Bamba. As part of the deal, the Heat have traded away their G League rights to Trevor Keels to the Wizards' affiliate.
The booming trading card world fascinated NBA veteran Mo Bamba from the jump when simply serving as a special guest at an Austin card shop a few years ago. The experience hooked the former Texas standout immediately, and the wonderment only grew from there. “People from age 13 to 45 were all in there, and they all commonly shared a joy for the hobby,” Bamba said. “I’ve always seen how kids like to experience their sports heroes, but I didn’t know how directly correlated it was to the sports card industry world. I used to hear about people having a sports card collection or having this vintage Babe Ruth card or having these signed Kobe (Bryant) cards. “Since then, the wheels kind of started spinning about how much I could get involved in it.”
Bamba has now gone from interested spectator to collector to card shop owner. Mo Bamba Sports Cards & Collectibles will open Friday in north Austin, near the University of Texas, where Bamba played for one year before becoming the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. After years of professional athletes’ involvement in the sports card space being limited to posing for the pictures on the cards, signing autographs and making convention appearances after retirement, many are now taking a far greater interest in it. For a growing number, that interest is leading to investment in brick-and-mortar operations. As Bamba will open his own trading card shop Friday, hobby darling Cooper Flagg, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, will crack the doors to a trading card shop called Flagg Trading Co. in his hometown of Bangor, Maine, on Saturday.
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Tom Brady has become the most notable athlete to branch out into the trading card space. CardVault by Tom Brady, of which he is a co-owner, has 17 locations across the country — and aims to reach 100-plus — and has become a hit within the sports and entertainment world. Brady has corralled new investors such as New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, musician and entrepreneur Jay-Z, Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry, The Kraft Group, Boston Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck and UFC president and CEO Dana White. “You know, at the end of the day, it’s the industry, but we love sports,” Brady said. “And we love sports that bring people together, communities together. We’ve been sitting in stadiums for a long time watching fans of every economic background, race, religion, come to the stadiums to cheer us on. And I think sports in our communities, it brings people together in ways nothing else can. I want everybody to be a collector.”
Community also played a role in the location of Mo Bamba Sports Cards & Collectibles. Bamba, who signed a two-year contract with the Utah Jazz in July, spent only one season playing basketball at Texas, but he still lives in Austin during the offseason. Other locations were initially considered, but putting a shop in the city Bamba loves most and right near campus in north Austin became a “clear-cut choice.” Bamba said he’s incorporating elements from his life into the shop, like a mural of his 7-foot-10 wingspan on the wall, as well as images celebrating his Ivorian-American roots and Austin (specifically an “I love you so much” mural, like on South Congress Avenue).
Bamba believes pro athletes getting more involved in the trading card space will have a positive impact. “It helps the industry tremendously because it’s the face on the card — literally,” Bamba said. “It’s the people on the card. It makes you a bit more human knowing that this person on this card is a real person. Say if you weren’t blessed enough to make a game as a fan, and you would just watch on TV. But you just have these cards, knowing that one of your favorite athletes shares a similar card as you. I think it only helps draw more of a connection to it. “But I think the biggest thing it does for the industry is it just makes it cool. We’re sitting here joking about Pokémon being nerdy, but everyone at some point of their lives, at least in my generation, has been a Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, or they’re somewhat knowledgeable about it. So just seeing that your favorite athlete or maybe your favorite artist is well into the space, it just adds a coolness element to it.”
Michael Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba also were seen in the facility going through their offseason process. NBA players have even brought in some of their famous friends, including actor Timothée Chalamet and rapper 2 Chainz for workouts.
Shams Charania: Free agent center Mo Bamba has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN.
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The Utah Jazz are waiving center Mo Bamba before the end of his 10-day contract and signing another player for their upcoming road trip. Bamba contracted an illness that prevented him from traveling with the team to Portland, Sacramento and Minnesota over the next week. His 10-day contract would have run out over that time, meaning the Jazz had to move on.
Shams Charania: 7-footer Mo Bamba is signing a 10-day contract with the Utah Jazz, Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports and Greer Love tell ESPN. Bamba spent time earlier this season with the Raptors and has averaged 17 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate.