Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Approaching 10 years of @30HomeGames. A decade of travelling and connecting over a shared love of basketball.

This year I'll be celebrating 10 years since founding 30HomeGames in Vilnius, Lithuania. I was recently invited on 'The Baseline Podcast' with Stevie Cozens to share my stories as a basketball traveller.

VIDEO: Official EuroBasket 2011 Anthem (English version)

Stevie is a New Zealander with a passion for hoops, he has an interesting mixture of guests who cover a range of perspectives on the game. The pandemic has put a halt on life as usual for all of us. Putting privileges like travel and opportunity in perspective, I'm lucky to have been able to take my chances over the years. Whilst New Zealand is an emerging basketball nation, Stevie and the Baseline Podcast is a great example of how technology and shared interests can open our world and shrink the distance between us. Even when we're robbed of travel or away from the action.

Stevie's guests on the Baseline Podcast have mirrored epiphanies I've had on my own journey. Photographer Diandra Ann shares her discoveries after being exposed to a wider universe of hoops through her work and fandom.

Catching Up With Diandra Ann, The Queen of Blazers Twitter

DIANDRA ANN: (10m 55s) This is all a new world to me. I'm getting familiar with it as I go because there's so much that I don't know still but like you said this is really well known outside of the United States. I think of a lot of it is why you watch basketball? Do you watch basketball because you like LeBron James (nothing against LeBron James, he's a fantastic player). But do you watch basketball because of that or do you watch basketball cause you like to watch basketball? And I think if you're a person who just likes to watch basketball there are so many other people out there that you could be watching including organisations like FIBA...

For Diandra, her exposure began when she started working with Swish Cultures and FIBA. Having international colleagues and doing work with a global focus on the game gave her access to another perspective. Travel has usually been my gateway. I've cultivated my curiosity by exploring different cultures but personal connections to places and people cement that fondness. 30HomeGames began after spending an incredible month backpacking around hoops-mad Lithuania as they hosted EuroBasket '11. The festival atmosphere connecting with hoopheads from around Europe and the amazing hospitality from locals has been a high I've chased ever since.  

DIANDRA: (16m 16s) When you put people in that are the best of what you've got then you've got the fans behind you and you build that global awareness for the game outside of just the United States. I still feel like I don't fully understand all of it as far as all the leagues, who's where and all that stuff. I'm kinda figuring it out as I go cuz it's all very new for me because I wasn't really exposed to it before. 

When you hear people say all the time "Representation Matters. Exposure Matters" and all those things and that's very true because if you don't know it exists its hard to be familiar with it. As it gets more recognition and as it becomes a bigger thing we're gonna hopefully see excitement building for basketball outside of the NBA and the WNBA...  

I'm a big believer in narrative, its a powerful drive in basketball. Its the reason we adore certain teams and players and why we despise others. It's also what pushes us to collect certain basketball cards or buy certain sneaker colourways. Its worth examining those stories because I think it tells us a lot about ourselves and each other. Looking at all my faves through the years, I've found that I have a bias towards, underdogs, small market teams and international players which I touched on in my episode.

Another conversation that resonated with me was Stevie's chat with Kaan Erel. Kaan was a contestant on 'GM School' which originally aired on NBATV and YouTube. His perspective on networking reflected my own, interestingly 'GM School' host Ben Lyons has been one of the most meaningful connections I've made on my 30HomeGames journey. I speak on that in my conversation with Stevie.

VIDEO: GM School - Kaan Erel

Kaan unpacks the basics of interpersonal connection and being able to present oneself as a professional asset. His words also double as great life advice.

Career In Basketball Media With Kaan Erel

KAAN EREL: (34m 22s) Networking is crucial to display who you are to the people that you want... you gotta know who you are and be able to describe yourself in a way that you agree with it. Once you stop trying to get someone else to agree that you are worth it... once you find your own self worth, it becomes easy to talk about it to other people...

You never know when relationships will become something of actual business or professional value but if you don't go into them with that in mind they hold value just because of the connection... It's all about building connections that can amount to different things in the future. That's what I think networking is. It's not about "I need to find a job" or "I need to change out". I wanna meet more people because that's what life is actually about. 

This sentiment by Kaan is something I touched on with Stevie. I have a similar philosophy around social media and been blessed to find the right people. My first NBA game was in 2015 at Madison Square Garden. As I do before embarking on my trips, I try to reach out to the destination NBA teams in search of a unique fan experience. During that time I had a modest 200+ Instagram followers (admittedly I don't have too much more 10 years on) but the New York Knicks graciously provided our traveling crew pregame access. That initial experience proved to me I didn't need to have tens of thousands of followers to warrant a connection. Genuineness and openness with timing and good fortune mixed in can go a long way. 

Its an honour to be able to share my story on the Baseline Podcast. Enjoy the show.

Follow Stevie Cozens online here:
- Twitter at @StevieCozens
- Instagram at @BasketballContentNZ
- Subscribe to 'The Baseline Podcast'

Follow Diandra Ann online here:
- Twitter at @DiandraAnn
- Instagram at @Diandra.Ann

Follow Kaan Eral online here:
- Twitter at @iKaanic
- Instagram at @iKaanic

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Saturday, April 24, 2021

30HG Interviews | Dean Lockhart aka @Karl_Malone_collector: Premier collector of Karl Malone trading cards

I first got into the NBA in 1993, my younger brothers and I soon declaring our favourite players and rooting interests. I got Hakeem, my younger brother chose Reggie and the youngest nominated Malone. Looking back on it, we're not quite sure why Jordan didn't figure highly but his retirement must've been the reason. All three were nemeses of Jordan when he returned so we were destined to be on the other side of history. Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz, arguably the most iconic counterbalance for the Bulls' second 3-peat.

Back in those days Dennis Rodman got all the headlines for being the oddball, he was wearing wedding dresses and made the covers of my Mad Magazines. When Rodman and Malone extended their Finals rivalry into the squared circle, the collision of interests was this high school kid's dream. I only found out recently it was all due to Malone. A fortuitous friendship was formed when Karl, a wrestling fan signaled to DDP with his trademark "Diamond Cutter" after spotting him at a Jazz game. The rest is history.  

#NBLxNBA Road trip to Salt Lake City (2017)
Those consecutive NBA Finals gave us more exposure of the small market Jazz. I'd watch Malone arrive to games in his Harley and think, "this guy's different". Today's league values expression and individuality, a reflection of the zeitgeist. I'd argue Karl Malone endures as one of the game's true unicorns but an underappreciated one at that. His checkered history away from the game a factor most likely.

At the end of May, Sydney will host 'The Hobby Hangout Trading Card Show'. As soon as I spotted Dean Lockhart 'The Karl Malone Collector' as a featured presenter I was immediately intrigued. He still remains the second leading scorer of all time but is rarely mentioned. Many of today's generation of fans know little about this recent great and even with all the independent creators, Karl Malone's 36,928 points are unlikely to feature in many modern highlight reels.
I reached out to Dean to find out about his collection and his connection to 'The Mailman'.

1. What was your first Karl Malone card?
My first ever Malone card was a pack pulled 93/94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings which I still have to this day in my collection.

2. What made you start the collection?
I think I was around 11 years old and after pack pulling that card I decided that day he was the guy I wanted to collect. My brother was into Hakeem 'The Dream' Olajuwon and my mate next door was a big Shaq fan so had to be different to one another. I was a huge Jordan fan but his prices were out of the realms that I could ever possibly collect.

3. What's your philosophy on collecting?
My philosophy is to nail down exactly what you want and who you want to collect (whether it be the first big card you pack pull or an NBA game that you watched and you made a decision to go yep that's the player I rate). For me, it was all about the insert chases. Base I didn’t care for much because it was so common, I was always after the refractors and rare insert chase. Even to this day, I prefer the short print, simple sleek designs. Prime example is the blank slate card from Court Kings – just wow what a simplistic but eye catching design. You'll also notice my collection is very "autograph" based because it was how I wanted to collect coming back into the hobby 2 years ago. To others out there starting or deciding, really find the niche you want and go for it. Don't try to collect everything, it's a slippery slope...


4. How do you feel about the current state of the culture?
It's fantastic to see a resurgence, not so much for collectors who have been in the scene for a while and can no longer pick up cards for a lot cheaper than before. The prices of boxes are exorbitant, and Panini don't make it easy for you to collect a "Rainbow" chase, but they are only doing what they see as a business model to follow economic trends and the resurgence of cards. One thing that annoys me is the new money coming in to the scene with these so called "flippers/investors". I congratulate the people that can afford to get those high end cards. But what still baffles me is how a bball player that is unproven has cards way overvalued compared to Hall of Famers and players that have had glittering careers or perhaps I'm just a salty collector who chose the wrong player (laughs). Credit to the hobbyists who have the smarts to buy low and sell high at the right time but I think any true collector finds it annoying because it’s driving up the market and not to mention causing major delays with grading but hey it’s part of the hobby and it's here to stay for a while. 

5. What do you make of the Australian scene?
The Australian scene is growing in leaps and bounds daily. Breakers are popping up everywhere, and not to mention the fast rate of growth for numbers of people in Facebook trading card groups. Instagram pages are popping up with people showing off their collections which is really cool. A lot of the guys I have dealt with have been genuine enthusiasts and for the most part take the time to talk and ask about your collection and help out wherever possible. Sure there are some people that have no interest in creating friendships, but rather there to make a quick buck and leave. Every hobby has those kinds of people but for the majority of it everyone is helpful, friendly, enthusiasts and always looking at ways to grow the hobby. 

6. Do you think there’ll be anything in the near future that will dramatically change the value of Malone cards?
Anyone who is a basketball enthusiast will know of Malone's past which has probably tarnished the value of his cards and people in the hobby maintain that and can't get past it even though he has owned up to those mistakes and done his best to rectify off court behaviours. I mean 2nd in all time point scoring is some feat and people often forget how much of a beast he was on the court.

"He embraces the truck driving, he embraces the country ways... He was a perfect fit for that Utah culture."
- Roland Lazenby, Author 'Stockton to Malone'

7. I consider Karl a unique character. Did that have personal appeal for you?
I would say it had some sort of appeal because being a sports person myself you need to have other passions and hobbies. For me it was just watching Stockton dish up dimes for Malone to stuff coming down the lane. You love to see the signature Malone poster dunks.

8. By focusing on Malone, do you think you're a unicorn in the card collecting scene?
There's a very select amount of Malone collectors around Australia and the world that I have connected with via the various social media platforms and we are definitely rare to find so I would certainly consider myself a bit of unicorn as such.

9. Where do you sit on the NFT buzz? You waiting for a Karl Malone NBA Topshot to drop?
For me mate – I think they are absolutely ridiculous and a waste of money. I mean you can go on Youtube and basically download the clip you'd like and chop it and change how you please. I think the crypto world has tried to creep in and for me it doesn't work. It will leave as quick as it came in.

10. Despite the team dominating this season, the Jazz' All-Stars were slighted with LeBron justifying it by saying Utah has always been unpopular. Thoughts?
It's true no one ever used them because they weren't your ideal go-to stars. Much like today's players, they aren't household names like LeBron. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are undervalued and just go about their work winning games as did Malone and Stockton in their day!

11. You've got a few Lakers' Malone cards. What are your feelings on this part of the collection and this part of his career?
At first I only wanted Jazz signed cards but it was still a significant time in his career as it was a shift to a powerhouse team. The big thing that annoys me is when he signs "Malone 32" on a Lakers jersey #11 card. Fun fact is that I represented my country in Futsal (indoor soccer) and the jersey I used to wear was number 11 so it's kinda cool that as a collector I wore his jersey number which was unplanned.

12. Do you have Malone memorabilia worth mentioning?
I have absolutely zero other memorabilia besides a little "Corinthians" Malone figurine. I would love to add a signed bball or shoe but it’s not my immediate chase piece. I do envy the collections I see where people have a jersey, shoe or the aforementioned signed ball but as you can imagine, storage and having it on display can prove tricky.

13. Which modern players do you gravitate towards?
Anyone who doesn't gravitate towards Zion Williamson is just silly. The kid is a generational talent and a supreme athlete despite what the "haters" say. Big, strong and can score points for fun – he is the future of basketball for next 10 years easily.

14. Have you ever traveled for this hobby? Any cool connections or stories you can share?
I have not unfortunately. Only coming back into the hobby 2 years, it wasn't much in the way of Australia having trading shows but to see the interest boom recently, it has changed the landscape of collecting again and I can't wait to feature my collection at The Hobby Hangout in Sydney. Hopefully in the future I can venture to the States for the Dallas card show amongst others.

- Find Dean's featured collection at The Hobby Hangout in Manning House, Sydney University. Saturday, 29th of May.
- View my IG snaps from The Hobby Hangout
- Follow Dean on Instagram at @karl_malone_collector 

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