Jesse Haynes May 11, 2023

wemby auto 2022-23 bowman university basketball

Bowman Chrome University Basketball 2022-23 is returning again this season with some big names and some changes to the brand. Here’s our analysis of the good, the bad, and the questions that are yet to be answered.

This product is set to release on June 6, 2023. 

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2022-23 Bowman Chrome University Basketball product introduction 

Bowman Chrome University Basketball launched for the first time in 2021-22, and it has been met with a lukewarm reception. That box, which was pre-ordering for around $200, now resells for less than $50.

This season ushers in some important changes. For one, the cards are now licensed, meaning they can feature the college mascots, logos, and team names. While college cards are never going to be better than NBA cards, these do at least look 10x better than last year’s version.

Second, Bowman shucked the “university” aspect and features a crop of prospects whether they played college basketball or not. And that’s a great thing since four or five of the top picks are either international or G-Leaguers.

Note that this product doesn’t have a G-League License, as the NCAA cards have logos while the G-League do not.

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And yes, that means this will be the first licensed autograph cards of Victor Wembanyama from a basketball set (there were a few in the Bowman University Inception Release). And, for that matter, Caitlin Clark has an autograph in this product, too. Topps is riding the wave of what’s hot, no doubt. 

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What to expect from 2022-23 Bowman Chrome University Basketball

Bowman Chrome University maintains the same basic makeup as the previous year’s: Each box offers 4 cards per pack and 24 packs per box.

It’s quite a few cards, especially since they’re all essentially rookie cards (or even pre-rookie cards, for a select few), but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll age well.

What’s in each box? Per Topps, expect to find

• (2) Autograph Cards
• (4) 2009 Bowman Insert Cards
• (3) Skyscraping Insert Cards
• (2) Bowman Invicta Insert Cards
• (1) Chrome Shimmer Parallel
• (4) Refractor Parallels
• (2) Colored Parallels/Image Variations 

We do not have a release price yet for the hobby, but Blasters are pre-ordering for $30, so we can guess it will be $200+. That said, the first Wembanyama autos will surely cost a fortune, so we’ll just have to see. 

And a note on the release year: in the future when we’re looking back on this product, it might be a bit confusing that this is the Wemby year. Most basketball fans know 2003-04 to be the LeBron rookie year, and in the same way, 2023-24 could become an iconic Wemby rookie year. Just bear that in mind since this is a 2022-23 product. The green parallel of this card is making waves for the Topps Ultimate Collectors Experience, which is going to award a one-of-a-kind “first-ever signed” Wemby card to one lucky winner.

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2022-23 Bowman Chrome University Basketball

The inserts are about the same as last year, but none of them are really money-makers. “2009 Bowman” falls 1:6 packs (I love having odds back) and “honors the ’09-10 design, which was an homage to 1948 Bowman Basketball, the first traditional basketball card product.” So yes, this is a design based on a design, based on a design. Makes sense. 

Skyscraping features skyscrapers and high-flying young stars. Nothing groundbreaking here.

The big money will be in the autographs and low-numbered parallels. Autographs include base autographs, plus Prime Signatures, and hobby-exclusive Invicta Autographs (#/99) and The Big Kahuna Autographs (#’d).

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From Topps, the base parallels include:

• Refractor– 1:6 Packs
• Shimmer Refractor – 1 per Hobby Box – Hobby Exclusive!
• Purple Refractor Parallel – #’d to 399
• Aqua Refractor Parallel – #’d to 299
• Blue Refractor Parallel – #’d to 199
• Fuchsia Mini-Diamond Refractor – #’d to 150
• RayWave Refractor – #’d to 100
• Green Refractor – #’d to 99
• Green Shimmer Refractor – #’d to 99 – Hobby Exclusive!
• Yellow Refractor – #’d to 75
• Gold Refractor – #’d to 50
• Gold Shimmer Refractor – #’d to 50 – Hobby Exclusive!
• Orange Refractor – #’d to 25
• Orange Shimmer Refractor – #’d to 25 – Hobby Exclusive!
• Red Shimmer Refractor – #’d to 10 – Hobby Exclusive!
• Red Refractor – #’d to 5
• Black Shimmer Refractor – #’d 1-of-1 – Hobby Exclusive!
• SuperFractor – #’d 1-of-1
• Base Set Image Variations

The Autograph Parallels look like this:

• Refractor – #/499
• RayWave Refractor – #/199
• Green Refractor – #/99
• Yellow Refractor – #/75
• Gold Refractor – #/50
• Gold Lava Refractor – #/50 (Hobby)
• Orange Refractor – #/25
• Orange Shimmer Refractor – #/25 (Hobby)
• Red Refractor – #/5
• Red Shimmer Refractor – #/5
• SuperFractor – 1/1

I’m going to assume that since the basic orange refractor auto /25 isn’t marked as “hobby” by Topps that it can be pulled from blasters. That makes retail shopping a bit of fun! Imagine hitting a /25 Wemby out of your local Walmart. 

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Investing in Bowman Chrome University 2022-23

For the sake of this section, we’re going to assume a release price of around $200 – $250.

Given last year’s product’s crash in price, there’s not an amazing case to be made for investing in this one. Maybe it was the rookie class and not having Paolo autos, but football suffered too – it was released at $250 and is reselling for less than $100 now.

Upon the time of writing this (5/11), the highest-selling recent sales for 2021-22 Bowman Chrome University basketball on eBay was the Chet Superfractor auto, which sold for $1000, and the Shaedon Sharpe Big Kahuna SSP auto that sold for $300. 

$300 is not good as the second-highest-selling card for an entire brand over the last 90 days.

So what does this mean? 

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Investing in Bowman Chrome University wax boxes

Given the drop of the 2021-22 basketball and football boxes, which both lost over half of their pre-order value over the last year, there’s no way we can recommend investing in this sealed product.

While adding an NCAA  license and a Wemby auto will definitely help Bowman U keep its value this year, it won’t gain value. 

Buying sealed products is a long-term investment, and college cards are never going to be a good long-term hold since the NBA-licensed cards will come out before you’re ready to flip what you own. It’s an easy stay-away for long-term holds.

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Investing in rookies

There’s a 0.1% chance that when Fanatics becomes the NBA-licensed cards and takes over from Panini, somehow these Bowman 1st cards become very collectible, like Bowman baseball, and prospect cards are suddenly worth vast sums of money.

Don’t count on it. My gut (and the dismal performance from autos in the previous year of this product) tells me that Bowman University Chrome basketball is a stay-away for long-term rookie investing, too. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money off this product…

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Bottom line: The best thing to do might be… rip

If you’re looking to make money off this product, your best bet would be to open the box and be one of the first to market with the rookie autographs therein.

If you’re lucky enough to hit a nice Wemby, it could be life-changing. If not, you’re probably going to recoup half your investment.  But if you can live with that and want a little rush, ripping a box might actually be the best move.

Of course, a financial advisor (even one that’s pro-sports cards) would say this box should be a stay-away, and it really should be, but if you want to roll the dice and rip this affordable box while chasing the first chrome auto of generational talent, then go right ahead. Just don’t spend anything you can’t afford to lose. 

What do you think of this product? What will it be worth in 5 years? Let us know on Twitter @card_lines and sign up for our free newsletter right here. 

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2022-23 Bowman Chrome University Basketball Checklist

A full searchable checklist of the 2022-23 Bowman Chrome University Basketball product:

2022-23 Bowman Chrome U Basketball