BACKCHICAGO COLLECTOR BRIAN LIDDELL WINS 2023-24 PANINI NBA PLAYER OF THE DAY NATIONAL SWEEPSTAKES
Bulls Rookie Matas Buzelis Joins Brian, his family, friends and fellow collectors at Tim’s Baseball Cards in Downtown Chicago for Grand Prize Celebration on January 16
Dreams of NBA glory is typically reserved for the court, but one lucky NBA card collector proved that trading cards can be just as rewarding as Brian Liddell, a 44-year-old NBA trading card collector from Chicago, was selected as the 2023-24 Panini NBA Player of the Day National Sweepstakes grand prize winner.
Out of more than 100,000 collectors at 600+ hobby shops nationwide who pulled a player of the day card during the in-store promotion this past summer, Brian’s lucky pack turned into something unforgettable. As part of his grand prize, he hosted Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis at an exclusive celebration on January 16 at the very store where his winning streak began, Tim’s Baseball Cards in Downtown Chicago.
The Panini NBA Player of the Day National Sweepstakes Party included a Q&A with Buzelis who also signed dozens of autographs and posed for photos and then joined in on box breaks with the 40+ VIP guests. Among those in attendance were Brian’s friends and family, including his 4- and 6-year-old sons and their youth basketball teammates, as well as two dozen of Tim’s Baseball Cards’ best customers.
Brian’s grand prize package also included exclusive player of the day autographed cards of Julius Erving, Anfernee Hardaway and Buzelis. Additionally, Brian opened boxes of some of Panini’s most collectible products including National Treasures, One & One, Impeccable, Prizm Draft Picks and Phoenix. To share a couple of the big hits, he pulled a 1/1 Grady Dick Impeccable Rookie card including 1 troy ounce of Silver inside of the card, and an Ausar Thompson National Treasures Rookie card numbered out of /10.
“We are excited to create this special experience for Brian his family and the loyal customers of Tim’s Baseball Cards,” said Jason Howarth, vice president of marketing for Panini. “Collectors like Brian who share their love of collecting sports cards with their kids are truly the lifeblood of the industry. The Player of the Day grand prize is a great platform for us to connect collectors with their favorite players and add unique cards and memorabilia to their collection.”
The Panini NBA Player of the Day promotion was first offered to hobby shops in 2016 while the football edition of the promotion has run every season since 2001. Past NBA Player of the Day Grand Prize winners have had one-on-one experiences with Karl-Anthony Towns, Shaquille O’Neal, Aaron Holiday, Matisse Thybulle, RJ Barrett, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Larry Johnson and Sam Perkins. Highlights of past Grand Prize events are available HERE
The centerpiece of the promotion is a poster featuring Panini card images of one player from each NBA team. Each day, a different player on the poster is designated as the “Panini NBA Player of the Day.” Every time a collector purchases a pack of officially licensed Panini NBA trading cards and pulls the player of the day they win a prize. Each week, stores conduct a drawing from the daily winners to award a weekly prize. Then, at the end of the month-long promotion, each store awarded a grand prize to its store winner and entered them into the national sweepstakes. To learn more, visit www.PaniniPOD.com.
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