NBA Star Mo Bamba Returns to University Roots With Collectibles Store

Locals may be familiar with basketball player Mo Bamba, who graced UT Austin’s team nearly a decade ago before reaching NBA stardom. The less-sports-inclined may recognize Bamba’s name from the title of the Sheck Wes song that heavily referenced the Harlem rapper’s friend as it swept college campuses with viral swagger back in 2018.

A longtime athlete and a pop culture fixture, Bamba can now add “businessman” to his eclectic list of titles. This Friday, Mo Bamba Cards & Collectibles opens its doors at 2350 Guadalupe, just across from his alma mater. 

“Most guys wait until the jersey is off to come back to their college town and do something,” Bamba claims. “I didn’t want to wait.”

The son of Ivory Coast immigrants, Bamba grew up in Harlem, New York. As his basketball prospects ascended, he spent the 2017-2018 season at The University of Texas at Austin where he was named a member of the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer Team.

The baller swiftly entered the 2018 NBA draft as the number six pick, joining the Orlando Magic. A few teams later, he now plays for the Utah Jazz. Yet, the Forty Acres remains in Bamba’s heart, with the card trading business drawing him back to his college roots. 

“I was insistent that we find a place near campus so that it would be accessible to the students and to the UT athletic department,” Bamba writes, adding: “I got to Texas as a freshman with no idea what to do with money or relationships, and I left with the best network of my life.” 

Credit: Mo Bamba Cards & Collectibles

What inspires the player most about the collector’s lifestyle is the community it builds. When sports brand Fanatics asked a group of players, Bamba among them, to visit local card shops, the athlete watched generations come together.

“I figured I’d sign some things, take some pictures and that would be it,” Bamba admits.  “Instead, I walked into a packed room where a 13-year-old and a 45-year-old were standing at the same table, equally locked in.” 

“That stuck with me,” he notes. 

The collectibles store will boast a sports and gaming inventory, with trading cards for football, baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball (of course), and the likes of Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and Magic: The Gathering. Bamba also had a lounge built into the store so visitors can meet and exchange cards. 

“I’m very into design and architecture, so I was constantly reviewing the plans with my team – telling them what should go where, how to optimize the layout for flow, vibe and ambiance, and incorporating all the things that I thought were missing from other card shops that I’ve visited,” Bamba writes.

Some of those features include a TV streaming sports, autographed jerseys, other memorabilia from the player’s career, and a photo station where customers can measure themselves against Bamba’s 7-foot-10-inch wingspan. There’s also an assortment of limited edition and rare cards that will have collectors checking their bank accounts, but Bamba feels scarcity isn’t what makes these cards special.

“It’s the story attached to it,” he writes. “Whether it’s a numbered rookie of a teammate, a piece from a legend I grew up watching, or something a customer inherited from his dad’s collection, the card is the excuse to tell the story.”

As Bamba dives into his newfound business career, he leaves fellow UT athletes with a call to action.

“If you’re a Longhorn reading this, don’t wait until you’re done playing to start building,” Bamba explains. “Do it here, do it right, and do it with people you trust.”

Mo Bamba Cards & Collectibles will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Bamba himself on Friday, Sept. 11. Regular store hours will begin Sunday from 11am to 7pm.

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