CARDBOARD REVIEW:2018-2019 Optic Basketball

Panini Optic is taking awhile to grow on me, but slowly it has started to. Still not my favorite Panini product but not my least favorite either. If I go "chrome" I usually go Prizm over Optic. But, Optic still has it's place in the hobby.

But today's break isn't also any kind of Optic either, it's the grand debut of Optic Contenders for basketball! Normally just a football release, it has made its way to the hard court.

Mixing Contenders a famous product with Optic is a dangerously fun adventure. Let's check it out.

Each box of 2018-2019 Contenders Optic has 1 pack. Each pack has 6 cards so it's quite the gamble for $105 roughly a box. You are hoping each card is worth $15-20 each. Each box comes with 1 autograph and 2 parallels and 2 inserts.

BASE:

The base card design is simply Optic-ing the base set for Contenders. They are very thick as well.

There are 100 cards in the base set to collect.

PARALLELS:
Overall look at the parallels are these, Silver, Red, Blue /99, Orange /49, Gold /10, Gold Vinyl 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

Silver of Bradley Beal

Red of Ben Simmons

INSERTS: 
They have the following parallels

PARALLEL CARDS: Gold /10 and Gold Vinyl 1/1.

CRACKED ICE PARALLELS: Blue and Red.

Hall Of Fame Contenders has 20 cards to collect. There is a rainbow shine to this one to.

Superstar has 10 cards to collect in the set and has a really unique die cut design. You can't see it through my pics but it also has a refractor look to it as well.

HITS:

 

My one autograph was a pretty solid find! He also has a nice signature to go along with it. He was the second overall pick in the draft and played for my favorite college basketball team Duke.

Other hits not found in my box include,

• Rookie Ticket Variation Autograph
• Veteran Season Ticket Autographs
• Contenders Tribute Autograph
• Legendary Contenders Autographs
• NBA Ink Set
• Sophomore Contenders Autographs
• Up and Coming Contenders Autographs

There are other inserts I didn't pull either, but I won't include those in this review as I know most readers are just focused on the main parts of the product.

OVERALL: Box cost is steep for such little cards, but there is a lot of potentially big time hits to find.I was fortunate in my break to find a top rookie autograph but I am sure there are a lot of other lower end rookies to find as well.

What I do like is the fact there is also a lot of veteran autograph content so you are not just banking on a rookie to do something. The checklist is loaded with the stars.

And what else can I say, the cards look nice and there is a ton of shine. Right up this bloggers alley.

If you can't afford a full box or don't like to gamble, try or get into a box break. That will probably be the most affordable way to enjoy it.

I strongly recommend using Midwest Box Breaks for your breaking needs. They are always hitting the big pulls so if they are breaking this, you could put yourself in a good spot. They also SHIP ALL CARDS! Get what you pay for!

Please thank Panini America and Tracy Hackler for providing this box for me to review to giveaway some of the hits ON TWITTER!! Please follow them on all social media sites and visit their website for all your card needs, HERE.