CARDBOARD REVIEW:2020-2021 Select Basketball

I don't think I post enough about basketball collecting despite my uptick in collecting it these past two years, it has actually overtaken baseball for me as a sport to collect and watch.

This year was probably the most basketball I have watched since the 90's and even though the playoff Knicks didn't play like the ones from that era, they still made the playoffs and brought some excitement back to the game for myself.

I will say though, I was still happy with the end result with Giannis and the Bucks taking home the trophy. It was nice to not see one of those Super Teams win, sorry Nets and Lakers fans.

Today will be one of the most expensive basketball breaks I have done all year so far and possibly for the whole year. Let's check out some 20-21 Select basketball.

Each hobby box of 2020-2021 Select basketball comes with 12 packs of 5 cards each. You will find three hits, 12 prizm parallels and a good amount of rookies. Each box, hope you are sitting down when you are reading this...can range from $850-$1000 per box. Did you fall over from your seat?

Now let's check out how my break went.

BASE:

The base set is broken down to three levels and each level is labeled on the back of the card.

Concourse is the basic one

Premier Level is the next one

Courtside is the top level, which means hardest to find in a box.

Each level has 100 cards that has veteran players and rookies as well.

Speaking of the rookies, my box was rough on me in that aspect in terms of finding the superstar big names.

Concourse (Edwards was my best rookie of the box)

(yessss PC!)

Premier Level

One Courtside rookie

Now we will move onto parallels which there are plenty to find.

PARALLELS:

Select offers the following parallels,

PARALLEL CARDS: Green White Purple, Teal White Pink /49, Lucky Envelopes /8, Black White Gold 1/1.
CRACKED ICE PARALLELS: Blue White Purple, Red White Green.
FLASH PARALLELS: Red White Orange, Blue White Green /49, Black White Gold 1/1.
SHIMMER PARALLELS: Red White Orange, Blue White Green /49, Black White Gold 1/1.
PRIZMS PARALLELS: Blue Retail, Elephant, Scope, Silver, Tiger, Tri-Color, Zebra, Light Blue /299, Red /199, White /149, Neon Green /75, Tie-Dye /25, Gold /10, Green /5, Black 1/1
DISCO PRIZMS PARALLELS: Base, Red /49, Blue /25, Gold /10, Green /5, Black 1/1
PULSAR PRIZMS FOTL PARALLELS: Neon Orange /15, Neon Purple /5, Black Snake Skin Pulsar 1/1.
WAVE PRIZMS PARALLELS: Gold, Red.

 

Silver

Light Blue

Scope

??? (haha)

(Same goes for this one ????) This is a Blue Die Cut

Now onto these inserts. Well, insert I pulled.

INSERTS:

There are 9 overall inserts to chase in Select, but I only found one in the whole box. Most of the inserts also offer the following parallels, Blue, Green, Red, Silver, Gold /10, and Black 1/1.

Future Isaiah Stewart

Now onto what you have been waiting for....THE HITS!

HITS:

Selective Swatches Myles Turner

Rookie Jersey autographs of Jordan Nwora

And finally, MY PRECIOUS (I state as I hold this card) a rookie signature of Precious Achiuwa.

All hits have their form of parallels as well. The Precious I believe is just what the base rookie signatures looks like with the silver.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I have always been a fan of Select since the 90's. I really like what Panini has done with the product as well and this is a product just behind Prizm in terms of hobby popularity when it comes to rookie card chasing. Some believe it may be ahead.

Obviously the price right now is really steep, and my break doesn't suggest over $850 in value so I sure that glared at you as well.. The product is obviously a huge gamble that can definitely pay off with the right hit or right rookie parallel. So I would suggest jumping in on a box break if you like this product and can't afford a box.

Thoughts on my break is welcomed below and stay tuned for some giveaways either on here or on Twitter coming up soon!

Review: Panini Gold Standard Basketball 2013-2014

A box of cards that come shipped in a box the shape of a gold brick, how can you not want to give it a try? One of Panini's most popular brands among NBA collectors makes an awesome return in 2013-2014 packed with everything that collectors want. Just see for yourself!

Before I start my review, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America: official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. If you don't follow them at all..you should! They interact with you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!

Now onto the review:

BOX BREAK DOWN: 

• 1 Pack Per Box, 10 Cards Per Pack
• Each Box contains Four Autographs and One Memorabilia Card
• One Metal Card Per Box

PRICE: You can find most boxes around $170

WITHIN THE BOX:

Base Cards:
Chris Paul #d 198/199
Andre Miller #d 196/199
Tyler Hansbrough #d 34/199

Inserts:
Dwayne Wade Metal Card

Memorabilia (non-autographed):
Kemba Walker Black Gold #d 5/25
Blake Griffin Gold Records (14k Gold) #d 15/20

Autographs/Autograph Memorabilia
Ryan Kelly Memorabilia Auto Rookie Card
Quincy Acy Gold Strike Autograph #d 242/299
Phil Pressey Gold Strike Autograph #d 177/299
Isiah Thomas Gold Strike Autograph Redemption #d /299

DESIGN:
If you are looking for an overall product with eye appeal, well you found one right here. From the base cards to the autographs, everything is gold and has a shine to it.

The Black Gold jersey cards look outstanding. A nice size swatch and a decent shot of a player has this card well balanced in design. Not too much of one thing or another.

And the Gold Record design paying tribute to Rock And Rollers looks great as well printed in black and gold with the gold record being an actual piece of 14K gold.

And all autographs are ON CARD! That also helps with design in the product as its much more elegant without stickers.

The metal cards, my first one, are very heavy and a very unique collectible to be had.

COOL NOTES:  Look for Solid Gold Cards with photos on real 14 Karat Gold. This is very cool!
Also you can find 25 short-printed variations cards featuring players wearing the jerseys of every team they've played for. Makes for quite the chase! Also in this years product is four brand-new autograph inserts all numbered to 299 or less!

THOUGHTS: 
Well, this was my first time ever opening this product because it is expensive but I must say I am overly impressed. The appeal from the outside of the box, a gold brick, the value (at least in this box) and the overall design of this product makes me wonder why I hadn't tried it earlier. I guess the fear of not pulling back my money's worth was part of the problem. With a great break of the product like this one, hitting the Griffin as my top card in the pack may help tempt me to come back again. I must state again,  with every product, there is some risk involved but if I am going to take such a risk, I would take it with a product like this one that has so much to offer.

You ask what does it have to offer, I say on-card autographs, glimmer and shine, chances at a card completely made of gold and cards with gold pieces in them. Almost every card being numbered helping values. Not to mention and I will say it again, a really nice design.

One of the weird and only disappointing thing I found with the product was that every card is numbered EXCEPT the autographed/memorabilia rookie cards. Those are supposed to be one of the premier hits in a box break and not to find it numbered was a bit odd.

However, overall, I like Gold Standard and wished Panini would extend this brand back out to the NFL. Design and on-card autos alone would help sell it.

  

 

 

  

Panini gets Innovative with Basketball Cards

Panini is came up with a catchy title in their next basketball card release...Panini Innovation Basketball 12-13.

This product is set to arrive in mid August with a 200-card base set that includes 25 View and 75 Rookie View, and each eight-card box will deliver three autograph or memorabilia cards. Meaning this most likely will be a high end product with that limited amount of cards per box.

 

One of the coolest things I found about the product was the Stat Line memorabilia cards featuring statistics and photos from the actual game the jersey on the card was worn. I think this is something that's been needed for awhile. I miss the old Donruss days where they would take a picture of the actual jersey that the piece was cut from and place the photo on the back of the card. What Panini did here was kick it up another notch from the Donruss days.

Let me know what you think of this new product...though there are very little images out so far...and your thoughts on the jersey card featuring the picture from the game it was worn in.

Random Card Of The Day: Panini Threads Triple Threads jersey card of Cousins, Griffin and Lee

I really like this card. I like finding more than one player on a jersey card and having more than one swatch. Makes discovering a plain old jersey card a bit more exciting. The players on it make it exciting as well. Griffin is one of the young talents in the game. David Lee has his moments and we all know about Demarcus Cousins.

What do you think about this card?

Panini Black Friday Event And Gallery

While everyone else is running out to the local shopping centers looking for the best deals...I sit back relaxed knowing I got done shopping way ahead of time. I shop all throughout the year to avoid going to fight someone for that last Xbox  game or last Barbie on the shelf just because its a few dollars cheaper. But while I am sitting here...I am however enjoying the pics I have seen all over Twitter for Panini America's Black Friday Extravaganza!

So I couldn't just leave an event so big like this alone. I have to show some pics and give my thoughts on the cards.

Base Card

 Panini's Black Friday set is of 50 cards ranging from multiple sports. I really like the silver cardboard look of the base cards.

Super Bowl Memorabilia

 For all of you who read this blog on daily or weekly basis..you know I have got to get my hands on the Super Bowl Memorabilia cards. Being a Giants fan I was hugely impressed by the design and very excited that Panini included these into the memorabilia part of the promo cards.

Early asking prices for these cards range from $60-$200 for unsigned. I can only imagine what some of the signed ones will go for.

Insert Card

  Everyone knows how RG3 did on Thanksgiving so finding an insert card like this in a pack is not a bad thing at all.Most of these on the bay are going for $10 or more.

Cracked Ice Autos

These bad boys..a combination of the cracked ice insert that is signed. These cards are beautiful signed or not.

These are going for $200+ on eBay signed right now.

This is only a small glimpse of a gallery. There are tons and tons of different base cards, inserts, autos and memorabilia to drool over. So instead of posting what could be a forever look at the Black Friday cards and posting all of the info with them we give you  Panini's Knights Lance extended coverage of the entire Black Friday pics, info and more with all of their links below:

• November 22, 2012Panini Unwrapped: 2012 Black Friday Craze Starts Now with Chance to Win Free Packs

• November 20, 2012Panini America Previews iCollectPanini.com Black Friday Component, Peeks More Pics

• November 20, 2012Panini America Reveals Preliminary List of 2012 Black Friday Participating Dealers

• November 19, 2012Panini America Previews 2012 Black Friday Cracked Ice Autograph Inserts (Gallery)

• November 18, 2012Panini America Presents: A Complete Visual Guide to the 2012 Black Friday Insert Sets

• November 17, 2012Panini America Presents: A Complete Visual Guide to the 2012 Black Friday Base Set

• November 16, 2012Icy Hot: Panini America Peeks Just Some of the Cracked Ice Autos in 2012 Black Friday

• November 15, 2012Panini America Adds New Tools of the Trade Material in 2012 Black Friday Promotion

• November 14, 2012Panini America’s Black Friday Confidential: Super Bowl XLVI Memorabilia Cards 

• November 13, 2012Panini America Begins Releasing Images of 2012 Black Friday Promotion (Gallery) 

• November 6, 2012Pssst . . . Panini America’s 2012 Black Friday Event is Coming (and Here’s a Sneak Peek)
   

As a collector this is an awesome promotion that Panini puts on and I hope they continue to do it for years. And for those of us who can't make it to a card shop or don't have one..don't worry!! There is an online component of this promo! Just go to iCollectPanini.com and find these packs there! Just make sure you hurry...these are moving faster off the shelves than a Tickle Me Elmo!!

Overall, this years promo should blow away last years numbers as Panini has improved an already successful promo. I stand behind this promo like the other Panini ones. I like how they are taking collecting and kicking it up a notch! Not only awarding us with these tremendous cards as a FREE side bonus for purchasing Panini products from LCS' (which also helps them bring in a lot more customers) and from the iCollectPanini.com site but for always looking out for us as their #1 commitment and not scared to try new things.  Thanks Panini!

Oh, and if you have any pics of these cards to share..please feel free to email us (sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com), or post them on our Facebook page or find us on Twitter!!

REVIEW: 2012-2013 PANINI THREADS BASKETBALL

First off, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America: official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

We are going to start a new review process starting with this product. Just the wanting to showcase the cards more in-depth is the aim here. Let us know your thoughts on our new set up for reviews.

Box Break Down:

• 24 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• (3) Autographs and (1) Memorabilia Card Per Box
• Boxes Run around $96

The Base cards. Front and back are of Kevin Garnett

BASE CARDS: The base cards have a bronze bottom border that helps stand out the cards. Names are written horizontal on the side with a team color background which doesn't take too much away from the photography. And speaking of photography, all players seem to be up to date with their new team uni's.If you are a fan of putting together a base set, this is a nice looking one but becareful as the corners can easily be damaged. We tried to put a set together out of this box but didn't complete one. It might take you a box and a half or maybe picking up a few singles to fill the voids.

Here is the complete checklist for Threads provided by Panini America: 2012-13 Panini Threads BK Checklist

We landed a rare blue parallel of Drew Gooden

Blue parallels are numbered to 10

Kobe Anthology Insert. One 5 card pack per box of 12/13 Panini NBA cards

Back of the Kobe's

INSERTS:The inserts are nothing spectacular but where they lack in design they make up for in photography. Inserts like High Flyers and Talented Twosomes stand out for how the players are photographed. I do like the design of the Kobe Anthology. But my favorite insert that we landed at least six of has to be the player jersey die cuts. Die cuts have always been a hobby favorite. The base cards also have other parallels.

AUTOGRAPHS: The popular Threads brand returns with 100 rookie Cards printed on wood and signed on-card! These were a favorite of ours to pull. But getting an Drummond jersey die cut auto is what really made the box.

 

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: With a trio that included Blake Griffin couldn't go wrong with these. It is nicely designed as well and some great pairings. With the product only including one jersey per box will help its popularity as the hobby for the most part have been over taken with tons of jersey cards.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:A good base card design, 3 autographs per box and the one jersey or Prime hit you could get makes this product well worth spending under $100 to get. With some big name rookies to chase and with them being signed on card a lot of collectors will enjoy this product.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 4
                Base Design: 4
                Insert Design: 2
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4