Cardboard Review:2020-2021 Panini Court Kings

A couple of years ago, I started back into basketball collecting after over 25 years out of the game. There was something about the Knicks with RJ Barrett that caught my attention again.

Fast forward to now, I have watched more Knicks games this year then I have in the past 25 years. That's saying a lot knowing I only have watched 6 games. 

My interest in watching them has grown again, but not at the peak it was in the 90's.

One thing about basketball that hasn't changed for me is the opening of basketball cards as we take a look at Court Kings today.

Every box of 2020-2021 Panini Court Kings basketball comes with one pack of 10 cards.

You should find the following within,

2 Autographs or Relics
1 Rookie
2 Inserts
1 Parallel

And boxes currently are running $330 or so.

BASE:

The base cards design takes on a street art design with 200 cards in the base set. There are varying level degrees of rookies in the set.

These are the first level rookies base.

And here is a second level rookie base.

Overall there are four levels.

PARALLELS:

The following parallels can be found in the base set for Court Kings

Artist Proof, Ruby /149, Amethyst /99, Pink /99, Violet /49, Jade /25, Sapphire /25, and Masterpiece 1/1.

I found a Giannis  Ruby /149

INSERTS:

Maestros Russell Westbrook. There are 30 cards overall to collect in this set.

 

First Steps. I know many will think this is corny or stupid, but I like when companies think outside the basics. A picture of a player's shoe for First Steps, I will take it. There are 10 cards overall in the set to collect.

HITS:

My first hit was a Rookie Expression of Jordan Nwora.

 

Second hit was this Fresh Paint of RJ Hampton. I have only opened three boxes of basketball cards this year and two times I have hit this guy.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Well, this was a tough break to swallow looking at the price vs what I got in return.

If we are just looking at the product in general, I like the overall look and design. I also like the different base rookie card leveling as it reminds me of the late 90's back when set chasing some sets as it was more fun and challenging. It also brought more value to the product.

Your thoughts on this product are welcomed in comments below.

REVIEW:2017-2018 Panini Court Kings (HOT BOX WITH 2 BONUS HITS AND RARE INSERT!)

It's that time again, time for another review. This time we take it to the hard court with this years hot, hot rookie class.

We take a look at Court Kings which is one of those art based products. I busted last years product and was pretty impressed, how will this years product go, well, read on!

In every box of 2017-2018 Panini Court Kings basketball there are 10 total cards. You will find at least one insert, one box topper, one autograph and one memorabilia card per box. Boxes currently run about $70.

Like I said in my blog title, my box was a bit of a surprise with double the hits. I first open it up to find a box topper. I expected my usual base version but boom, started off the box with a surprise autograph of Ben Wallace. I had hoped for a much bigger name since many are included like Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kobe Bryant and Karl-Anthony Towns.

 

On cards autographs sparkle on these.

 

The base set is very bold and beautiful. Lots of vibrant colors. Look for four rookie card variations, each with unique designs and varying print runs. The base set itself is 100 veteran cards. But, then you take in another 132 rookies with the four levels and you have yourself a deep checklist with lots to chase.

Key rookies to find are, Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz, De'Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum, Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma, Bam Adebayo, Josh Jackson, Justin Jackson, Donovan Mitchell, Luke Kennard, Dennis Smith, Jr., and John Collins.

 

Base cards have parallels of Sapphire /25 and Masterpiece 1/1.

 

Now time for the inserts.

 

In the past, Court Kings has celebrated Le Cinque Piu Belle.This year, find 10 of the best players in the world in the ultra-rare Dieci Migliore. My find was Russ Westbrook. Not too shabby!! I also like the extra foil touch on the card.

 

Up next, a rookie Portraits card.

 

I was already excited up to this point. Let's see how the rest goes.

 

Art Nouveau relic card.

 

Sketches and Swatches includes take a unique black and white look with some added color. I like it.

 

And my last pull from the box, by far the biggest Panini Rewards I have seen.

 

 

Other hits not included in my box are, 

Fresh Paint Autographs,Fresh Paint Dual Autographs,Art Nouveau Jumbo Nameplate,Artistic, Endeavors Memorabilia, Artistic Endeavors Prime, Aurora (case hit insert), Blank Slate , Emerging Artists, Heir Apparent Autographs,Performance Art Jerseys, Points in the Paint and Renaissance Men.

 

OVERALL:It's really hard for me to judge this product getting a HOT BOX. Looking at my results, I was pretty happy with the product. A rare insert, 4 hits, can't do any better than that for the price. Not sure how a basic break went.

 

Looking at the product, I like the design of the hits and the base set. Not much of a fan of the inserts as they look more like the base than an insert. The rare one I pulled doesn't however due to the touch of rainbow foil. I think they needed to do more there to offset the base vs the inserts.

I guess my final opinion is, if you are a fan of art related products, the price here isn't bad and there are hot boxes to find as well with plenty of big time hits. I say give it a try!

Please take a moment out to thank Panini America for their generosity in providing this box for me to review and give some of the hits away in my Mystery Panini Contest. Follow them on all social media and visit their site, HERE, as well. If you haven't entered the contest yet, you can find it HERE.

Breakin Wax REVIEW:2015-2016 Panini Court Kings Basketball Hobby Box

Court Kings makes its return for another season bringing basketball cards to life with it's bright colors and artistic layouts.

This product I didn't get to open last season but it was one that struck my curiosity. So combine those two things and here we are.

 

Every box of 2015-2016 Court Kings comes with 10 cards per box.. Each hobby box of 2015-16 Court Kings Basketball will deliver four base cards, two Rookie Cards, one autograph card, one memorabilia card, one Portraits insert, one additional insert and one Box Topper. Boxes will run you just under $70.

The box is kinda cool as it's a very solid cardboard box. Something I am re-using for storage. Here is what the pack content looks like once the box is opened.

  

I wasn't lucky on the end of pulling an auto with my box topper, but I will admit this is really cool looking. Quite the angle. Probably some of the best looking box toppers I have seen.

You won't find many base cards in a box either. They do look nice and have that canvas feel. However, set chasers will have to bust a few boxes if they want to complete a set.

 

This one is numbered to 299 and was the ONLY rookie card from my box. This design has the feel of 90's card. Also reminds me of a wall that might have been painted in Fresh Prince Of Bel Air.

Portrait Insert. This one is numbered to 100 and is a red parallel.

 

Dwayne's got swagger. My other insert in the box.

I may not have gotten the two spoken of rookies, but I did get three pulls instead of two. First off, the jersey cards look really impressive done with the artistic layout. This one is the Artistic Endeavors. This is numbered to 299 as well.

Really awesome looking card here in Art Nouveau. Great balanced layout, HUGE swatch. Doesn't get any better than this. These are numbed to 299. There are also eye popping prime swatches in these. Just check them out HERE.

Up next, a Jrue Holiday autograph as my autograph in the box. This one was numbered to 35 and is signed on-card!!

Overall, bit of a weak break. I did get a bonus hit in my box, but there wasn't a lot going in terms of value overall. However, I will not tell you to stay away from the product. There is some rare inserts, tremendous swatches, top notch autographs from vets and rookies plus the artistic look of the cards is well done. It's something I would at least take another chance on.

Writers Note: Look for some of these cards in future giveaways and #SCCGivesBack mail days. Stay Tuned and make sure to thank Panini America and Tracy Hackler.