Box Review: 2012 Panini Preferred Basketball

Panini's 2012 Preferred basketball went live last Tuesday as the second hoops release this years from the company. Panini is touting Preferred as a high-end product that combines previously successful designs like Crown Royale, Donruss Signatures, Panini's Choice (formerly Cramer's Choice) and my favorite Silhouettes. I checkout all the press releases for upcoming products months before they go live, and every once and a while I get excited for a product to come out just like I did with Preferred. Luckily for me, Panini was nice enough to send me a box for review. So a big thanks goes out to Panini and The Knight's Lance. Now for all the fun.

Each $200 box contains four individually wrapped cards. I know that four cards for $200 seems steep, but you can see the prices for singles on eBay justify that $200 price tag. Also important to note about these four card boxes is that each card is either an auto or jersey booklet. So every card is a hit. Here is everything else you need to know about Preferred:

• - Every autograph will be limited to a print run of 99 or less
• - Tons of on-card auto's
• - The first Panini America autographs of new Clipper Chris Paul
• - 10 Autographed Crown Royale die-cuts will feature retired legends
• - Three distinct autographed Rookie Card designs for each player — Silhouettes, Crown Royale Die  Cuts and Preferred: all limited to 99 or less
• - Next-level memorabilia cards showcasing never-before-seen player combinations on each booklet

You can see the cards I pulled in the box of Preferred I opened. The Walton is the gem for me. I love collecting cards of legends like Walton and it's a pretty limited at 04/15. The foiling on the Panini's Choice cards really shines and adds a level richness to the product. Also, the on-card auto's really pop off the cards against the white background where the signatures are located. The jersey booklet is nice as well. I love the themes of these booklet cards. You really can't go wrong with a Slam Dunk theme in a basketball trading card, especially when you have the likes of Dr. J, Dominique Wilkins, Blake Griffin and Larry Johnson featured. The only gripe I have with my box break is the Patrick Paterson. Admittedly, I don't collect Patterson, but my grip is less to do with the player and more to do with the design. Where it looks like the Panini team nailed it with every other card in this product, these preferred signatures just lack the effort or higher standard of the other lines in Preferred. It's almost like the Preferred Signatures don't even belong in the product. I know some of the cards are on-card autos for certain players like Kevin Durant, and maybe that would make a difference, but the Preferred Signatures just don't make the grade compared to an otherwise flawless product.

THE VERDICT: Aside from the Preferred Signatures, Panini hit a home run on this one, or should I say slam dunk. The Silhouettes and Panini's Choice are amazing. The on-card auto's are great and the list of current NBA superstars and legends is more than extensive. If you are a collector who is looking for hits, than this is the product for you. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

I've got a few Chris Mullin cards in my collection that are worth a mention (click here), and this one is no different. I picked it up a few months ago and I'm pretty excited to show it off. The pic of Mullin is cool and the auto is as bright as it is big. For this collector, it doesn't get much better. Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball.

The Return of Retro: 2012 Panini Hoops And Upper Deck Fleer Retro

It's no secret I'm a fan of 90's inserts and design, so I'm always excited when I hear a company is going to release retro cards. In the case of Panini and Upper Deck, both are releasing 2012 cards featuring actual designs from previously released products. I know some collectors aren't fans of the recycled design idea, but I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Panini is releasing buyback auto'd cards from the '89-'90 Hoops set in their 2012 Hoops release and Upper Deck is producing some inserts from those awesome late 90's Fleer insert sets for their 2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro release. It's hard to argue with those great 90's insert designs, but I love buyback auto's too. I think the buybacks will be nice and certain players like David Robinson will be highly sought after, but the use of several designs in the Fleer Retro product is a nice plus. I'm definitely going to have to go after both.

Which one do you do you like best and think will get the hobby into a frenzy?

 2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro

  2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro

 2012 Panini Hoops

Product Preview: 2011 Panini National Treasures Basketball

Other than the feverishly hot Blake Griffin RC Auto, last year's 2010 Panini National Treasures was a bit of a disappointment. It looked less like the hobby's high end basketball product and more like one of Panini's sticker books. I know 2010 NT sold well both in the retail and secondary markets, but that had more to do with the Griffin chase and less with the overall product. That's never a good thing for the perception of a product or a company, but it looks like Panini might have vastly improved upon 2010 NT with the upcoming August 3rd release of 2011 National Treasures Basketball.

Below are a few of the images Panini released on their official blog called The Knight's Lance. These images really look amazing and have got this collector's juices flowing. Each eight card box will include six autographed or memorabilia hits per box. It looks like most of those auto's will be on-card (at least from what the released images reveal). That's a big step in the right direction for the hobby. There is no reason a high end product such as National Treasures shouldn't feature a trading card/memorabilia company's best. And by "best", just checkout some of the cards below. If 2011 NT Basketball is anything like the early preview images, us collectors are in for a treat!!! What do you think?

What Summer Releases Are You Most Excited For?

Although I'm most excited for the 2011 Upper Deck The Cup hockey release, I haven't actually seen any pictures yet. So I'll exclude The Cup from this conversation. However, it's safe to say that UD will do a great job with that product. I'm also pretty interested to see how Panini's Dominion Hockey product will fair against The Cup. As for a few other products I'm looking forward to this summer, Topps' Lineage baseball release should be fun along Panini's Gold Standard basketball.

I know there are a number of nice products coming out over the summer and I for one am very excited as usual. The above mentioned products are just a few of the many trading card releases that are sure to get my collecting juices flowing. What upcoming summer releases are you most excited about this year?

Panini National Treasures In The Hoopography House: Marcus Easley RC Auto

2010 Panini National Treasures Marcus Easley Patch/Auto #'d 15/25

Have you ever bought a trading card just because of a cool design, auto or patch? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see what second year receiver Marcus Easley can bring to Ralph Wilson Stadium next year for the Buffalo Bills. However, I really bought this card because I've always wanted one of these rookie jersey/auto'd cards from Panini's National Treasures line. I've been trying for some time now to buy either a hoops or football RC auto as I really like the design. Unfortunately, they tend to sell for a pretty penny.

So instead of a Blake Griffin or C.J. Spiller one, I picked up this Marcus Easley for just under $10.00 including shipping. Under $10.00 seems to be my wheelhouse. Easley was injured during his rookie season last year, but I'm hopeful that he can be a solid contributor for the Bills this year. The card is numbered 15 out of 25 and features a sweet patch/auto. I'm pretty excited for my first National Treasures RC auto.

So the question remains, have you ever bought a trading card solely for a cool design, auto or jersey patch? Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Box Review: 2011 Panini Classics Basketball

LeBron James Blast From The Past Insert

2011 Panini Classics Base Card Back & Front 

2011 Panini Classics Inserts & Jersey Card

2011 Panini Classics RC Auto's & Dress Code Jersey

One of my favorite basketball releases from last year was Panini's 2010 Classics Basketball. That's why I was so excited to receive a box of 2011 Classics Basketball. I busted it open last night and had some time to get my thoughts together for this review. It certainly was a fun 18 pack box to open, and the four hits didn't hurt either. As usual, I'll go through what I liked and didn't like from the box in this review. Stay tuned to Hoopography for a future contest/giveaway.

Review:
First off, I pulled a Landry Fields RC on-card auto. That might not mean much to some collectors, but I was pumped to see this card come out of one of the first packs I eagerly ripped open. It's certainly a very nice addition to my Knicks collection. So with my excitement for the Fields auto exclaimed, let's get on with the rest of the review.

If you like great vibrant color, Classics has you covered. Panini is often criticized by collectors for not using team colors in certain products. It's a criticism that I share, however, Classics smashes that complaint. There isn't one card that doesn't effectively utilize color in the design. That color is accompanied by some nice foiling that is unfortunately difficult to see in the scans. I think it's apparent that I really like the overall design of the product.

The inserts are nice. Again, color is used nicely in the inserts just as with the base cards. I'm always a fan of cards featuring legends and you can't really go wrong with legends like Scottie Pippen, Oscar Robinson, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There's also a nice variety of different inserts from the Classic Moments to the Classic Combos. The inserts are very fun.

Finally, the hits were nice, but not overwhelmingly exciting. Sure, I love the Fields RC auto and the D. Wade jersey card is cool, but the single color jersey patches aren't going to heat up the Bay anytime soon. I understand that this particular box didn't yield a multi-color patch and I've seen some nice ones on the Bay, but it would have been nice to pull a card with a bigger or multi-colored patch. I will also point out that the two auto's I pulled were very nice on-card auto's. This is a big plus for Panini Classics and was certainly a highlight to last year's product as well.

My final thoughts on Panini's 2011 Classics Basketball are positive. I love the overall design and the on-card auto's make Classics a nice buy. I had more fun busting open this box than I've had in a long time and I certainly recommend other collectors to checkout 2011 Classics Basketball. I'm going to keep the Landry Fields RC auto and I'll be giving some of the cards away as team packages to a few bloggers I know collect specific teams, but stay tuned to Hoopography for a contest/giveaway. Let me know what your thoughts are on Panini's 2011 Classics Basketball and of course… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Contest (2011 Panini Absolute Basketball): And The Winner Is...

Kevin Love Star Gazing jersey/auto #'d/10

Congratulations to The Diamond King. There were many close guesses in the Absolute Memorabilia contest, but The Diamond King came within two of the correct total assists, rebounds and points of Jason Kidd, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin respectively. J. Kidd had a total of 655 assists, K. Love had a total of 1,112 rebounds and B. Griffin finished with a total of 1,845 points. I'm no math major, but the summation of those three numbers is 3,612.  The Diamond King had the closest guess with 3,610. Congratulations!!!

Please email me your mailing address at Hoopography@yahoo.com so I can get the 2011 Panini Absolute Memorabilia box out to you. You can checkout the entire contents of the box and the box review here. Thanks to everyone who participated and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Robert Meachem In The Hoopography House: Auto'd Blog Prize

This 8 x 10 Robert Meachem Panini Authentic Auto is pretty cool, unfortunately, I could careless about Robert Meachem. For that reason, I recently loaded this item up in my Trade Bait Album on the Hoopography Facebook page. I won the auto'd pic in a Panini contest sometime around Thanksgiving. It took a bit for me to get it scanned and posted, but it's finally up here. Check out my Trade Bait Album and let me know if there is anything you're interested in putting a deal together for.

Happy Collecting and… "Enjoy Every Thrill of the Trade".

A Much Deserved Nod To HOF'er Chris Mullin

2010 Panini Classics Significant Signatures Chris Mullin #'d 15/25

Ok, Chris Mullin hasn't been enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame just yet, but he will be on August 13th. I watch the enshrinemnt ceromony every year, but I'll be extra excited for this year's ceremony to see one of my favorite players get his just due. Along with Mullin, Dennis Rodman, Tex Winter, Herb Magee, Artis Gilmore, Arvydas Sabonis, Teresa Edwards, Reece "Goose" Tatum, Tom "Satch" Sanders and Tara VanDerveer will all be inducted. It's a very nice class that I can't wait to listen to while they relive their basketball journeys.

As for Mr. Mullin, the former St. John's star was selected to five NBA All-Star teams, won two Olympic Gold medals, was a numerous All-NBA performer and the '85 John Wooden Award Winner. He averaged 18.1 points, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 4.1 rebounds/game during his sixteen year career. More impressive than all those accolades and stats, was Mullin's sweet left-handed jump-shot. The Brooklyn, NY native is well deserving.

As for the hobby side of things, I suppose more and more Mullin cards will be posted on the Bay as we get closer to the induction ceromony. That's a good thing for a Mullin collector like me, but hopefully the prices of those cards wont go up. Fortunately for me, I've been able to grab a few very nice on-card auto'd cards like this 2011 Panini Classics Significant Signatures 15/25 card of Mullin. This will look great next to my prized Mullin card seen here.

Here's a fun Nike Commercial from '93. I have several Mullin TV commercials bookmarked, so I'll most likely continue to post these videos right here on the blog and on the Hoopography Facebook page right up until the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. For now, enjoy the nice work the marketing department at Nike did back in '93.

Contest: 2011 Panini Absolute Memorabilia Box Giveaway

Do you think you can guess some season ending stats of some of the NBA's best? If so, you can win an entire box of 2011 Panini Absolute Memorabilia I recently reviewed. To see every card included in the prize/giveaway, click here. So I suppose you want to know the rules for the contest:

1. You must be a follower of Hoopography. If you do not have a Blogger account, you can join the fun on the Hoopography Twitter page and/or Facebook page.
2. One guess per contestant.
3. Because three of the bigger cards from the box feature Jason Kidd, Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, I am asking you to guess the regular season total number of assists Jason Kidd, points Blake Griffin and rebounds Kevin Love will have combined. So I'm looking for the summation of those three numbers. Please note, it doesn't really matter if you guess the individual numbers correctly, but rather, the summation of those numbers.
4. Entires will be accepted until this Friday, April 8th (11:59 PM ET) and a winner will be announced on Thursday, April 14th. That is one day after the last day of the NBA regular season.
5. There are no extra entries for publicizing this contest on your own blog, however, one of my goals with Hoopography is to network and connect with as many collectors from around the world as possible. In other words, it would be appreciated if you publicize the contest to get as many collectors involved as possible even though it's not required to enter the contest.
6. I will utilize random.org to determine a tie break if needed.
7. If no one guesses the exact number, the closest guess will be the winner (even if that number is over the actual number).
8. Happy Collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Box Review: 2011 Panini Absolute Memorabilia

I received a box of 2011 Absolute Memorabilia Basketball this week from Panini for review. Absolute Memorabilia is known for providing collectors with foil surfaces and plenty of jersey pieces. So if you are not a fan of the foil Spectrum coatings, then this is not the product for you. I however, enjoy anything shiny. So a big thanks to Panini. This was a fun box to bust open. Also, stay tuned to Hoopography. I will think of a contest to give some of the cards away. The contest might be Final Four inspired!!!

The Pros:
Absolute Memorabilia starts right off the bat with cool packaging. Sure, does the packaging mean much in the end? No, but the four individually boxed packs did serve to get me even more ramped-up to open each pack. Each of those packs contain four cards plus one jersey or memorabilia card. Because every card had either foiling or the reflective Spectrum surface, it almost seemed like every card was an insert. Speaking of inserts, the DeMar DeRozan Frequent Flyer #'d 86/100 was my favorite card I pulled. I love the passport inspired design. I also enjoyed pulling a Larry "Grand Ma Ma" Johnson Absolute Heroes #'d 3/100 insert. The overall design of Absolute is strong. Again, it is certainly a product for those who like foiling and the Spectrum coating.

As you can see, the hits were very nice. I'll never complain about pulling a Kevin Love jersey/auto #'d/10. Nor will I complain if I ever pull another Jason Kidd auto. The overall design of the Rookie Premiere Materials is great. I really like the use of team colors and the multiple jersey and basketball pieces doesn't hurt either. However, I do have one complaint with 2011 Absolute Memorabilia.

The Cons:
With as much fun as Absolute Memorabilia was to open and everything I liked about, I have one glaring disappointment. I understand that at approx. $140 a box this isn't Panini's most expensive product nor is it their base product, however, nobody likes sticker auto's. With that said, I'm very happy to pull a Kevin Love auto/jersey card and Jason Kidd auto, but on-card auto's would have been better.

The Wrap Up:
Absolute Memorabilia is certainly one of those products that you either love or love to hate. I really enjoyed opening the four box packs. Every player was a star, legend or superstar and it was definitely fun to pull a card of one of the hotter players in the hobby with Kevin Love. Again, the sticker auto's take a little away from an otherwise nice product. If you're a fan of rookie auto/jersey cards and the Spectrum surface finish, than 2011 Panini Absolute Memorabilia is the product for you. Stay tuned to Hoopography for a Final Four inspired giveaway and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Panini Announces HD Video Trading Cards

At the 2011 Industry Summit Monday, Panini announced it will release video trading cards called Panini HD. You can view Panini's CEO, Mark Warsop, as he gives industry insiders and retailers a sneak peek at this evolution in trading card technology. The cards will be autographed and feature a video of the player signing the actual card.

This is a very interesting idea, and I guess it was really only a matter of time. Panini HD is certainly 21 century stuff. Unfortunately, I think these cards will be extremely limited. Which of course means, insane secondary market prices. So what do you think? Is Panini HD a cool idea or just another industry gimmick?

The 2011 Panini Contenders Giveaway Winner is...

First off, thanks to everyone who participated. Hopefully the review will help you make decisions on where to invest your collecting dollars. As for the contest, I put all 37 entries (including the multiple entries for those who publicized the contest) into Random.org earlier today. The winner of the 2011 Panini Contenders Basketball Box giveaway is Eric L. Thanks again to everyone who participated. I hope to have more contests in the future. Of course, that all depends on the card companies' willingness to send me more product for review. Eric, make sure to email me your mailing address to Hoopography@yahoo.com.

Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Contest results from Random.org

Poll: Topps Five Star VS. Panini National Treasures VS. Upper Deck SP Authentic

All three of the major trading card manufacturers (Panini, Topps & Upper Deck) recently released 2010 football products in the last week or so. So which product is best? I understand Upper Deck SP Authentic Football is not even near the same price point as Five Star or National Treasures, but it was just released and makes for a nice three product comparison.


All three have their pros and cons. National Treasures has some very nice rookie patches, shields and auto's. Topps Five Star features booklets, inscription auto's and only on-card auto's. Finally, Upper Deck SP Authentic gives collectors 24 five card packs with 3 hits per box for $125, but no NFL team logos (if the college thing bothers you). So what does all this mean for collectors? It's simple, choice.

All the early preview images released by each company for these products look fantastic as usual, but there's more to a product than a few preview images. Here are eBay search links you can checkout to get a better idea of each product (Panini National Treasures, Topps Five Star and Upper Deck SP Authentic). So which overall product do you like better? Please feel free to comment on which product you chose and why?

Box Preview/Giveaway: 2011 Panini Contenders Basketball

I recently received a hobby box of 2011 Contenders Basketball from Panini yesterday for review. A big thanks to Panini for valuing my opinion. I will be giving all cards away in this post, so keep reading the review to find out how to receive some fresh new basketball cards.

The Positives:
The positives from Contenders revolves all around design. The Contenders Season Ticket base card style looks great and is a vast improvement from last years base card. Also, the use of vibrant team colors across the product line is fantastic and again, an improvement from last years release. In addition to the overall design, the various die cut parallels are fun (checkout the Chris Bosh die cut above). Finally, the rookie (manufactured) patch/auto's look great and I appreciate four per box, but I'm not sure they're better than the Rookie Auto'd Tickets from last year (It's a matter of each collectors' preference).

The cards I enjoyed pulling the most were the Place In History cards (the Dirk Nowitzki [front] and Hedo Turkoglo [back]). The scans don't do the shiny foil surface justice. The cards actually look like news paper printing plates. Very cool. Overall, this 5 card, 20 pack box was very fun to open.

The Negatives:
The plural use of the word Negative is really a misnomer. I did not care for the design of last years Contenders Basketball, but I really enjoyed this years offering. However, the monetary value was not there in a box that retails for approximately $100. I've seen some pretty pricey 2011 Contenders cards on the Bay (click here), but I just don't see that same value from this box. Since I can only review this particular box and not necessarily what I'm seeing on the secondary markets, I have to say that the value just wasn't there and a bit disappointing. However, as any collector can attest, searching for "mega" hits is like playing the lottery. Not everyone can pull a John Wall, Kobe Bryant or Blake Griffin auto, but a hit from a star would have been nice. At least the design elements are there and the potential for bigger hits is there of course.

The Contest/Giveaway:
I will be giving away all cards from this box to one lucky winner except for the L.A. Lakers and Portland Trailblazers cards. The Lakers cards will be going to Lakers fan/collector Fuji over at The Chronicles of Fuji and Guy over at The Retro-Set Addict. These fellow bloggers are loyal readers and often comment, so it's time for a little Hoopography reader love. As for the rest of the cards, including the three Rookie Ticket Patch/Auto's, Blake Griffin & Kevin Durant cards, numerous die cuts and a great set building start, here is your chance to score some great hoops cards in one shot (please read all contest rules):

• I will randomize entries on Random.org.
• You must be a follower of the Hoopography blog (If you are a reader, but do not have a google account, become a fan of Hoopography on Facebook or a follower on Twitter. Please include that you have become a fan or follower in the comments section, if you can not become a follower through Blogger.).
• One comment in the comments section below equals one entry. If you publicize the contest on your blog, you will receive an extra entry for a total of two. If you do not include a link to that publicity post in the comment section below, you will not receive the extra entry.
• Contest ends 12:00PM ET on Friday, March 4th
• One winner takes all.

Product Previews: Upper Deck, Topps, ITG, Panini

There are a ton of new products scheduled to be released over the next few months in all four of the North American major sports. It seems that every company is gearing up for a huge 2011, and that means good things for collectors. Here are a few of the products I'm interested in for the early 2011 hobby season:


- 2011 IN THE GAME HEROES & PROSPECTS BASE., Approx. Release Date 2/24/11:

I'm not someone who collects a ton of baseball prospect cards other than the NY Yankees. Call me a fair weather baseball collector, but I have to draw the line somewhere. The line mine as well be after all four sports, thousands of players and hundreds of sets I collect. Although I only collect Yankee prospects, In The Games' (ITG) 2011 Hereos & Prospects Series 1 Baseball has me intrigued. ITG puts out some very decent hockey products that feature killer relics. Wow, that sentence is a bit scary. Hope ITG doesn't put out any killer relics of me after this preview. The 5 card boxes will feature 5 relic or auto'd hits for $82.00 a box. Not too shabby for the jersey or auto hunter. There are also some relic and cut signature cards of baseball legends like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. This is a very interesting product for the baseball collector.

- 2010 Upper Deck SP Authentic Football, Approx. Release Date 2/22/11:

UD's Authentic Football is a nice looking collegiate product. All the names are there from rookies to legends. For a nostalgia guy like me, UD SP Football offers collectors the chance to look back on the good times of their alma mater. It's not the cheapest product at $96.95 per box, but you do get 3 auto's in each of those boxes. The big question is, will these be on-card or sticker auto's. Should be a very nice product that I'll definitely keep an I out for singles on the Bay.

- 2011 UPPER DECK SP AUTHENTIC BASKETBALL, Approx. Release Date 2/25/11:
Although Upper Deck lost it's MLB, NBA and NFL licenses, it's still turning out product after product. I, like many collectors, was disappointed that UD wasn't going to be able to produce cards featuring my favorite professional teams. Fortunately for collectors, UD has been able to turnout a few nice products despite the setbacks. That sentiment is true of 2011 UD SP Authentic Basketball. The big draw to UD basketball products is Jordan and LeBron, and UD has certainly exploited that advantage. Sp Authentic will follow the UD master plan by offering a Jordan or LeBron auto and an additional "case hit" from players like Jordan, LeBron, Larry Bird, Dr. J, Derrick Rose, Bill Russell, DeMarcus Cousins and Magic Johnson in every 12 box master case. That's two "case hits" in every master case. The master cases will be broken up into two 6 box inner cases that will each contain a "case hit". That's a pretty cool idea, if you can afford the $590.00 inner case price tag or the $1,150 master case price tag.

Each SP Authentic single box will contain 24 packs with 5 cards per pack and either 2 Letter Autographed cards or 2 auto'd cards and an additional Michael Jordan Supreme Court Floor Card. The Supreme Court Jordan cards feature an oversized piece of UNC basketball court piece that Jordan himself played on. There are also a number of interesting inserts like Die-Cut F/X Hologram cards. This is a product with tons of potential.


- 2011 TOPPS SERIES 2 BASEBALL, Approx. Release Date 6/08/11:
Topps seemingly puts out a hundred baseball products a year, so It's tough to narrow it down to one or two products. However, Series 2 looks like a fun product at a price point every collector can afford. At $59.95 a hobby box, you get tons of inserts, parallels, 1 auto and 2 relic cards. The early media releases I've seen of this Series 2 Baseball look nice.

It's still a few months until spring training and the release of this product, but it's never too early to get excited. I'm certainly going to pickup a pack or two of this and hope for the best. The best for me would be something like a Brett Gardner jersey card. He's my favorite current Yankee.




- 2011 Panini Classics Basketball, Approx. Release Date 3/23/11:

Panini's 2011 Classics Basketball is all about living up to 2010 Classics Basketball. Last years product was one of my favorite basketball releases, so I'm excited to see what Panini has in store for this years release. With on-card rookie auto's and a heavy focus on hoops legends, Classics does has me salivating. I'm liking the info I've seen so far on A Knight's Lance, but I'd like to see a few more images of the base cards and inserts.

Each box will contain 2 auto'd and 2 memorabilia cards per hobby box. Classics will also feature a Classics Moment insert set chronicling some of the biggest moments in NBA history. That definitely sounds promising! This looks like a nice product that is sure to feature some of the best rookie auto'd cards of 2011 as they will be on-card signatures.


Stay tuned for another Product Preview post next week that will feature several upcoming basketball and hockey releases. Until then, which upcoming products are you most excited for?

Contest Update: Timeless Treasures Contest Winner

Congrats to Colbey (flywheels) over at the Cardboard Collection and Random Toy Reviews for winning the Panini Timeless Treasures five card lot. I used random.org to randomize the entires and obtain a winner. You can see the results in the snapshot below. Colbey, please make sure to email me your mailing address at Hoopography@yahoo.com. I will be sending prize packages out this Friday.

My goal with Hoopography is to meet and network with fellow collectors from around the world. I think these little contests help to enhance that goal. Please feel free to visit Hoopography in the future and comment on any post you might find interesting.  Also, if you have any collecting questions or trade requests, please don't hesitate to email me at Hoopography@yahoo.com.

I'm a big believer in taking something positive out of everything I do. With that said, I have a little motto I like to go by… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Contest: 2011 Panini Timeless Treasures Giveaway

All cards above go to the winner except the LaMarcus Aldridge.
That's going to G_Moses over at The Basketball Card Blog.
Checkout his blog and you'll see why.

I've got another contest/giveaway for readers featuring the contents of a box of Panini's Timeless Treasures.  Big thanks to Panini for sending me the box for review. I hate to see the cards go, but hopefully there's a collector out there who will enjoy them more than I will.

Checkout a second contest I'm running featuring Donruss Rated Rookie cards (John Wall included) and a Tyreke Evans jersey card. The prize package includes 22 total Donruss basketball cards (click here).

Contest Rules:

• If you aren't already, become a follower of Hoopography and/or the Hoopography Facebook page.
• Comment below to be entered in the contest once.
• Post something regarding the contest on your blog and receive a second entry. You must place a link to that "pub" post with the comment so I can verify it.
• I will put all entries into random.org to declare a winner.
• Contest ends this Wed. the 19th at 10:00 PM EST.
• I will post the random.org results Thursday the 20th.
• Good Luck and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball"

Box Review: 2011 Timeless Treasures Basketball

Panini sent me a box of 2011 Timeless Treasures Basketball which was recently released last week. I busted a box of 2010 Timeless Treasures last year and pulled a sweet LeBron James Prime Patch. I wasn't as lucky this year, but it was certainly fun to open a hobby box/tin of a brand new product. Of course, A special thanks to Panini for sending me the box. I'll be giving away the contents of this box as well as last weeks Donruss Basketball box break later this week in a number of contests. So stay tuned for those contests and giveaways!!!

Panini's 2011 Timeless Treasures (TT's) doesn't know whether it wants to be a high end product at a decent price or a so so product that's overpriced. Doing a quick search on eBay for 2011 Timeless Treasures yields a hodgepodge of awesome RC auto's and some awkward single color jersey cards or sticker auto's. Two of the most impressive aspects of TT's is the list of legends like Oscar Robinson and Scottie Pippen included in the set and the Rookie Recruits auto'd cards. The Rookie Recruits auto's were nice cards in last years product and are definitely one of the biggest draws in this years TT's.

At $90.00 a box/tin for six cards, there is certainly a risk factor. However, TT's is one of the best products currently on the market for those collectors looking to score a nice John Wall, Evan Turner, DeMarcus Cousins or Landry Fields auto. That doesn't mean TT's is without it's flaws. Which makes it one of the riskiest basketball products on the market. Score a LeBron Prime Patch, Hall of Fame Prime Quad or John Wall RC auto and it's well worth the risk.

2011 Timeless Treasures Box Review:

- Overall Product Design: C+
- Value: D
- Fun Factor: B-
- Hits: C+
- Overall: C



For me as a Knicks fan, this was a nice box/tin as I pulled a Knickerbocker RC of Timofey Mozgov. As an impartial reviewer, I have to admit this wasn't the best box I've ever opened. The look of the jersey and auto'd cards are nice. If you've read the post thus far, you know I'm also a big fan of the Rookie Recruits cards. However, the base cards really should be on thicker card stock instead of the 35 pt. traditional stock. I also can't justify the $90.00 price tag for this box. The Mozgov is the most valuable card at only $5.00-$10.00. That's not exactly mojo. The bottom line on Panini's TT is that it's a nice product with tons of potential. It all depends on whether you're the type of collector that can afford to purchase boxes on potential (lets face it, collectors purchase most products for the hits). I recommend waiting a few weeks for the retail prices to go down on TTs or stick to the singles on eBay.


What's your review?


- Stay tuned for contests and giveaways later this week for Timeless Treasures and Donruss Basketball cards.