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".

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".

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".

Box Review: 2010-11 Panini's Donruss Basketball

Harkening back to one of the best card designs of the 80's, the Rated Rookie is back. Panini's Donruss Basketball product went live Wednesday, and with the number of cards already appearing on the secondary markets, it looks like collectors are busting quite a few boxes. And thanks to Panini, this blogger was able to checkout a box of the newest product in the basketball trading card industry first hand. So enough with the post introduction. Here's a snapshot of Donruss Basketball and a brief review.

2010-11 Panini Donruss Basketball Snapshot

- Box Breakdown:

• Release Date: January 5th, 2011
• Hobby Box Cost: $65.95
• 27 Rated Rookie Cards
• 21 Team Photo Checklist Cards
• 8 Serial #'d
• 14 Die Cut Cards
• 2 Jersey Cards
• 1 Autographed Card

- Card/Product Design: Overall card/product design should be the most important part of any product and Panini didn't disappoint with Donruss Basketball. The design team at Panini reached back into the card design vault for an iconic design with the Rated Rookies. Because of that, the RC's in Donruss are particularly sought after and really make this a fun product. However, the Rated Rookies aren't the only thing Panini got right with the design of Donruss. The foil "d" logo on the bottom right of each card for "Donruss" is a nice touch. The photography is excellent with a myriad of basketball actions featured. I also like the die cuts which add another little detail to the product. It's those little details that really make for an excellent design.

Nicolas Batum Base (Back)

The backs of the cards are basic, but do provide the necessary info and stats a nerd like me checks out. I also really like the little player trivia on the backs of each card. Not the best looking card back ever, but certainly more than adequate.

Finally, the only issues I have with the design of Donruss has to do with the lack of team colors on the base cards and sticker auto's. I know this is a nit picky issue, but it would make a big difference to many collectors who put base sets together. The sticker auto thing is simply an issue that every collector has and it doesn't look like it'll be going away anytime soon. The auto'd card I pulled doesn't really look bad with the sticker auto, but I obviously would have liked to have pulled an on-card auto. Otherwise, the inserts are solid (particularly the very cool Duos cards), the die cuts give an added element and the Rated Rookies brings a nostalgic feeling back to trading cards. Grade: B-


- Photography: Photography is such an important element of trading cards that it really needs it's own category. I'm generally impressed with the quality of photography in most of Panini's products, and that stands true with Donruss. There are tons of different stances and action shots. The team checklist cards are diverse and feature on court as well as traditional team photos. There are cards with just a single player featured, and also ones with multiple defenders in the background. Thanks to great photography, no card looks alike. Grade: A


- Fun Factor: How much fun a box of cards is to open is really one of those subjective categories. I've opened many boxes and packs over the years and always enjoy the process. This is the third box of cards I've been able to open of Panini product in the past year, and I can say that this was the most fun. The bottom line is there is so much going on from die cuts and hits, to the Rated Rookies and Press Proofs. I felt like there was something noteworthy from all 24 packs. That spells fun to me. Grade: A-

John Wall Rated Rookie

- Value: The first few auctions are just now starting to conclude on eBay. I did a quick check of the completed auctions thus far and it looks like the product is doing very well in some areas, but struggling in others. That's to be expected in the hobby. As for this box, the value is there. The Rated Rookie cards are selling very well, particularly since you get so many per box. That means collectors want 'em. I know the John Wall base RC is selling for right around $4.00 - $8.00. Many of the other RC's are selling for $2.00-$6.00. Those are pretty solid numbers considering there are so many RC's in a box that costs around $65.00.

The true worth of the box won't be known until I see what the hits are selling for on eBay. The big card I pulled from the box is a DeMarcus Cousins Rated Rookie #'d 285/299. There are no completed auctions yet, but there are two BIN auctions currently on eBay. One for $50.00 and another for $125.00. I think the $125.00 number is pretty high since that's what the John Wall RC Auto is selling for.

Considering the price of John Wall cards and other RC's, the value is there at $65/box. Especially if you factor in trade values for the base and insert cards. Grade: B+ (Note: Value grade could go up depending on the results of completed auctions for the DeMarcus Cousins RC Auto)


- Hits: Anytime a highly sought after auto is pulled of a rookie, you know you've got a good box. That's the case here. The DeMarcus Cousins auto is really a very nice hit. As previously mentioned in the Card Design category, the sticker auto isn't as nice as an on-card, but it's still an exciting pull. The Production Line jersey cards also look great. One of my biggest issues with Panini is jersey/swatch placement. Cutting off a players torso or legs to fit a piece of jersey makes for an ugly card. As you can see from the image below, Panini did a great job in placing the jersey and featured players on these cards. They also used the team colors on these cards which really do make a difference. I pulled three hits of three NBA stars. Aside from the sticker auto issue and maybe a plain white jersey swatch on the Gasol card, you can't ask for much more. Grade: B


- Overall: For most collectors, this hobby is all about fun. With that said, Panini delivered with Donruss Basketball. I'm no teacher, but I am a former college prof and can add these scores up. Grade: B+

            Pau Gasol Production Line Jersey             DeMarcus Cousins Rated Rookie Auto            Tyreke Evans Production Line Jersey

Hoopography 2010 Product Year In Review

When doing a 2010 year in review of the trading card hobby, I don't think the name Stephen Strasburg can be mentioned quickly enough. The rookie phenom took the industry over this past summer. That's why I'll take all the suspense out of my pick for card of the year. It's really pretty simple. Take your pick of any of the highly sought after flamethrower's RC's. For me, the Bowman BP1 Strasburg RC is the card of the year. The Bowman Superfractor was easily the most hyped card in the hobby. I think ever blogger wrote about it and it even caught quite a bit of national media coverage. However, most collectors can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on one card. No matter how great the card or player is on it. That's why the Bowman base RC takes card of the year in the entire hobby for me. This card allowed every collector to get in on the fun and hype of Strasburg mania. Today, that card is selling for just under $10, which is further proof of the excitement the talented pitcher has and continues to create even after going under the knife for Tommy John surgery. Without question, 2010 was the year of Strasburg.

So with the Card of the Year suspense over with, it's time to get to the best of the rest. I wanted to do an entire review to include all four of the major North American sports, but I quickly realized that would have taken forever, and I don't work for a price guide or any company in the industry. So I'm sticking with my first hobby love of hoops cards. However, if a company does want my employment, i'll be happy to get paid for researching and providing my knowledgable opinion on the hobby.

I should also mention that every card image has been provided by various media releases I received via email, Facebook or company websites. That means that any product I highlight in this post that I did not get a media image for I was not able to get a corresponding image for. So hopefully you'll remember the designs of these products.

Finally, this is a 2010 product review as seen through my eyes. That means you may or may not agree with my selections, reasoning's and opinions. The cool part about this whole blog thing is that you get to voice your opinions in the comments section of the post. One of the reasons I started Hoopography was to get feed back from fellow collectors and hobby enthusiasts. So feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the 2010 product lineup and this review.

- Biggest Bang For Your Buck (Hobby Box): So we all know how it works. A product goes live for the suggested retail price and a month later it's two-thirds the price. That means patient collectors can get some pretty nice bargains. Without question, the biggest bang for collectors is Panini's Hall of Fame product. Show me another product that gives you two autographed and one memorabilia card of only Hall of Fame basketball players for $50 a box. You can't. I know these boxes started at around $85/box, but you can bust one open now for just under $50.

In addition to a nice hobby box price and HOF players, all the auto's are on-card! Finally, Panini highlighted the '92 Olympic Dream Team with base, memorabilia and auto'd cards. These Dream Team cards are easily some of the best cards of the year. With everything this product has to offer, it's a definant good bang for you buck.

Panini scored big again for budget mined collectors with it's Classics product, and for me, it earns an honorable mention in the … Bang For You Buck Category.

The two biggest draws to this product is plenty of nice looking RC's and on-card auto's. The on-card auto's included highly desirable rookies such as Blake Griffin and Tyreke Evans as well as legends like Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy and Chris Mullin.

In addition to the auto's, jersey cards and relatively reasonable box price, the photography across the entire product is superb. With 18 packs, four auto'd or memorabilia cards and the multitude of RC's this product offers for a reasonable $60 - $85, Panini Classics is a winner.

- Best Base Card Design: So lets face it, UD's last basketball installment of their extremely successful Exquisite line could probably take just about every category up for review. Since this was going to be the last installment of Exquisite basketball, UD didn't hold back. There are even Rookie Edition auto's of legends from other sports like Tiger Woods, Mario Lemieux and John Elway. This is truly a product that will stand the test of time. It will also show up again later on in the review.

Just as the auto'd and jersey cards are exquisite, so to are the base cards. This a design that has really been around for a few years, but it still holds up and looked great in 2010. Most of the base cards feature a closeup action shot and are serial numbered to 199. It's also nice to get a base card on some pretty thick card stock. It's almost not fair to call these base cards.

Panini's Crown Royale product harkened back to the mid 90's for it's die cut crown design and for good reason. That design worked back then and still works today.

Die cuts and metal foiling/etching almost always looks good. Unfortunately, it seems like Panini doesn't share those same sentiments, but the design team at Panini thought out of the box for Crown Royale. I also like the patterned backgrounds on these cards. Very cool. There's nothing else like it out there today and certainly deserves a mention for best base card design.




- Auto'd Sub/Insert Set of the Year: So what collector doesn't like auto'd cards? It's an opportunity to get as close to our favorite athletes as most of us ever will get. These cards are also driving the hobby today. That means it's important for companies to produce some really great auto'd cards and aside form some pretty awful sticker auto'd cards, companies really came through.

In the interest of saving some time for both me and you the reader, I think these cards can really speak for themselves. Here are some of the best auto'd sets from 2010:

             Panini HOF Dream Team Auto's                Panini Crown Royale Majestic Signatures              Panini Prestige Old School Auto's

            UD Exquisite Rookie Autographs               Panini National Treasures Rookie Auto's       Panini National Treasures Notable Nicknames

- Biggest Disappointment: Upper Deck had some very good products like the above mentioned Exquisite, but it also had its share of flops like Greats of the Game. This was a good idea, but poor execution, between the black and white background on many of the cards and sticker auto's, this product just didn't get collectors excited. The card design just seemed too flat. If UD plans on releasing this line in 2011 it needs a total redesign and new approach.

Panini put some pretty solid products out last year, but National Treasure was supposed to be the cream of the crop. Although there are some A+ cards such as the Rookie auto's and Notable Nicknames, National Treasure was a bit disappointing (especially when factoring in the $400 price tag). The main problems were sticker auto's and a lack luster base card design. I certainly can't say that NT was a bad product or even average. Actually, it's a very nice looking product with some value and superb RC's. However, at $400 a box I'm looking for an A+, not a B. Panini's Absolute Memorabilia also deserves a loud shout out in this category.


- Most Fun To Bust Open: I had the pleasure of busting open a number of boxes and packs this year at several different price points. I was able to pull a Timeless Treasures LeBron James Prime 3 colored Patch card that was numbered to only 25. I also pulled a few auto's and jersey cards out of Panini Court Kings, but my favorite product to open was a tie between Panini Threads and Panini Prestige. For a relatively decent price, I was able to open a number of packs for both products. I pulled a jersey card or two, but the different amount of parallels and inserts are what made these two products fun to open. They certainly didn't product and future house down payment type cards, but were enjoyable.

- Product of the Year: Is there really any question to what the product of the year in the basketball trading card industry was? It's Upper Deck's Exquisite basketball collection. Sure, I can't afford to buy a box of the stuff, but that doesn't mean it isn't the best. The base cards look great. The base RC's are highly sought after and you can get a beautiful Jordan or LeBron auto that is sure to be the gem in most collectors' collections. UD sure went out with a bang on it's last officially licenced NBA product.



- Card of the Year: The Card of the Year category is like the the Academy Award for best actor category. I saved the best for last. Unfortunately, I couldn't decide on just one. Could you?

                               UD Exquisite Tiger Woods/LeBron James 2/4 Exclusive                      UD Exquisite Blake Griffin Rookie Base Card

        Panini National Treasures Blake Griffin Rookie Auto                                                  Panini Court Kings Le Cinque Piu Belle Auto

So that's the Hoopography 2010 Product Year in Review. It was a pretty good year across the hobby. Panini had a good showing during their inaugural year with an NBA licence and hopefully will improve upon that start in 2011. Between the good, the bad and the ugly, what do you think of 2010?

2010 Panini Court Kings Box Break Review

I received a box of 2010 Panini Court Kings yesterday from Panini America for review. I've been waiting for this product to come out ever since Panini started posting product images on their Facebook page (click here). All-in-all, it was a fun box to open with some really good looking cards, but I also had a couple of knitpicking complaints that I'll get into. First thing's first though, I need to thank Panini for thinking enough of Hoopography to send me a box for review. This is the second box I've received from Panini for review, Timeless Treasures being the first. Also, I will be giving away one of the cards from this box right here on the blog, so look for an upcoming contest giveaway sometime this weekend or early this coming week.

As mentioned above, I've been waiting for 2010 Court Kings to come out for a few months now. The cards have a "painting on canvas" look to them that I think looks really great and adds a sort of elegant sophistication to trading cards. Simply, its a little something different in an industry that is often flooded by the same designs product after product. No where is this "painting on canvas" effect more evident than on the box topper.

The Court Kings box toppers are part of a 5 x 7, 50 card sub set. Each box contains one individually sealed box topper. I opened it last and it was like opening an added bonus after going through the 11 card pack. Some of these box toppers are auto'd and I'm sure would be a great addition to any collection. The box topper in my box was this Devin Harris card numbered 111/349. If you look at a checklist for Court Kings, you'll see quite an impressive list of current and former NBA stars including: Kobe, Patrick Ewing, Kevin Durant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Chris Bosh and Pete Maravich.

There were four base cards in the eleven card box. Each card is serial numbered depending on whether the card is a non-parallel #'d/450, a bronze #'d/149 or a silver #'d/99. The David Lee was a low print #'d 03/99! I'm never opposed to metal foiling of any kind. However, I wish David Lee was still with the Knicks so I could add this low print card to my PC.

I'm a big fan of great photography and Court Kings delivers on that. It's also cool how some background details are highlighted and some aren't due to the "painting on canvas" effect. This characteristic is really evident toward the top of the Hedo Turkoglu card with the blue arena advertising standing out. Plus I really like how KG is coming around Hedo to block his shot. Because of how the Celtic Green stands out, it almost looks like the card is supposed to feature KG and not Hedo. These Court Kings base cards are pretty solid all the way around, and the parallels add another fun dimension.

For as much as I liked the base cards, I felt these Artistry inserts were pretty pedestrian. They're basically a base card with out the great action shots or cool backgrounds. I do however like how tuff Carmelo looks and am rooting for the Knicks to trade Eddie Curry to the Nuggets for 'Melo. Hey, A guy can dream… right?

Each box is supposed to contain four auto's or memorabilia cards per box, but I was lucky enough to pull four auto'd/memorabilia cards plus a rookie redemption. That's a total of five in an eleven card box. Not too bad. In past Panini releases, I had been critical of some of the patch/jersey placements that were simply cut into the middle of a players torso. That design flaw is not a problem in Court Kings. Checkout the Allen Iverson dual jersey #'d 46/99. The memorabilia was placed on the sides so as not to arbitrarily cut into the image of the player. One complaint I do have about this card is the centering of the foiled "Court Kings" logo. It's… "just a bit outside", thanks Bob Eucker.

The Wayne Ellington Rookie Auto is nice. Nothing to get too excited about. It's #'d 194/649 and looks cool because of that "painting on canvas" effect again. I'm not a fan of sticker auto's, but I do understand their place in the hobby to keep product prices down. Also, there're plenty of other subsets in Court Kings 2010 that do feature on-card auto's.

As mentioned, I did receive a redemption. I know some collectors despise redemption cards, but I'm not one of them. I think they're fun and I've heard from other collectors that Panini does a pretty good job about getting them out to collectors in a reasonable amount of time. I was obviously hoping the rookie redemption I pulled would be for Blake Griffin or Brandon Jennings, but it was instead for Jonas Jerebko. He actually did have a decent rookie season last year with 9.3 points and 6 rebounds/game. It could be a good prospecting card in the future.

The final memorabilia cards that I pulled were pretty nice. This is the second Lebron James Jersey card I've pulled in the last two boxes of Panini product that I've opened. Those are pretty good odds, and this John Stockton card with the old school Jazz uniform isn't a bad looking card either. The James card is from the "Masterpieces" insert set that features 20 current and past NBA Stars. Again the "painting on canvas" theme is carried through the "Masterpieces" set and is even highlighted with the picture framing image on the card. Panini also came through again with the great photography and action shots. Just like a Van Gogh, James' expression is priceless. The "Dribble Kings" Stockton card is my favorite out of the entire box. The card is #'d 88/299 and is part of a 15 card sub set. Those are some short shorts Stockton is sporting there, but it's still a cool looking card.

The bottom line on Panini's 2010 Court Kings is that it's a pretty well done product that I would definitely recommend. Between the individually sealed box topper, four memorabilia /auto'd cards and redemption card, this was a fun box to open. Also, I can't say enough about the "painting on canvas" effect on all the cards. It really brings out the subtle details from a players tattoos to the arena advertising. My only complaint is really a luck of the draw complaint. I can't argue with five auto'd/memorabilia cards in a box that's supposed to yield four, but one on-card auto or prime patch would've been nice (prime: Panini's designation for a mutli-colored jersey swatch/patch). Again, that is simply the luck of the draw and me knit-picking. All-in-all though, this was a fun product to open and continues to show how Panini's basketball products improve release after release.

Ok, so you probably read about an hour ago that I'd be giving away a card from this box. If you managed to read the entire review, you deserve to know which card that will be. I'll announce a contest either this Sunday or Monday for one lucky reader to win the LeBron James "Masterpieces" jersey card #'d 194 of 299. So stay tuned and good luck!