Suggestions or Opinion Price Got Really Expensive After Griffin Explosion Fairly small set with only a few insert cards/sets Should 'guarantee' more than 1 auto
Good: On-Card Autographs Of All Top RC's Same MSRP Price As 2009/10 Product Kevin Durant Autograph Cards! 2 Autographs Per Box 3 More Cards Per Pack Over Last Year
Suggestions or Opinion A Legend Box Topper/Pack would be cool The RC class never caught fire during season Colorful base cards don't represent 'classic'
I've made no secret about this being my favorite basketball set from Panini to collect on my Podcast. Sure I'd like to buy National Treasures and this years 10-11 Gold Standard, but on a limited budget, those sets are usually out of reach for me. Panini Classics brings you the best of both worlds. On-Card autographs of all the top NBA rookies, and NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose ... at an affordable price. While you won't find the huge patches and big checklists in a set like this - the clean autographs are about as good as it gets.
Being 'Classics' I kind of expected Panini to go with a more black/white type approach with the design (kind of like last year). However, the base cards are bold and colorful - and may not fit the classics theme as well as last years base cards might have. I'd like to have this set feel 'old' when you open it, since it is Classics ... and basketball is lacking that throwback type set.
That being said, the design of the cards doesn't take away from the quality that I always seem to get from Panini boxes. Corners & Edges are sharp, even on the on-card autograph rookie cards ... which I'm sure have been handled by multiple people before landing in packs. This set did get a nice make-over from the previous year, but we do see some nice sets carry over including Dress Code, Classic Greats, Classic Combos and Blast From the Past. You do get 3 more cards than last year in a Hobby pack, and the stated odds are 2 Autographs (At least 1 RC) and 2 Memorabilia Jersey Cards per hobby box ... all for the same SRP as last year. Given that 2010/11 Panini Contenders Patches went away from the on-card autograph model, Panini Classics is one of the best choices for basketball collectors like myself who like on-card autograph RC cards at an affordable price. That being said, if anyone in this RC class starts playing like Blake Griffin did in 2010/11 ... these boxes won't be affordable for long.
The only real problem I have with this set, is it makes a 29 year old guy feel old!!! :) I remember collecting Glenn Robinson RC cards, now he's in the Legends Set!!!
Box Breakdown:
Base Cards 128 Total Base Cards (No Parallel Versions)
Insert Cards Classic Greats Adrian Dantley Classic Greats Rolando Blackman Classic Greats Cliff Hagan GOLD #20/100 Blast From The Past Vince Carter Blast From The Past Josh Howard Blast From The Past Kevin Martin Blast From The Past Anthony Randolph Classic Moments Rajon Rondo Classic Combos Dennis Rodman-Scottie Pippen Dress Code Andrea Bargnani
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