2020-21 Panini Contenders Basketball

 

After not being able to afford to buy unopened basketball cards for more than a year, I decided to take the plunge and buy a slightly overpriced blaster of the latest Panini Contenders set. I instantly regretted it the purchase. Year after year, this is one of the most boring sets that Panini puts out if you're interested in base cards. The core base set is devoid of rookies, so you really need to cross your fingers that you'll get some interesting parallel card or that your guaranteed "hit" card is someone you care about. In any case, here's one of the packs of that blaster.

61 - Rudy Gobert - No matter what he does for the rest of his career, I'm always going to associate Rudy Gobert with the scary beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 - Marvin Bagley - The backs of the cards are pretty standard Panini stuff. The photo is pretty huge and well-placed, even if it's just a copy of what's on the front.

42 - Kristaps Porzingis - History won't look back too kindly on these Mavericks unis.

99 - Giannis Antetokounmpo - The small base checklist does mean that there's a good amount of star power in these otherwise fairly boring looking cards.

57 - Myles Turner - Turner is a good example of someone who doesn't put up eye-popping numbers but would be a great asset to pretty much any team out there.

15 - Zach LaVine - LaVine is probably best known for his dunk contest performances, but he made the leap to an All-Star level player in the games that actually matter.

54 - Miles Bridges - He thinks he's a rapper?

1 - Aron Baynes International Ticket - Here's an insert card to finish things off. It has nearly the same design, but shows off the player's country instead of the game number that the bio on the back refers to.