2021-22 Panini NBA Hoops

It's NBA Draft night, so let's check out a pack of Hoops. This one is a pack from a blaster box.

112 - Maxi Kleber - The card design is very Hoops-y. It's not bad.

118 - Richaun Holmes - Holmes is a solid but a bit undersized center who mostly shoots around the basket.

43 - Al Horford - Horford is 36 now and is in his second stint with the Celtics. He's more of a volume three point shooter these days, for better or for worse.

120 - Thomas Bryant - Put this one in your "people wearing face masks" collection.

179 - Mike Conley - Same goes with this one.

24 - Derrick White - White spent his whole career with San Antonio before being set free and joining the Celtics for a bench role.

107 - DeAndre Jordan Anniversary Edition - The Anniversary Edition cards were advertised as rare parallels, but it's hard to determine their print run with them being unnumbered.

228 - Davion Mitchell - Each blaster pack comes with a rookie card at the end. Mitchell had a decent rookie season, starting 19 games and getting increased playing time during the final month with Tyrese Haliburton sent to Indiana.

2020-21 Panini Chronicles Basketball Hanger Box

Greetings!

I hope everyone is doing well.  It's NBA Finals time, so what better time for a basketball pack.  A month or so ago my eldest (who just graduated from the 8th grade, holy crap, I have a high school kid) and I were at Target.  I sent him to a specific aisle to grab something and on the way back to me he took a detour through the card aisle and saw a couple of boxes of Chronicles.  He grabbed one and tried to sell me on buying it with the hopes we would split the cards.  Ol' Jafronius doesn't do Chronicles but there hasn't been basketball cards on the shelves, so for $15 we took a box home.

I gave him the option on if he wanted the top card or not, which he opted to claim.  He also thought that he'd get the top half of the stack; I shut him down real quick on that thought.  There's what we got:

#85 - LeBron James (Threads)

#9 - Jayson Tatum (Chronicles)

The kid saw LeBron and thought it was a safe pick so going forward his cards are on the left and mine are on the right.  

#57 - Patrick Williams (RC) (Prestige)

#19 - Ben Simmons (Chronicles)

He then was pretty excited to get the Bulls rookie from last season (in a set released this season), and felt sorry that I got Simmons.

#80 - Obi Toppin (RC) (Threads)

#4 - Zach Levine (Chronicles) 

Joy turned to heartache for the kid, as I "drafted" his current favorite player.  

#52 - James Wiseman (RC) (Prestige)

#48 - Donovan Mitchell (Chronicles)

There's 725 cards in the set, which is divided into 27(!) subsets.  Here's the link to the checklist for those who are interested.  

#99 - Theo Maledon (RC) (Threads)

#43 - Nikola Jokic (Chronicles)

The set was released back in November, part of the 2021-22 NBA season.  I haven't come across a reason why all of Panini's 2020-21 releases were delayed a year.  Maybe they were all gonna have little sports figures like 2021 Big League.

#107 - Patrick Williams (RC) (Panini)

#141 - Facundo Campazzo (RC) (Luminance)

The kid found it curious he got a second Patrick Williams in the box.  I didn't say anything at this point.

#178 - LeBron James (Paybook)

#102 - LaMelo Ball (RC) (Panini) 

Now he was confused with his second LeBron.  I told him how this set was designed, with only the big players and the hottest (year old) rookies.  

#155 - Kira Lewis Jr. (RC) (Luminance)

#116 - Tyrese Maxey (RC) (Panini)

I told him not every player gets a card.  For example, Game 5 hero Andrew Wiggins does not have a card in Chronicles.  However, Bulls rookie Patrick Williams has 23 cards in the set!

#131 - Onyeka Okongwu (RC) (Panini)

#187 - Jae'Sean Tate (RC) (Playbook)

#635 - Anthony Edwards (RC) (Classics)

#165 - Tyrese Maxey (RC) (Luminance)

Got my second Maxey in the "draft".  

#632 - Isaac Okoro (RC) (Classics)

#645 - RJ Hampton (RC) (Classics)

Apparently the base Classics subset are exclusive to hanger boxes.  

#75 - Obi Toppin (RC) (Prestige Green Parallel)

#642 - Theo Maledon (RC) (Classics)

Green Parallels are also hanger box exclusives.  Obi Toppin is a fun name to say.

#563 - Deni Avdija (RC) (Hometown Heroes)

#194 - Anthony Davis (Playbook Green Parallel)

The kid was pleased to get a shiny card, while I lucked out with the second Green Parallel.

#264 - Immanuel Quickley (RC) (Marquee)

#227 - LeBron James (Essentials)

The kid found it ridiculous that there was a third LeBron in the box.  Turns out there are 19 Lebrons in the set.  If you're a big Jimmy Butler fan, you can look for...1 card in the set.

#273 - Nico Mannion (RC) (Xr)

#300 - Luka Doncic (Xr)

What's an Xr?

I asked him what he thought of the set after the going through the cards.  He wasn't a big fan of the repeat players  but did enjoy of the look of some of the cards.  Maybe that's what Panini is going for with this set...enough good looking sets to impress collectors.   

Anyway, that's the pack.  I forgot to scan the backs, but you know what Panini backs look like.  Thanks for reading!

2022 Topps x Spotlight 70 Series 2

This is 2022 Topps x Spotlight 70 Series 2. 

Each box (1 pack/box) has "chase cards" (including numbered inserts) and roughly every 5 boxes/packs has an autograph. 

This product was available exclusively from the Topps website and appears to be now sold out.

Each card is a print of an ink/watercolor depiction of a card by artist Andy Friedman.

Here's 1 pack (I bought 5):

Firstly we have a depiction of Hideki Matsui's 2009 Topps Attax card.

Next we have an Ichiro insert.

 

These are depictions of Tim McCarver's 1976 base card and a 2007 Topps insert of Chien-Ming Wang.

Here we have a depiction of Carlos Zambrano's 2000 Topps Rookie Card, and Melvin Mora's Topps T-206 card from 2006. What's going on with Melvin's neck?

Tim Wakefield is my main PC player so it was cool to find this print of his 2006 Topps card. In a nice touch, the card is numbered 49, Wakefield's jersey number (and a traditional jersey number worn by knuckleball pitchers). This image accurately channels the scout's confidence in knuckleball pitchers.

Speaking of knuckleball pitchers, here we have two very similar but slightly different depictions of Phil Niekro's 1985 "Record Breaker" insert. The card pictured on the right is a numbered parallel:

I'm going to assume this set is a little bit polarizing for people. I find it somewhat charming. At the same time, it has a certain avant-garde nature that you probably either love or hate. I wouldn't necessarily want one of these images tattooed on me. As far as the cards in this particular pack, I got a lot of players I like. The art is definitely unique, in a word.

On a side note, I did find an autograph in one of the other 4 packs I bought, which you can see here.

1991 Topps Beverly Hills 90210

Here is a pack of 1991 Topps Beverly Hills 90210 cards. The set contains 88 cards (divided into three subsets) and 11 stickers. The cello wrapper is deceptively larger than the cards inside. The actual cards are standard 2x3. Each card features a black and orange border. Inside the border, a green wavy line (ocean waves, perhaps?) appear down either the left, right, or bottom (depending on image and card orientation). There is a round white "90210" logo/cancellation stamp image on each front as well. The bulk of each card is taken p by a still from the show, a posed image, or another related photo.

The original cast, started in 1990, already shows signs of infighting. Look at some of the faces on this card and you'll recognize the beginnings of cast attitudes toward each other. In hindsight, it's no wo surprise that Shannon Daugherty's character is the one on the surf board at the top of the food chain...

Here is another group shot. Again, the faces tell of things to come between cast members...

Each pack features a sticker:

The card backs feature 90's-clad pinks and aquas with the cast serving as a watermark background. The card number appears at the bottom along with copyright info. In the center of each back, trivia from the show (with answers on the another card) along with the answer to another card's question:

You can find a checklist here:

http://nslists.com/bh90210.htm

1992 Comic Images Olivia (Series I)

Here is a pack of 1992 Comic Images Olivia (Series I). There are 90 cards in the set, including a checklist. There are 6 chase "prism" cards as well. Each card features the artwork of Olivia De Berardinis. They are the standard 2x3-inch trading card size.

I debated posting these, considering their adult nature. But, I censored them, they are "art" cards, and, well, our mission is to open at least one of EVERY pack of cards ever made, so... I opted to post them. 

Each card features a borderless image. As mentioned, the subject matter comes from the collection of Olivia. I present the cards on their own without further commentary:

The card backs have a grey border surrounding a pink background. "OLIVIA" is printed in all-caps at the top along with the text "Collector Cards" and "Comic Images." On one side of the back is a line art drawing. On the other side, the card number, image title, and information about the original piece. At the bottom, copyright information:

Set Checklist:

http://nslists.com/olivia1.htm