Year over Year Comparison
2009/10 Panini Classics Basketball
Checklist: 2009/10 Panini Classics
– MSRP Price: $6.00 Per Pack
– Current Box Price: $100.00 ++
18 Packs Per Box – 5 Cards Per Pack
Good:
Blake Griffin RC Cards Got Hot
On-Card Autographs
Nice looking cards
Kobe Bryant Autographs
Affordable MSRP
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
2010/11 Panini Classics Basketball
Checklist: 2010/11 Panini Classics
– MSRP Price: $6.00 Per Pack
– Current Box Price: $90.00 (Avg eBay Price)
18 Packs Per Box – 8 Cards Per Pack
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 - Autograph RC Cards
#162 Al-Farouq Aminu #341/699
#168 Patrick Patterson #127/449 - Jersey Cards
Toney Douglas Dress Code Jersey #84/199
Scottie Pippen Membership Jersey #171/499 - Legends
Hakeem Olajuwon #230/999
Glenn Robinson #854/999
Al Attles SILVER #239/250
Rony Seikaly GOLD #91/100
