Box Breaks: 2 Blaster Boxs of 17-18 Panini Contenders Basketball

 

This is going to be a really difficult year to buy basketball cards as I assume the prices are going to be terribly ABSURD thanks to this year's stacked draft class. Case in Point? This product? Hobby boxes are like $180 a BOX?! College stuff isn't usually that desirable yet thanks to Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz and others, people are going to be buying up anything basketball and driving the prices up. Hell, HOOPS..freaking HOOPS is preselling at $90 a BOX (with Donruss at $100!!!). These are LOW END PRODUCTS!!! If I'm going to get my pack busting fix, unfortunately it looks like it's going to have to be through retail just like baseball was for the most part. So I decided to try these at $20 a pop and the guarantee of one auto per box. Eh...why not right? Here's what I got

Unbeliveable..lol..no auto in blaster 1

Blaster 2
Isaish Briscoe Blue Foil Auto (#45/99)

Overall Thoughts: Yup..that's it. Got screwed over in blaster 1 and got a scrubby auto in blaster 2. I knew going in that the autos were going to probably suck, but damn, I'd at least like to get my 2 guaranteed scrubby autos! My low expectations weren't even met. Oh and Panini's famous collation issues were in full effect. I literally pulled the same Game Ticket Inserts from each blaster. I really HATE that about Panini the most. But they don't care to fix it because they know most people could care less about the inserts and base cards and just want the hits. Anyways, that continues the basketball dry spell as that's two straight bombs of breaks. Here's some pics of the different cards and inserts.

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2017 

#1 2017 Topps Chrome Aaron Judge Autograph RC

#2 2016-17 Panini Revolution Galactics DeJounte Murray RC

#3- 2016 Donruss Optic Superfractor Cam Newton (#1/1) 

#4- 2017 Bowman Platinum Platinum Cuts Gleyber Torres Autograph (#14/25)  

#5- 2017 Topps Tier Prodigious Patches Platinum Eric Hosmer (#1/1)

Case Breaks: 10 Box Case of 2017 Panini Classics Football

 

So this was the second case I purchased, but decided to go with just 1 10 Box inner case instead of a Master Case. I just wanted a cheap rip at a chance of something decent and basically at 44 bucks a pop and with 1 autograph and 1 memorabilia card a box, I figured it would be a fun break. How did it go? Here's what I got!

Box 1

Notable Rookies
DeShaun Watson
Mike Williams

Red Back
John Ross RC (#298/299)
Steve Smith (#121/299)
Luke Kuechly (#106/299)

Sepia SP
Marcus Mariota

Timeless Tributes Gold
Dave Wilcox (#38/99)

Blank Back
Gareon Conley RC (#30/50)

Classic Materials
Philip Rivers


Autographs
Jamal Adams (#27/199)

Box 2


Notable Rookies
DeShaun Watson
Mike Williams

Red Back
Russell Wilson (#185/299)
ArDarius Stewart RC (#291/299)
Charlie Joiner (#138/299)

Sepia SP
Dak Prescott

Timeless Tribute Gold
Joe Mixon RC (#30/99)

Blank Back
D'onta Foreman RC (#46/50)

Classic Materials
Matthew Stafford (#41/299)

Buy Back Auto
2006 Threads Eli Manning (#2/4)

Box 3

Notable Rookies
DeShone Kizer
Leonard Fournette

Red Backs
Wayne Gallman RC (#61/299)
Le'Veon Bell (#3/299)
Kurt Warner (#5/299)


Sepia SP
Philip Rivers


Timeless Tributes Orange
Marvin Jones (#14/25)

Full Name Parallel
Carl Lee Eller (#4/5)

Classic Combos Dual Jersey
Geno Atkins/Vontaze Burfict

Autographs
T.J. Watt (#55/199)  

Box 4

Notable Rookies
Mike Williams
Myles Garrett

Red Backs
Mitchell Trubisky RC (#218/299)
Jerry Rice (#208/299)
Adrian Peterson (#241/299)
Dede Westbrook RC (#108/299)

Sepia SP
Joe Haden


Classic Materials
Jerome Bettis (#212/299)


Autographs
Chad Hansen (#125/199) 

Box 5


Notable Rookies
Dalwin Cook
Joe Mixon
John Ross

Red Back
Paul Hornung (#204/299)
Tom Brady (#29/299)

Blank Back
Matt Forte (#7/50)
Marshall Faulk (#42/50)

Sepia SP
J.J. Watt


Classic Materials
Le'Veon Bell (#222/299)


Autographs Blue Parallel

D'onta Foreman (#1/5)


Box #6


Notable Rookies
Mitchell Trubisky

Red Backs
Paul Warfield (#107/299)
Mark Ingram (#97/299)
Bucky Hodges RC (#13/299)

Sepia SP
T.Y. Hilton


Timeless Tributes Orange
Corey Clement RC (#1/25)

No Name On Front
JuJu Smith-Schuster RC (#2/10)


Classic Swatches
Rob Gronkowski (#233/299)

Autographs
Jordan Leggett (#1/199)

Box 7

Red Backs
Archie Manning (#224/299)
Jourdan Lewis RC (#206/299)
Dez Bryant (#97/299)

Sepia SP
Drew Brees

Full Name Parallel
John Ross III RC (#1/5)

Flashback Fabrics
Tim Tebow (#200/399)

Autographs
Charley Trippi (#31/49)

Box 8

Red Backs
Cris Carter (#38/299)
Alvin Kamara RC (#53/299)
Clay Matthews (#92/299)

Sepia SP
Adrian Peterson

Blank Back
Marcus Mariota (#1/50)


Timeless Tributes Black Parallel
Ed "Too Tall" Jones (#1/1)


Classic Materials
Marshall Faulk (#285/299)

Autographs
Sidney Jones (#3/199)   

Box 9

Red Backs
Mike Evans (#201/299)
Jake Butt RC (#188/299)
Boomer Esiason (#78/299)

Sepia SP
Matt Ryan

Blank Back
Obi Melifonwu RC (#12/50)


Classic Materials
Kirk Cousins Patch (#19/50)

Autographs Blue Parallel
Earl Campbell (#1/5)

Box 10

Red Backs
Reuben Foster RC (#155/299)
Dan Marino (#61/299)

Sepia SP
Aaron Rodgers

Timeless Tributes Gold
Eli Manning (#61/99)

Blank Back
Heath Miller (#50/50)


Classic Materials
Adrian Peterson (#252/299)

Autographs Orange Parallel
Justin Davis (#25/25)

Overall Thoughts: MUCHHHH better than the Revolution Break. Very enjoyable break. A nice low numbered Eli on Card Auto, two numbered to 5 autos of Earl Campbell and D'onta Freeman, a 1/1 of Ed Too Tall Jones, two full name parallels numbered to 5 and one no name on front parallel numbered to 10. I know memorabilia cards are pretty much worthless but still pulled good names there of Peterson, Gronk, Faulk, Bettis, and Bell. Inserts galore of all the big names too. I felt I did pretty good! Happy with the break! Here's a gallery of the different cards in the set with the big hits as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2017 

#1 2017 Topps Chrome Aaron Judge Autograph RC

#2 2016-17 Panini Revolution Galactics DeJounte Murray RC

#3- 2016 Donruss Optic Superfractor Cam Newton (#1/1) 

#4- 2017 Bowman Platinum Platinum Cuts Gleyber Torres Autograph (#14/25)  

#5- 2017 Topps Tier Prodigious Patches Platinum Eric Hosmer (#1/1)

 

Case Breaks: Master Case of 16-17 Revolution Basketball

 

So I rarely break cases. In fact, I've only done it once with 2016 Strata baseball. My reasoning for trying this particular case? At around $40 a box, I felt the risk was minimal for the chance at something pretty good. The big chase card in Revolution are Galactic parallels. They come 1 per master case. If you hit the right one, you could be looking at some major money (a Brandon Ingram sold for like $1400, can't imagine what a Ben Simmons would go for). Now obviously the odds of pulling a Galactic of a big money player are slim, but I also felt that with the numerous parallels you get, and the 4 autographs per case (You only get 4 autographs, and 2 will be from the  super weak rookie class, but you also get 2 autographs from the loaded vet checklist which is small enough that I would be happy with the majority of the players in it). I thought it would be a fun "cheap" break so to speak (which is really isn't because a Master Case has 16 boxes lol). So I took the plunge and used some of the money I had off a big sale I made to purchase a case. How did it go? Here are the results.

Box 1

Rookies
Brandon Ingram
Skal Labissiere
Patrick McCaw
Georgios Papagiannis

Infinite
Stephen Zimmerman
James Harden

Astro
Kristaps Porzingis
Malik Beasley RC
Marc Gasol
Isaiah Whitehead RC

Fractal
A.J. Hammons RC

Rookie Revolution
Buddy Hield
Jakob Poeltl

Star Gazing
Stephen Curry


By The Numbers
Stephen Curry

Sunburst
Kemba Walker (#6/75)

Box 2

Rookies
Dragon Bender
Deyonta Davis
Michael Gbinije
Demetrius Jackson

Star Gazing
Carmelo Anthony

Rookie Revolution
Henry Ellenson

By The Numbers
Ricky Rubio

Revolutionaries
Karl Malone

Astro
Buddy Hield RC
Aaron Gordon
Mindaugas Kuzminskas RC
Rajon Rondo

Infinite
Marquese Chriss RC
Monta Ellis

Fractal
Cheick Diallo RC

Cosmic
John Wall (#97/100) 

Box 3

Rookies
Patrick McCaw
Georgios Papgiannis
Pascal Siakam
Taurean Prince


Rookie Revolution
Malachi Richardson
Brice Johnson

By The Numbers
DeMarcus Cousins

Star Gazing
Stephen Curry

Astro
Kristaps Porzingis
Jaylen Brown RC
Darren Collison
Henry Ellenson RC


Infinite
Karl Anthony Towns
DeAndre Bembry RC


Fractal
Tyreke Evans

Futura
DeMar DeRozan (#13/25)


Box 4

Rookies
Georges Niang
Damian Jones
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Willy Hernangomez


Rookie Revolution
Ben Simmons
Buddy Hield

Star Gazing
Chris Paul

By The Numbers
Andre Drummond

Astro
Malcolm Brogdon RC
Chris Paul
Evan Fournier
Wade Baldwin IV RC


Infinite
Thon Maker RC
Aaron Gordon

Fractal
Jeremy Lin


Sunburst
Blake Griffin (#59/75)

Box 5

Rookies
Jamal Murray
Wade Baldwin IV
Malcolm Brogdon
Caris LaVert

Rookie Revolution
Buddy Hield
Jakob Poeltl

By The Numbers
DeMarcus Cousins

Star Gazing
DeMar DeRozan

Astro
A.J. Hammons
Kemba Walker
Cheick Diallo
Kawhi Leonard


Infinite
J.J. Redick
Demetrius Jackson


Fractal
Marcin Gortat


Cosmic
Zach Randolph (#2/100)

Rookie Autographs
Jakob Poeltl

and..

DEJOUNTE MURRAY GALACTIC RC

Box 6

Rookies
Ben Simmons
Joel Bolomboy
Ivica Zubac
Denzel Valentine

Rookie Revolution
Skal Labissiere
Brice Johnson


By The Numbers
Russell Westbrook

Star Gazing
Karl Anthony Towns

Astro
Andrew Wiggins
Jrue Holiday
Brice Johnson RC
A.J. Hammons RC

Infinite
James Harden
Joel Bolomboy RC


Fractal
Mike Conley

Revolutionaries Cosmic
Magic Johnson (#46/100)

Box 7


Rookies
Stephen Zimmerman
Diamond Stone
Domantas Sabonis
DeAndre Bembry

Rookie Revolution

Domantas Sabonis

By The Numbers
DeMarcus Cousins

Star Gazing
DeAndre Jordan

Revolutionaries
Karl Malone


Astro
Dario Saric RC
Isaiah Whitehead RC
Nikola Mirotic
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Infinite
Malcolm Brogdon RC
Derrick Rose

Fractal
Hassan Whiteside


Star Gazing Cosmic
Anthony Davis (#55/100)

Box 8

Rookies
Ben Simmons
Tomas Satoransky
Ron Baker
Denzel Valentine

Rookie Revolution
Buddy Hield
Ben Simmons

By The Numbers
DeMarcus Cousins

Star Gazing
Kevin Durant

Astro
Jake Layman RC
Jabari Parker
Dejounte Murray RC
Jimmy Butler


Infinite
Pascal Siakam RC
James Harden

Fractal
DeAndre Bembry RC


Cosmic
Brandon Knight (#14/100)

Rookie Autographs
Kris Dunn

Box 9

Rookies

Tyler Ulis
Taurean Prince
Paul Zipser
Pascal Siakam

Rookie Revolution
Wade Baldwin IV
Caris LeVert


By The Numbers
Stephen Curry


Star Gazing
John Wall

Astro
Pascal Siakam RC
Jeremy Lin
Taurean Prince RC
Jimmy Butler

Infinite
Denzel Valentine RC
Victor Olidipo

Fractal
Malik Beasley


Cosmic
Derrick Favors (#28/100)


Box 10

Rookies
Caris LeVert
Jamal Murray
Brice Johnson
Wade Baldwin IV

Rookie Revolution
Jamal Murray
Thon Maker

Star Gazing
Demar DeRozan


By The Numbers
Chris Paul

Astro
Jordan Clarkson
Buddy Hield RC
Henry Ellenson
Chris Paul

Infinite
Dario Saric RC
Monta Ellis

Fractal
Jared Sullinger

Sunburst
Andre Drummond (#65/75)  

Box 11

Rookies
DeAndre Bembry
Stephen Zimmerman
Diamond Stone
Domantas Sabonis

Rookie Revolution
DeAndre Bembry
Timothe Lawawu-Cabarrot


Star Gazing
Kevin Durant

By The Numbers
LeBron James

Astro
Chinanu Onuahu RC
Jared Sullinger
Kenneth Faried
Thon Maker RC

Infinite
DeAngelo Russell
Dragan Bender RC

Fractal
Eric Bledsoe

Sunburst
Andrew Wiggins (#72/75)

Box 12

Rookies
Ron Baker
Dejounte Murray
Tomas Satoransky
Ben Simmons

Rookie Revolution
Marquese Chriss
Denzel Valentine

By The Numbers
Rajon Rondo

Star Gazing
Chris Paul

Astro
Kevin Durant
Georges Niang RC
Marshall Plumlee RC
Dirk Nowitzki

Infinite
Brandon Ingram RC
Harrison Barnes

Fractal
DeMar DeRozan


By The Numbers Cosmic
Russell Westbrook (#86/100)

Box 13

Rookies
Chianu Onuaku
Jakob Poeltl
Thon Maker
Mindaugas Kuzminskas

Rookie Revolution
Henry Ellenson
Denzel Valentine

Star Gazing
Stephen Curry

By The Numbers
Stephen Curry

Astro
Mindaugas Kuzminskas RC
Thon Maker RC
Tristan Thompson
LeBron James

Infinite
DeAndre Jordan
Marquese Chriss RC

Fractal
Dwight Howard

Cosmic
Dejounte Murray RC (#82/100)

Rookie Autographs
Juan Hernangomez

Box 14

Rookies
Wade Baldwin IV
Willy Hernangomez
Kris Dunn
Malcolm Brogdon

Rookie Revolution
Wade Baldwin IV
Caris LeVert

By The Numbers
Stephen Curry

Star Gazing
Klay Thompson

Astro
Isaish Thomas
Henry Ellenson RC
Derrick Favors
Jaylen Brown RC

Infinite
Hassan Whiteside
Demetrius Jackson RC

Fractal
Chandler Parsons


Sunburst
Jared Sullinger (#26/75)

Autographs
Kyrie Irving

Box 15

Rookies
Kay Felder
Stephen Zimmerman
DeAndre Bembry
Marquese Chriss

Rookie Revolution
Dejounte Murray
Pascal Siakam

Star Gazing
Paul George


Revolutionaries
Larry Bird

Astro
Skal Labissiere RC
C.J. McCollum
Brandon Ingram RC
Darren Collison


Infinite
Mindaugas Kuzminskas RC
DeMar Derozan

Fractal
Klay Thompson

Cosmic
Marshall Plumlee (#31/100)

Box 16

Rookies
Diamond Stone
Domantas Sabonis
Chinanu Onuaku
Jakob Poeltl


Rookie Revolution
Dragan Bender
Brandon Ingram

By The Numbers
DeMarcus Cousins (5th one)

Star Gazing
James Harden

Astro
Marquese Chriss RC
Marc Gasol
Kristaps Porzingis
Kay Fielder RC

Infinite
Derrick Rose
Buddy Hield RC

Sunburst
C.J. McCollum (#12/75)

Fractal
Brandon Ingram RC

Overall Thoughts: TERRIBLE. Sometimes I swear, Panini loves to make sure people who purchase their products get the worst stuff POSSIBLE becuase they know we always come back for more. Only one serial numbered card to 25 out of the entire break. 3 Rookie Autos and this is what I'm talking about, there should be an even split in a master case of 2 vets and 2 rookies, that's why the odds are differentiated on the pack! It makes you seem like you get one of each, instead I get 3 rookies for the WORST rookie class in recent memory). Not one Ben Simmons parallel, Not one Showstoppers insert (packs odds are 1:64..thought I'd pull 2..or at least 1, but nope nothing) and terrible collation (5 of the same DeMarcus Cousins insert). This is a small 100 card base card (150 including the sort of SP'd rookies that you get 4 per box) and I don't even think I completed one base set, though I pulled 7 cards of some players. The only saving grace was that the Galactic I Pulled was one of the best rookies of the class (still isn't saying much) but even with that it was still a bloodbath. I dunno why I thought this would be a good idea, but like I said I thought that at the very least the Galactics and a couple of Vet autos and maybe some nice parallels would make this a worthwhile break. Dead wrong. One of the worst breaks I've ever had and that's WITH pulling a card that makes my Top 5! Here's pics of the some of the cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2017 

#1 2017 Topps Chrome Aaron Judge Autograph RC

#2 2016-17 Panini Revolution Galactics DeJounte Murray RC

#3- 2016 Donruss Optic Superfractor Cam Newton (#1/1) 

#4- 2017 Bowman Platinum Platinum Cuts Gleyber Torres Autograph (#14/25)  

#5- 2017 Topps Tier Prodigious Patches Platinum Eric Hosmer (#1/1)

Mailday Time!

Time to show off my most recent pickups from Ebay!

1998-99 Topps Chrome Dirk Nowitzki RC PSA 9

A card that I've never owned before, even in raw form. I love Chrome and though I wish I could pick up a refractor easily, (they go for big bucks) I'll settle for the base Chrome for now.

16-17 Panini Noir Jumbo Materials Karl Anthony Towns (#14/25)

This is one of the cards where the pic simply doesn't do it justice. This card is BEAUTIFUL in hand. Everything about it works, the design, the large patch. Such a great looking card. Don't have too many KAT cards in my collection but this is probably my favorite one now.

1997 Flair Showcase Hot Hands Emmitt Smith BGS 9

To me 90's football inserts don't nearly the love as their baseball and basketball counterparts. For example this Hot Hands insert seems like the football version of the Hot Shots insert in basketball which stars in that set go for pretty good money? This Emmitt? 7 bucks shipped. Pretty cool card for a pretty great price!

2017 Topps Definitive Carlos Correa Mother's Day Patch (#24/30)

 I really love Topps Definitive and I'd love to add more cards from this product in the future. This basically has everything going for it. A large jumbo patch (seems to be the letter A to me) from a special event game (Mother's Day) and it's also MLB authenticated. My favorite relics are those that are tied back to actual games, that way you know in THEORY, your relic card is legit. I don't understand why Topps and Panini can't do this to ALL of their relic cards. Just a cool looking card.

2017 Immaculate Dual Patches Albert Pujols/Mike Trout (#10/10)

I know I know..no logos, but this combo was too good to pass up and I really like how the  card looks itself. Panini's non licensed baseball products may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't mind them all that much.

2017 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs Peach Andrew Benintendi BGS 9 (#29/150)

There's just something about retro designs and up and coming rookies that draws me in. This is such a cool looking card and I wanted to get at least one Benny auto into my collection. For me, I couldn't have asked for a better one. Being a peach parallel doesn't hurt one bit!

Topps Definitive Craig Biggio/Jose Altuve Dual Relic/Auto (#28/35)

I saw this and made it a point to win it. How can you go wrong? Biggio is one of the Astros biggest icons and Altuve is currently a front runner for MVP honors this season as the Astros try to make their 2nd ever World Series and win their 1st. On Card Autographs of both guys, a nice design, definitely up there as one of my favorite pickups of the year.