Box Breaks: 2 Hobby Boxes of 2017-18 Panini Contenders Basketball

 

It feels like it's been MONTHS since I've opened new product, but it's actually just been about a month in a half. So to captilize on this year's hot rookie class, Panini decided to reintroduce Contenders to the NBA Market. There hasn't been a Contenders NBA Release since 2012-13, though Panini has made Contenders draft picks for basketball. I've always been curious as to  why they discontinued Contenders considering how popular it is in football, but lo and behold here it is and this product is SCORCHING HOT. What started as $140 per box product has now jumped to around $230-$240 a box. I definitely wanted to try a couple of boxes and was lucky to get 2 boxes for a little over MSRP at $152 a piece. The price literally jumped minutes after I bought my two boxes. So is it worth the risk and hype? Let's find out!

Box 1
Season Ticket Premium
Andrew Wiggins
Dwight Howard

Playoff Ticket
Nicolas Batum (#222/249)
Kent Bazemore (#046/249)

Historic Playoff Ticket Autograph
Dwyane Wade (#18/25)


Rookie Variation Season Ticket Autograph
Josh Jackson Redemption

Box 2


Season Ticket Premium
Andrew Wiggins
Chris Paul

Playoff Ticket
D'Angelo Russell (#162/249)
Dwight Howard (#174/249)


NBA Ink
Cody Zeller (#151/199)

The Finals Rookie Autograph Ticket
Markelle Fultz (#40/49)

Overall Thoughts: This was a GREAT break. I am very satisfied with the results as 3 of the 4 hits were outstanding. The Josh Jackson Autograph Redemption is definitely a nice stash card of the 3rd overall pick of the draft, which I went ahead and redeemed, as is the low numbered Markelle Fultz. Fultz has had a disappointing rookie season because of the unknown severity of a shoulder injury affecting his shooting, and it's looking more and more like he's going to sit out the rest of the season, so this is definitely a card I'll hold onto to see if he breaks out next year. It could be a hell of a card to own (even now, it currently sells as a $130-$200 card which isn't bad for someone who hasn't played much at all this year). My favorite pull though? The D-Wade auto numbered to 25. Such a great looking card and appropriately features Wade in a Heat Jersey, where he belongs. The hits made up for the mediocre parallels. Also, overall this rip can get pretty old fast as the checklist is super small (100 cards) and you get 120 cards per box. My 2nd box was literally all base doubles. I wouldn't touch this at it's current $230-$240 price but I wish I had bought more at the $150 price I got it at! Here's pics of the cards and hits!

Top 5 Pulls of 2018

#1 2017-18 Panini Contenders The Finals Ticket Rookie Autographs Markelle Fultz (#40/49)

#2 2017-18 Panini Contenders Historic Playoff Tickets Autographs Dwyane Wade (#18/25)

#3 2017-18 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Variation Autograph Redemption Josh Jackson (# to 75)

#4 2017-18 Panini Prizm Silver Prizm Frank Ntilikina RC

#5 2017-18 Panini Prizm Silver Prizm Terrance Ferguson RC