Box Breaks: 4 Boxes of 18-19 Optic FOTL Basketball

 

I wasn't going to end last night with that terrible awful Crown Royale Break, so I went ahead and opened up my 4 boxes of FOTL Optic which came in yesterday. Optic doesn't come out until the 30th so it's nice to be able to open this stuff earlier than the regular Hobby stuff (which I have a case of it coming in next week). Obvious the chase is Luka, especially the exclusive Purple Stars Parallel numbered to 13. So did this break redeem the Crown Royale Break? Here's what I got

Notable Base RC's Marvin Bagley III (2)
Collin Sexton (2)
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Mo Bamba
Michael Porter Jr.

All Stars
Kyle Lowry
Bradley Beal (2)
Damian Lillard (2)
Karl Anthony Towns

All Stars Silver Holo
Joel Embiid

All Stars Red Holo
Giannis Antetokounmpo (#81/99)

Retro Series
Oscar Robertson
Larry Bird (2)
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan (2)
Ray Allen (2)
Gary Payton
Drazen Petrovic

Retro Series Silver Holo
Ray Allen
Anfernee Hardaway
Charles Barkley
Tim Duncan

Heart
James Harden
Jimmy Butler
Giannis Antetkounmpo (2)
LeBron James (2)
Kobe Bryant
Andrew Wiggins


Heart Silver Holo
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Heart Red Holo
John Wall (#84/99)

All Clear For Takeoff
Russell Westbrook
Dennis Smith Jr.
LeBron James

All Clear For Takeoff Silver Holo
Dominique Wilkins

Swishful Thinking
Kemba Walker
Steve Kerr (2)
Paul George

The Rookies
Luka Doncic (2)
Marvin Bagley III

The Rookies Silver Holo
Luka Doncic

Silver Holo
Kevin Knox RC
Mo Bamba RC
Jevon Carter RC
Chimezie Metu RC
Kyle Kuzma
Josuf Nurkic
Myles Turner
Danny Green
Robin Lopez
Kyrie Irving
Willie Cauley-Stein
Nikola Vucevic
John Wall
Mario Hezonja
Carmelo Anthony
Nikola Jokic


Orange Holo
Robert Williams III (#199/199)
Donte DiVincenzo RC (#40/199)
Denzel Valentine (#98/199)

Lime Green Holo
Aaron Holiday RC (#86/149)
LaMarcus Aldridge (#100/149)
Aaron Gordon (#22/149)
Gary Harris (#77/149)

Red Holo
Clint Capela (#46/99)
Jeff Green (#27/99)
DeMarcus Cousins (#91/99)

Pink Velocity
Landry Shamet RC (#27/79)
Markelle Fultz (#35/79)

Blue Holo
Otto Porter Jr. (#18/49)

Black Velocity
Svi Mykhailiuk RC (#38/39)
Jrue Holiday (#26/39)
Avery Bradley (#6/39)


Purple Stars Holo
LEBRON JAMES (#5/13)
Kawhi Leonard (#12/13)
Robert Williams III RC (#5/13)
Karl Anthony Towns (#1/13)


Rated Rookie Autographs
Shai Gilgeious-Alexander
DeVonte Graham
Isaac Bonga

Signature Series Gold
Trae Young (#10/10)

Overall Thoughts: So...was it enough to help stomach that putrid Crown Royale break? YES...yes it was! Despite a limited presence of Luka (just two regular inserts and a silver insert parallel, no base) this break was AWESOME! First of all the Purple Stars Parallel. Keep in mind, it's a 200 card base set, with 4 boxes, you're bound to probably hit a common or two. I knocked those OUT OF THE PARK. When you're WORST Purple Stars hit is Karl Anthony Towns, that's pretty damn solid. The Kawhi is a super nice card, and I love that Optic features in game action shots of players in their new teams, so it's cool to have Kawhi as a Raptor. Robert Williams...geez I can't get away from this dude! Although he's not a top tier rookie, he's definitely not the worst rookie you can get, but mannn that's the 3rd low numbered parallel I've pulled of him (The Revolution Lava numbered to 10, The Black Gold from Prizm numbered to 5 and now this). And the ultimate topper....the LEBRON. Considering Lebron doesn't have autos to chase anymore, his low numbered parallels are always going to be in a high demand as far current cards go. And this is perfect in so many aspects, first unlike Prizm (which admittedly parallels sell for a ton more) this card not only features LeBron in a Lakers Uniform, but it's a game action shot of him, not just a photoshoot. The purple also goes perfect with the Lakers color scheme. A Lakers Lebron Parallel numbered to a mere 13 copies? Yup..that's a MONSTER card and definitely worthy of the #1 pull of the year so far. To top it off..my last box had a Gold Auto of Trae Young..one of the more popular rookies of this year's class. Another Top 5 pull! What a total yin and yang of breaks last night..from the absolute worst to so far in this early year my absolute best break. Like I stated earlier, I do have a case of regular hobby coming in next week, so hopefully I'll see some better Lukas in there, but I am more than happy with the break I had of this last night! Pics of the cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2019

#1 2018-19 Optic Basketball Lebron James Purple Stars FOTL Exclusive Parallel (#5/13)

#2 2018-19 Prizm Basketball Robert Williams III Black Gold Prizm RC (#3/5)

#3 2018 Contenders Football Nick Chubb FOTL Red Zone Auto Parallel

#4 2018-19 Optic Basketball Signature Series Gold Trae Young (#1/10)

#5 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break Marvin Bagley III Purple Prizm RC (#33/75)

Box Breaks: 4 Boxes of 2018-19 Crown Royale

 

So this weekend I'll be breaking Crown Royale and FOTL Optic and we'll start with Crown Royale. I'm not going to lie last year I got MURDERED on this stuff so part of me wanted to stay away..but with Luka stuff so hot and his Prime Silos being so coveted I decided to take a shot at these. Unlike last year though, where I bought 10 boxes of this stuff, I limited myself to 4. Now I doubt I get a Luka Prime since Blowout actually pulled one already out of one of their group break cases and I dunno, I feel like there wouldn't be two coming from the same place, but maybe I'll get another nice solid rookie or a different Luka. This stuff can be just as much as a blood bath as last year so I'm fully aware and bracing for that as well. Here we go

Panini's Choice Award Dennis Smith Jr. (#69/99)

Panini's Choice Award Red
Russell Westbrook (#13/75)


Rookie Royalty Blue
Bruce Brown (#38/49)


Crystal Parallel
Elie Okobo RC (#12/99)
Rudy Gobert (#43/99)
Bojan Bogdanovic (#2/99)

Red Parallel
Julius Randle (#32/49)


Gold Parallel
Keita Bates Diop RC (#6/10)

Rookie Jerseys
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Trae Young
Anfernee Simons


Jerseys
Steven Adams


Crown Royale Autographs Purple
Michael Carter-Williams (#4/25)


Crown Royale Rookie Autographs
Lonnie Walker IV (#13/149)

Crown Royale Rookie Autographs Red
Keita Bates-Diop (#15/99) (Of course I get a low numbered parallel and auto of this guy)
Omari Spellman (#58/99)


Silhouettes
Aaron Holiday (#176/199)

Overall Thoughts: Yuuuuuup...sucked. An early contender for worst break of the year already. This was BRUTALLY bad. Wayyyy worse than last year. I should've known better but I just can't help myself sometimes. These boxes are $94 a pop...I highly doubt I pulled even $40 worth of cards here. Flat out awful. Like I've seen in the past, when Panini sticks it to you..they REALLY stick it to you

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2019

#1-2018-19 Prizm Basketball Robert Williams III Black Gold Prizm RC (#3/5)

#2 2018 Contenders Nick Chubb FOTL Red Zone Auto Parallel

#3 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break Marvin Bagley III Purple Prizm RC (#33/75)

#4 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break Gold Rookie Signatures Anfernee Simons (#2/10)

#5 2018 Contenders Kerryon Johnson FOTL Red Zone Auto Parallel Redemption

Box Breaks: 5 Boxes of 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break

 

Keeping with the Prizm theme as I guess it's become my quest to try every format of this stuff, Fast Break is Prizm but not Prizm if it makes any sense haha. The base set is the same, but there are different parallels to chase and it's at a way lower price point than regular Prizm. You don't see much of this broken, in fact the other place I could even find to buy it was DA Card World. It's definitely not AS popular as Regular Prizm, but I've looked at the rookie prices and they still pretty good so I felt for the price per box it was worth taking a shot at. Was I right? Here's what I got

Notable Base Rookies Luka Doncic (3)
DeAndre Ayton (3)
Collin Sexton (3)
Jaren Jackson Jr. (2)
Shai Gilgeous Alexander
Michael Porter Jr. (2)
Marvin Bagley III

All Day Fast Break
LeBron James (2)
Paul George
Kyrie Irving
Donovan Mitchell
Joel Embiid

Fireworks Fast Break
Kevin Durant
Lauri Markkanen
Kristaps Porzingis (2)
Russell Westbrook
Lonzo Ball
Joel Embiid
DeMar DeRozan
Jayson Tatum

Go Hard or Go Home Fast Break
Joel Embiid
Karl Anthony Towns (2)
James Harden (2)
Ben Simmons


That's Savage Fast Break

Giannis Antetkounmpo
Russell Westbrook
Donovan Mitchell

Luck Of The Lottery Fast Break
Michael Porter Jr.
Mikal Bridges
DeAndre Ayton
Mo Bamba
Trae Young


Silver Prizms (Didn't know you got regular silvers in Fast Break)
Chandler Hutchison RC
Marvin Williams
Thon Maker
Marshon Brooks

Fast Break Silver
Shai Gilgeious-Alexander RC
Aaron Holiday RC
Hamidou Diallo RC
Gary Trent Jr. RC
Vincent Edwards RC
Yuta Watanabe RC
Dzanan Musa RC
Zach Collins
DeAndre Bembry
Danny Green
Larry Bird
Brandon Knight (2)
Bill Russell
Russell Westbrook
Paul Millsap
Jimmy Butler
Thon Maker
Dragan Bender
Serge Ibaka
Kyle Kuzma
Dewayne Dedmon
Zach LaVine
Derrick Rose
Nicolas Batum
Anthony Davis
Gordon Hayward
Kyle Korver
Robin Lopez
Stanley Johnson
Darren Collison
Buddy Hield
Goran Dragic


Fast Break Blue
Devonte Graham RC (#165/175)
Bill Russell (#13/175)
John Stockton (#103/175)
Danny Green (#113/175)
Khris Middleton (#3/175)
Trey Lyles (#121/175)
LaMarcus Aldridge (#141/175)
John Henson (#110/175)
Harry Giles (#112/175)
Nikola Mirotic (#146/175)

Fast Break Red
JaMychal Green (#120/125)
John Wall (#46/125)
Elfrid Payton (#86/125)
Lonzo Ball (#50/125)
David Robinson (#117/125)
Danilo Galinari (#36/125)
Derrick Favors (#49/125)
Allen Iverson (#65/125)

Fast Break Purple
Marvin Bagley III RC (#33/75)
Landry Shamet RC (#28/75)
Al Horford (#28/75)
Paul Millsap (#42/75)
Elfrid Payton (#28/75)

Fast Break Pink
Gary Trent Jr. RC (#44/50)
Taj Gibson (#29/50)
Jaylen Brown (#16/50)

Fast Break Bronze
Goran Dragic (#4/20)

Fast Break Autographs
Oscar Robertson
Domantas Sabonis
Ivica Zubac
Robert Williams III

Fast Break Autographs Gold
Anfernee Simons (#2/10)

Overall Thoughts: Well..another solid break despite not big Lukas. Did pull 3 more Luka Base Rookies. The bigger pulls were the Robertson Auto (Anytime you pull a Big O Auto, it's a win) the Bagley Purple (nice low numbered rookie parallel and it also matches the Kings Team Colors) and the Simons Gold Auto (If you're going to pull a Gold Auto might as well make it a Rookie). All in all good stuff! Here's pics of the cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2019

#1-2018-19 Prizm Basketball Robert Williams III Black Gold Prizm RC (#3/5)

#2 2018 Contenders Nick Chubb FOTL Red Zone Auto Parallel

#3 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break Marvin Bagley III Purple Prizm RC (#33/75)

#4 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break Gold Rookie Signatures Anfernee Simons (#2/10)

#5 2018 Contenders Kerryon Johnson FOTL Red Zone Auto Parallel Redemption

Best Pulls of 2018

So 2018 was pretty insane as far as best pulls go. I definitely spent a lot but also pulled a lot of good stuff. I ended up pulling 3 cards that I sold for $1400 or more (including a Lonzo Ball that I sold for nearly 5 grand..a sale that I will probably NEVER top). So here's a look at back at all the great pulls of 2018

















































































And now the official Top 5 Pulls of 2018 in  Descending Order

#5 Topps Tier 1 Signatures Derek Jeter (#7/15)

I don't think I'll EVER replicate the Hot Streak I had at the beginning of the summer. It was seriously beyond unbelievable. This was from my super hot Topps Tier 1 Case and it was the first hit of the 1st pack I opened. For reference, 4 of my top 5 pulls came within a month span. It was crazy. My hits were so good that yes a low numbered Derek Jeter on card auto barely cracks the top 5 (and an Ichiro Triple Patch Auto #1/1 doesn't crack the list at all)

#4 2018 Bowman Chrome Jaren Kendall Autograph Red Refractor (#2/5)

From the CRAZY weekend of opening a case of 2018 Bowman and National Treasures Basketball FOTL, for exactly 1 day, the Kendall was my most expensive pull in the history of me collecting cards. I quickly sold it for $900 and went on my merry way.

#3 2017-18 Immaculate Milestones Stephen Curry Acetate Auto (7/25)

I was only able to snag one box of Immaculate FOTL but it was a doozy. I actually held onto this card for a while before putting it up on Ebay and accepting an offer of $1450 making my 3rd highest sale of all time. It was THAT kind of year for high end pulls for me

#2 2017-18 National Treasures FOTL Exclusive Rookie Patch Auto De'Aaron Fox (#3/15)


Back to that glorious May Weekend where everything just came into place. This is one of the FOTL Exclusive Patch Autos I pulled out of my 4 boxes. I sold the other two (Josh Hart and OG Anunoby) for $700 and $600 respectively, but my other two rookie pulls were doozies. I quickly sold this Fox for $1600 on Blowout. The 2nd highest ever sale for me.

#1 2017-18 National Treasures FOTL Exclusive Rookie Patch Auto Lonzo Ball (#13/15)

And not only the #1 pull of 2018..but #1 pull of all time and it's going to be soooooo tough to top this. At first I assumed this was a $2000-$2500 pull when I pulled it. Boy was I wrong. I ended up selling it for an unbelievable $4500.00. So crazy...NOTHING will ever top that weekend's experience. And there ya go...amazing, frustrating, fun, boring, agitating, great, poor, shitty, awesome all that can describe 2018 when it came to busting wax at different points of the year. The unpredictability is what makes it fun. Here's hoping 2019 can be at least half as great as 2018!