NBA Hoops, the brand that helped revive the basketball card market, is back. With a massive base set and two autographs per hobby box, 2011-12 NBA Hoops from Panini appeals to set builders looking for solid value. The base set is huge. At 279 cards plus a short-printed Mavericks NBA Championship card, the lineup goes deep into every team's bench. The autograph list has 179 players and is highlighted by Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin. Although there are few high-end hits, 1989-90 NBA Hoops BuyBacks Autographs add a definite chase element. Paying tribute to single-game records, A Night to Remember is an insert set picked through a series of votes on Panini's blog. 2011-12 NBA Hoops comes with separate retail and hobby versions. Although hobby packs cost a little more, they're packed with more content, including autographs.
Product Configuration: 36 packs per box, eight cards per pack
Price Point: Low-End Basketball Card
Target Audience: Set Builders, Collectors on a Tight Budget, Autograph Collectors, Nostalgic Collectors, Team Collectors
2011-12 NBA Hoops Box Break
- Two Autographs
2011-12 NBA Hoops Product Highlights:
- The huge 2011-12 NBA Hoops base set has 279 players plus a short-printed NBA Championship card honoring the Mavericks.
- An equally huge Hoops Autographs list sees 179 players signing, including Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.
- Autographs fall two per hobby box.
- Includes the first cards of Jeremy Lin in his New York Knicks uniform.
- If similar cards from Score are any indication, the 1989-90 NBA Hoops BuyBacks Autographs will command lots of attention on the secondary market.
- A fan-picked insert set, A Night to Remember, finally debuts. The 20-card set focuses on single-game records and includes classic players like Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson alongside current greats Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen and more.
- Slam Dunk Champions reach into the vault with strong photography of the highlight-reel event.
- Legends content comes in the form of Hall of Fame Heroes. The design, particularly the Heroes logo, is somewhat familiar to Heroes sets put out in past Upper Deck sets.
- Artist's Proofs parallel the base set.
- Other cards in the release focus on superstars like Bryant and Griffin, casting them on intense backdrops that are reminiscent of basketball posters from the 1990s.
- 2011-12 NBA Hoops has both retail and hobby versions. Retail packs carry a suggested price of $1. Hobby packs are more, at $2, but feature much more content and autographs.
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2011-12 NBA Hoops Basketball Product Review
Reviewed by Kerwin Leong
Good: Very affordable product for collectors of all ages. Huge 279-card base set goes deep into every team's bench. Two autographs per box, which are highlighted by Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Jeremy Lin, and more. Features original 1989-90 Hoops Buyback cards including autographs of David Robinson, Alex English, Adrian Dantley, and Xavier McDaniel. Insert cards are plentiful with many colorful designs.
Bad: Design is very simple and bland. With the exception of the four-card Private Signings set, the other autograph cards have stickers. No game-used memorabilia. One of the main omissions in this product is that there are no rookie. Panini did not include cards of Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, or any of other members of the 2011-12 NBA rookie crop.
The Bottom Line: 2011-12 Panini Hoops Basketball is an affordable low-end product that costs around $60 per hobby box. Even though you only get two Autographs per box, the end results can be rewarding if you pull that autograph of Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, or Jeremy Lin. This is a great product for kids to get started in the hobby.
Card Design: 3.5/5.0
The base cards have a smooth card surface which is great for through-the-mail autograph requests. The card design is very simple and plain. It lacks a lot of color and flash since all cards have the same hardwood floor borders. The action shots of the players are not the best either.
Base cards have three parallels: Glossy, Artist Proof and Autographs. The Hoops Action Photos insert have a better design that the base cards, in my opinion. I like how there are no borders and the entire picture makes up the card. The Hoops Dreams insert is a colorful set of cards that showcases nine of the NBA's rising young stars. Slam Dunk Winners highlights 15 past NBA Slam Dunk Champions performing their signature dunk. Sadly, Michael Jordan is not included in this set due to his contract with Upper Deck. Hall of Fame Heroes honors 20 past NBA Legends in a black and white card design. Hoops Courtside shows 15 top NBA players from the perspective of a court-side seat. A Night to Remember depicts 20 players and their top moments of their career.
Checklist: 5.0/5.0
The huge base set is comprised of 279 cards, which means every team is well represented. If you are looking for cards of your team's entire bench, this is the product to get since it has many players that are usually not included in many products. There are also All-Star cards and three short prints: Dallas Mavericks Championship, Kobe Bryant Mamba, and Blake Griffin Superior. Some players such as Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin have four different base cards along with their autograph counterparts. We get the first Jeremy Lin card in a New York Knicks uniform. There is a nice mixture of current NBA players, retired legends, and Hall of Famers in this product.
Unfortunately there are no rookie cards in 2011-12 NBA Hoops. Collectors who seek out their first cards of Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams will have to look elsewhere. The autograph checklist is one of the strongest selling points of this product since you can pull cards signed by Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, and Jeremy Lin.
Value: 4.0/5.0
Hobby boxes have 36 eight-card packs. You are guaranteed two autographs per box along with a ton of inserts. Considering this is a low-end box, there is a not a lot of risk involved. You can be one the lucky ones to pull one of the main autograph cards from the box that will more than make up for the price of the box. Overall, this product should appeal to all age groups.
The Fun Factor: 3.5/5.0
Panini's first post-NBA lockout product brings back an old favorite in Hoops. The brand last appeared in 2005. The base set feels a little old-school but with modern players. Insert cards have some innovative designs. The checklist is huge, capturing almost every player in the league.
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