Collect call: 2009 Panini Prestige basketball

Posted Oct 28, 2009 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Oct 31, 2009 at 06:28 PM

The first Panini NBA basketball card trading set makes an impressive debut with its Prestige 2009 product.

This is a set that has something for everyone — set builders, nostalgia buffs, rookie card collectors and insert lovers. There is plenty of good stuff to choose from.

The basics: A hobby box contains 24 packs, with eight cards to a pack. The product contains a 150-card base set, plus 100 rookie cards. There are also 13 different insert subsets. On average, expect to pull a combination of two autograph and two memorabilia cards per box.

The hobby box I sampled contained 148 of the 150 base cards, which is certain to please set collectors. There were four duplicate cards, which was unfortunate (it’s the set collector in me — I hate to get so close, only to be thwarted by doubles).

The box also contained 25 of the 100 rookies, plus five rookie cards numbered to 999 with “Draft Picks” in light blue showing in the upper right-hand corner.

The card design puts the player in sharp relief, while the background tends to lend itself to a softer focus. The card layouts are vertical, which I believe is important in basketball cards. The tighter shots make for a more dramatic look.

It’s nice to see that Panini was able to get a shot of Shaquille O’Neal in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. And there is a concerted effort to update a player’s status; for example, the card depicting Rasual Butler shows him in a New Orleans uniform, but a notation above his name lets the collector know that he had been traded to the L.A. Clippers in August.

A similar notation dots the Shawn Marion card, noting his trade from the Raptors to the Mavericks. It’s good stuff.

The selection of players was nice too, particularly the greats from the 1960s and ’70s. It’s fun to see cards of guys like Bob Dandridge, Dave Bing, Nate Thurmond, Adrian Dantley, World B. Free and Connie Hawkins.

The hobby box I sampled had inserts from seven of the 13 subsets, including two from the NBA Draft Class. There also was one each from Stars of the NBA, Stat Stars, Prestigious Pros, Hardcourt Heroes, Old School and Franchise Favorites.

The first key card I pulled from the hobby box got me excited — an NBA Draft Class autograph of DeJuan Blair. What excited me was that the autograph was on the card.

That was tempered by the second auto card, a Draft Picks rookie of DeMarre Carroll that had his signature on a sticker.

Oh well.

There were two game-used cards in the hobby box—a Tracy McGrady Preferred Pros card numbered to 250, and a DiMar DeRozan Prestigious Pros card numbered to 50.

An excellent debut. It looks like basketball collectors will have some good things to look forward to in the future if Panini matches the quality of its first product.