I continue to be impressed with the basketball product that Panini has issued in the past year. Since winning the licensing rights to issue NBA cards, Panini has continued to produce high quality products.

That high standard continues with the 2009-10 Court Kings set. It’s a high-end product for sure, costing in the neighborhood of $100 per box — and that box includes a pack of 11 cards and a box topper — but some of the hits certainly make the price worthwhile.

The card design depicts paintings of players in action, and is eerily similar to the Donruss Diamond Kings of the early 1990s. The same attention to detail is there, and when you tilt the card there is definitely a nice pattern to it, not a bland, smooth texture.

Panini promises four autograph or memorabilia cards per box, with at least one guaranteed autograph. The hobby box I sampled not only had those, but also every card was numbered to 649 or less. In fact, five of them were numbered to 149.

The biggest hit in the box was a 1/1 Hardwood Heroes card of Shaquille O’Neal. What made this card unique was the felt border around the card. And even though Shaq looks a bit cross-eyed in the artist’s rendition, it’s still a nice-looking card.

Two of the hits were dual relic cards numbered to 149 — Jason Williams and David West. The third relic is a black game-worn swatch, an Artistry insert card of Chris Bosh numbered to 299.

The guaranteed autograph card was a sticker signature of Clippers rookie Blake Griffin, numbered to 649. In addition to the three base cards, there were bronze parallel cards of Rodney Stuckey (numbered to 199) and Gerald Wallace and J.R. Smith (numbered to 149). There also was a Gallery of Stars insert card of Orlando’s Vince Carter.

The 5-by-7 inch box topper was a fabulous action shot of Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, numbered to 349. Some of the box toppers are on-sticker autographs, too.

There are some on-card autograph cards, too — the 20-card Supreme Court subset, and the Il Bello Cinque cards, a five-card set that has the signature of Kobe Bryant.

Some particulars for set builders: there are 100 commons and 20 Legends in the set. There are also 30 rookie cards. Other insert sets include Masterpieces, Dribble Kings and Portraits.

But the beauty and thrill for this set will be the low-numbered run of cards, the excellent detail of the card fronts and the simple, easy-to-read information on the back of the card. There’s always the possibility of pulling a 1/1, and definitely a chance to find a Bryant.

This set is a nice capper to the 2009-10 NBA season.