23-24 Hoops:  AD is in what could be a MVP season.  He's averaging over 30 points per game and 11 rebounds per game.  Hopefully he'll stay healthy and maybe he and the surprising Lakers can be real contenders this season.

I do like the design for this set.  Good looking photos and lots of room for them to shine while still giving us the basics on the front.

I pulled a Wemby which is always the goal with 2023-2024 sets.  Gradey Dick is off to a great sophomore year in the NBA averaging ~18 points per game.  GG Jackson had a good rookie year but is out with a foot injury until January.

Anthony Black is having a good season averaging but 8 points per game, but it's that great hair that shines on this card.

Players who changed teams prior to the 2023-2024 season.

Some of my inserts.  Still not that big a fan of Dynamos.  Skyview is alright in my books though.  That Zion is a Rookie Remembrance relic.

I'm hoping former Trail Blazer, CJ McCollum is back from injury by the time this is published.  Cade Cunningham has continued to get better each of his four seasons and is again the star of the Detroit Pistons.

Chet Holmgren, of that Purple Parallel, is out with injury right now.

Hoops Tribute cards are always fun, and I got some great pulls in this box between these four.  Enjoying another fun year of NBA and these cards always help.  

21-22 Hoops:  Giannis is off to another great start this season.  The Bucks aren't undefeated, but I think they look better this season.  Hopefully them and Dame can figure it out and be true contenders in the East this year.

Plenty of star power in this pack including Anthony Edwards who was coming off his rookie season in Minnesota.

My RC pull did leave a little to be desired.

Lights Camera Action are a favorite of mine each year, and pulling one of my favorites in the league is a big plus.  Great photo and it feels like Panini could go horizontal on some base cards.

Good looking Frequent Flyers inserts.  The backgrounds of some of these cards take us back to when there weren't fans in the stands for the 2020-2021 season.

John Wall has looked strong in the first week of the season.  If he can keep that up the Suns will be title contenders again this year.  Well Durant and Booker will have a lot to do with it too I know.

Bam rocking the Miami Vice alternate I believe.  I need him to pick it up this season.  My fantasy team needs him to be his 3X All-Star self.  Always fun going back and posting older packs I've never posted before.  You see how much things have changed or stayed the same.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
6 – RC
2 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Holo Parallel
1 – Purple Parallel
1 – Frequent Flyers

23-24 Haunted Hoops:  The NBA kicks off the season tonight and we'll help with some Haunted Hoops.  I enjoy the holiday themed cards and was excited for these.  Steph Curry and Golden State are at a crossroads it feels like as they didn't bring back Klay Thompson and their biggest move was adding Buddy Hield.  Unless some of the Warriors' young talent takes big strides, I don't know how much better they are from their 46-36 record of last season.

I like the design.  The darker backgrounds, Halloween accents and cobwebs are subtle but together it works.  We also get a pumpkin worked into the Hoops logo.  The design is different from 2023-2024 Hoops and they use different photos which is a big plus.

I'm very happy with my rookie pull and it only gets better.  The Rising Stars photos are from the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend Rising Stars games.  I like that.  Wish we had All-Star game cards with actual in game photos.  Scoot also gives us our first Slime Parallel. 

The backs are good.  Lots of color and a nice big logo.  And a little fun with the pumpkin going through the hoop.

Derrick Rose recently announced his retirement it feels appropriate my Holo Candy Parallel would be of him. His first years in the league he was amazing before injuries sapped his magic.  There are no numbered cards in this set but you can find Holo Candy, Holo Webs, Orange and Slime Parallels.  These cards come three to a pack with 40 packs in a "bundle" which is what you'll find in the store.

I could have easily led with Wemby, but he'll make another appearance in a future Haunted Hoops post.  Great way to kick off the season. Knick-Celtics and Timberwolves-Lakers are the two games tonight.   

22-23 Hoops: Jayson Tatum pumped for his gold medal with Team USA.  I know there's lots of churn about Tatum's lack of playing time but I think too much is made of it.  Someone always ends up on the short end of the stick on these teams.  Not saying he should be excited but he didn't play that well when he was on the court and it was Steve Kerr's decision.

Solid pull in this blaster and I like this Hoops design.  Picked up this box last June.

Jabari Smtih Jr. and Chet Holmgren have had really good starts to their careers.

Everyone likes the Hoops Tibute cards which have a nice retro feel to them.  And more great players on these.

Arriving Now is probably my favorite of these inserts and I can't figure out if I like Skyview or not.  I'm out on Pure Players.

I'm good with Frequent Flyers.  Great players always help too.

AJ Griffin had a solid rookie season but injury derailed his 2023-2024 performance.  That blank background is such lost opportunity on these Rookie Greeting inserts.

Plenty of Team USA players in this box.  Tatum, Edwards, Davis, Durant.  Not to mention many who played for other contries.

Love all four of these photos as we finish off the post.  Good job Panini.  I really enjoyed Olympic basketball and boxes like this keep my basketball high going.  KD is feeling it too.

 

Purchased plenty of this when it came out.  Beal is a Phoenix Sun, Ayton is a Trail Blazer and LaMelo is hurt.

Cade Cunningham is a star in the league but the Pistons are just bad.

All three of these are pretty nice though the Skyview inserts don't give you much space for the photos.  I used to subscribe to Slam magazine and I like these cards.  This Gary Payton Slam is a Yellow Parallel.

I really like these horizontal Lights Camera Actions cards and I think basketball cards could do more like this.

Nice photos of Fox and Zion.

Brook Lopez, Star Wars fan extraordinaire.  

That red parallel is #/75.  I also pulled 2500 Panini Points.  I sold it pretty quickly on eBay when I pulled it.  I've never collected enough of those to make it worth my while and I haven't found much that interested me when I did think I wanted to use them.

Fun box of cards.  Hoops has done well in recent years, and this is one of those examples.

23-24 Hoops:  This guy is stoked for good reason.  No matter how this postseason turns out, Anthony Edwards will be looked at for how great a post season he had leading the T-Wolves this far in the playoffs.  And how he did it.  Really fun watching this guy and the defense Minnesota brings to the table.

Donvan Mitchell is also excited.  The Cavs have work to do but he really had another great season.  Lots of teams will be vying to trade for his services this offseason.

Brandon Miller had a really good year for the Hornets scoring 17 a game in Charlotte.

Nice Hoops Tribute card for Trae and LeBron.  Will Trae be a Hawk next season?  Will LeBron take his services elsewhere?  Odds are Young is playing somewhere else.  That Wiggins is a Teal Explosion Parallel.

Still not a fan of the Pure Players inserts.  And I go back and forth on those Dynamos.  It has potential but I don't know that, as is it's a winner for me.

Big fan of Brook Lopez and his brother.  Ok they won't win any Emmys anytime soon, but they are huge Star Wars fans.  Great pack of cards.  Plenty of star power and fun.