Tweet
Panini Rookies & Stars NBA
$4 per 5-card pack/24-packs per box/12 boxes per case
Box Break
- One Auto Patch and Three Auto or Mem Cards (#d to 499 or less)
- Two parallel cards including Gold (#'d 499) and Gold Holo foil (#'d to 199)
- 12 inserts including Sharp Shooters, Studio Combo Rookies, Superstars, Team Leaders and Moments in Time
Highlights
- Autographed NBA Team Logo and Logoman patches from 40 of the year's most anticipated rookies
- New Game Garb Prime Materials and Game Garb Prime Signatures insert cards display beautiful swatches from fan favorite players
- Hobby exclusive 15-card Sharp Shooters insert includes autographs and memorabilia from the game's best shooters
- Return of the Moments in Time insert that captures iconic moments in the history of the NBA
Set Consists Of
- 100 Commons
- 15 Retired
- 40 Rookie Auto Patches (#'d to 499 or less)
- 15 Rookie Base
Rookies & Stars is back for its sophomore campaign in basketball, and it looks to build upon the success of last year's product.
What We Pulled
Base
The Base cards have received a much improved design in comparison to last year’s Rookies & Stars product. The bolded diagonal lines have now been reduced to a pair that runs through the middle of the card. Although they might seem to not fit, they actually blend well with the card. The background splash effect has also been significantly reduced to a little splash in the lower left corner. An action photo of the player is applied to the backdrop, and the player photo is stylized in the signature Panini way. The player’s name appears vertically on the middle left of the card, position is displayed vertically along the lower left corner of the card, and a team logo is located in the upper right corner.There are 100 base cards of current veterans in the set, and 15 additional cards of retired players included. Our box yielded 91/115 of the base set, with only 1 duplicate. This means one can put together a base set with only a box and a couple loose packs.
Parallels
There are two parallels this year: Gold and Gold Holofoil. The Gold parallel is limited to 499 copies. It doesn't differ much from the base set, except that the bolded pair of lines and background splash in the lower left corner are colored gold instead of black. The Gold Holofoil is limited to 199 copies and expands on the Gold parallel by adding holofoil to the front of the card, giving it a refractor-type look. Our box yielded 3 Gold parallels, and 1 Gold Holofoil parallel.
Rookies
There are 15 non-Patch/Autograph rookies in the base set, consisting of lesser known rookies and late round draftees. They share the exact same design and parallels as the base set, with the addition of of the word Rookie bolded in the lower left area of the card. There are 40 Patch/Autograph rookies in the main set, more on them later in the review. We pulled 8/15 of the non-Patch/Autograph rookies.
Inserts
All inserts also have similar Gold and Gold Holofoil parallels, but they also add a Black parallel limited to only 99 copies.
Sharpshooters
A hobby exclusive set, these cards showcase the NBA's elite in regards to Field Goal Shooting Percentage. These cards feature numerous, albeit subtle and organized, diagonal lines that set up a nice background for the player to be featured on. A snippet of game action is also featured in the background, in between the lines. We were able to pull four Sharpshooters.
Moments in Time
These inserts cover historical moments in basketball history, such as the 92 & 08 USA Mens Basketball Teams. This set look strikingly similar to their predecessors in last year's product. The cards run horizontal, with a set of diagonal lines coming from the right side. They then jet outward in increasing size and random directions, basically covering the entire left side of the card. A large splash effect is located on the left side of the card as well, making for a very busy card overall. Our box had two Moments in Time cards.
Team Leaders
Team Leaders make a return in this year's product. All thirty teams have a card in the set, and each card depicts a team leader in a certain statistic (points per game, three pointers made, etc) from the 2009-10 NBA season. The default stats are points per game, assists per game, and rebounds per game, but some stats are changed out in order to have three different players appear per card and avoid having one player appear in two or all three spots. Headshots of the three players appear in separate but joined polygons, with the insert name appearing in bold with the team color right under it. Player names and the statistic they led their team in are located at the bottom of the card. I feel this set received a significant upgrade, as the more toned down and controlled design of this year's set is miles ahead of last year's busy set. Our box had four Team Leaders cards, including one Holofoil parallel limited to 199 copies.
Studio Combo Rookies
This set is my favorite among the inserts. Two rookies with some sort of link (college, draft position,etc.) are paired up portrait style on a classy looking card, with the insert title displayed vertically between the two rookies. The bottom of the card has the players' team logos, all on top of a marble-esque background. This is a pleasant departure from Panini insert norm. We pulled two Studio Combo Rookies.
Superstars
Gold Stars has been left out, and in it's place is Superstars. As the insert name implies, this set presents the best of the best in the game. The cards run horizontal, with the insert title appearing in big, bolded letters in the middle-top of the card. A black bar appears at the top of card, which has the player position and team name typed in an alternating thin/thick font. An even bigger black bar is located at the bottom of the card, with the player name typed out in thin/thick font as well. The insert title and certain areas of the card are splashed in team color with a watercolor effect. The overall feel of the card is that of some sort of movie poster or cover. We were able to pull 3 Superstars, including a gold one limited to 499 copies.
Hits
Base GU
These are parallels to the base set. These cards recycle the Gold base parallel; the two sets are nearly identical. The only difference is that a square-ish piece of GU has been imbedded in the lower right corner of the card. We were able to pull a Shane Battier limited to 299 copies.
Base Auto
This set is also a parallel to the base set. Just like the Base GU set, the Base Autos reuse the Gold parallels, and the two sets are nearly identical. The only difference is that an autograph sticker is applied to the middle bottom of the card. Our box yielded a Gerald Henderson autograph limited to 149 copies.
Freshman Orientation Dual GU
A Rookie-only set, these cards have a black & white headshot of the rookie in the upper right corner, accompanying a full color action shot to the left. Two vertical rectangular swatches are located in the bottom middle of the card. We were fortunate enough to pull a prime parallel of the set, a Devin Ebanks limited 49 copies and complete with impressive patches.
Patch/Autograph Rookie
The main draw of the product, you get at least one of these per box. The first thing that catches your eye is the large white cloth in the middle that has a manufactured team patch and an on-cloth autograph. It takes up about three-fifths of the card. I really love the concept, it's a great alternative in comparison to sticker autos. A headshot of the player is in the upper left corner of the card. There are many levels of parallels with this set, including a manufactured logoman one of one. We pulled a Lazar Hayward limited to 455 copies.
Final Thoughts:
Panini debuted Rookies & Stars last season, and it fared pretty well. It comes back for a sophomore run and doesn't disappoint. The checklist remains mostly the same, and card design is significantly tightened. Basically it's more of the same, except better. The addition of the Game Garb set should go well with collectors.
Pros
-Less is More: Toned down design looks better than last year
-Patch/Autograph Rookies are highly collectible
-Studio Combo Rookies and Superstars insert sets look fantastic
Cons
-Autographs & GUs on base cards look out of place
-Moments In Time pretty much unchanged, still messy
Ratings
Value = 4
Innovation = 4
Fun and Experience = 5
Rebuy Value = 5
I give this product an A-
NPN Info
NPN 2010-11 Panini Rookies & Stars Basketball
2300 E. Randol Mill
Arlington, TX 76011-6333
Hand print your name and complete address on a 3x5 card and use a #10 envelope.
Canadian residents answer this question: 581 plus 692 divided by 436 times 852 minus 366 = ?
Postmarked by 2/2/11
Limit to 2 entries per household.
Only one card per envelope, mailed separately.
I would like to thank Panini & Card Collectors World for giving me the opportunity to review this product.
Please support the sponsors that support Card Collectors World!
Comment