Panini Season Update is back this year with all the updates from the past NBA season. This is one of those end of the season products that features a ton of players with a huge base set, all the highlights of the season, and of course a few game used memorabilia cards and autographs. Last year, this was a favorite product amongst collectors because of the amount of hits you would receive for such a low box price and this year appears to be the same.

2010-11 Panini Season Update basketball features a 200 card base set with a subset for All-Stars and Rookie Challenge participants. You can find a ton of different autographs and game used memorabilia cards from just about every subset in this box. It guarantees at least one autograph and a few game used memorabilia cards.

Base:

Inserts:

Autographs/Game Used:

Design:

The design is extremely basic, but this is a lower end product. There is nothing eye popping or jaw dropping about it. The player is featured in an action shot with the top right corner and side blocked off for some team colors and a team logo. I think anytime you can incorporate team colors into the color scheme of the design, that is a great thing. It gives a nice variation and change of colors throughout the cards and it’s welcomed by me in any set I open to break up the monotony. The only thing I really don’t like about this design is the way the player name and brand logo is kind of stamped on there with a black ink. At times it is not very clear and sometimes looks damaged because of the rollers after printing. Basic design, but works well.

Checklist:

Basically, the checklist breaks down to this. Was the player a starter? Was the player a rookie? If you could answer either of these questions with a yes, then that player is featured somewhere in this set. The perfect set for team collectors, set builders, or hard to find player collectors, this is that. I pulled probably at least 5 of every team in the base set and then even more in the subsets including a few rookie autographs and some game used memorabilia of veterans. Overall, a wide and expansive checklist covering 90% of the players in the league. This was close to being 5 stars, but there is absolutely zero hall of famer presence. I’d like maybe a couple of hall of famer cards inserted at the end of the set. No more than 10 would be great for this set.

Value:

You can’t beat the value for the price you are getting. At least one autograph and 3 game used relics with 240 cards per hobby box this is great for just about every type of collector out there. Some boxes will contain more as well in terms of hits, just like last year, and that is always welcomed when a lot of products sometimes come shorted. It will be hard to pull something worth big money, but the number of pulls and nice autographs that can come out of here makes it worth buying a box. I finished 249/250 of the base set with probably 15 doubles. Jose Calderon is hiding from me somewhere, but honestly, just put that last card in the box Panini. Even if they are missing 1 card from the set, no one will buy another box for just that one card. Oh, I love the added touch of a low numbered parallel per box, no die-cut like Panini flagship though?

Overall:

Overall, this is a fun break with a ton of packs and cards. The design is what you’d expect from a lower end product, nothing flashy but just solid all around. The checklist is large at 200 base cards plus a ton of subsets to collect so it is great for set collectors as it isn’t too hard to complete. The value is good as the product is priced pretty low and you get more than a few hits, even if they may not be worth a large amount. This product is great for first time collectors, set builders, and those looking for a fun break of licensed NBA trading cards.

Again, I’d like to thank Panini America for their sponsoring of this box of cards for me to review.

I will combining a bunch of inserts and game used from both Panini Gold Standard and this set in one contest that will be posted in a day or so. Since I’m keeping the big hit from Gold Standard for my personal collection for now, I’m combining these two so the winner will get a bigger package. But that will be later.

And finally, the video is here. Had to cut out the ending statements, so it ends kind of abruptly. Stupid 15 minute limit.