Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – The incredibly deep talent of the 2017 NBA Draft Class made for some excellent basketball card products by Panini America. Exclusive rights and the NBA licensing to produce those cards comes with extraordinary costs. Several product releases are needed in an NBA season to justify such an investment.
As a result, some products fly under the radar. This can be for a variety of reasons. Some being a crowded space in the release calendar, misconceptions by collectors about the product, competing products, etc. 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards may be one of those products that slipped through the cracks. Being an unknown as a new brand certainly didn’t help matters. Perhaps now is a good time to take a look back with a Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards and see why this set might be worth a second look.
Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – Design, Base Set, Key RCs
The design team at Panini made some bold choices in terms of colors with Status Basketball. The soft pastel hues are a stark contrast to other my dynamic color schemes typically incorporated into NBA basketball cards. Think Select, Prizm, Vanguard, etc. This may not have initially resonated with collectors. However, with plenty of time having passed since its release, seeing these cards now leaves a lasting and fresh impression.
This uniquely configured set includes three tiers of base cards. At the time of solicitation, Panini challenged collectors asking, “Can you collect the different versions of the base set, including Status, Aspirations, the ultra-rare, but unnumbered, Pursuit and of course the 1-of-1 Kaleido parallels?” With 100 cards in each set, player collectors and master set builders certainly would have their work cut out for them.
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- ROOKIES STATUS
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- BASE ASPIRATIONS
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- BASE PURSUIT
It’s easy to refer to the star-studded NBA draft class of this season as a whole. However, here is a reminder of just some of the phenomenal rookies in this set. Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson,DeAaron Fox, Jonathan Isaac, Lauri Markkanen, Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk, Donovan Mitchell, Kyle Kuzma. And this is just a partial list. Truth be told, a majority of these guys are still a two or three years away from hitting their prime. This means plenty of upside for savvy speculators with boxes currently at a really affordable price. Both DA Card World and Blowout Cards has them for $38.95 – $39.95!
Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – Pack-out
Each box of 2017-18 Panini Status Basketball will yield (1) Autographed Card, (10) Rookie Cards and a combination of (10) Inserts and Parallels. The single autograph card in the box, at the initial price point, may have kept collectors at bay. However, at current prices and the prospect of hitting a marquee player rookie autograph, NOW is definitely the time to tr a box. There is still plenty of value in the parallels and inserts to justify a price of less than $40 per box.
For group case breakers, the pack-out configuration of 20 boxes per case and the single auto makes for a, relatively quick, churn-and-burn type break with plenty of profit potential.
Configuration: 20 boxes/10 packs/6 cards
Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – RC Autographs & Memorabilia
Collectors will find a variety of uniquely themed autograph and memorabilia sets. Two in particular, take advantage of NBA draft night. This includes the truly one-of-a-kind, Draft Night Hats memorabilia cards. The cards feature swatches of material from the hats worn by players on the podium after being selected! The regular versions are serial numbered ranging from 28, 56 or 99. Prime versions numbered to 14, 17 or 25. VERY UNIQUE, VERY COOL, VERY COLLECTIBLE!
Another great rookie-focused set is the Draft Night Autographs. It gets even better with the Inscriptions versions which are max numbered to just 9 total copies! WOW!
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- DRAFT NIGHT HATS
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- DRAFT NIGHT INSCRIPTIONS
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- FRESHMAN SIGNATURES
Two additional rookie autograph sets are New Breeds and Freshman Signatures. New Breeds is presented in a horizontal card design. The color scheme incorporates the player’s team colors. The layout allows the player’s signature to dominate the landscape. Freshman Signatures incorporates the color scheme and design elements of the base set.
Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – Veterans & Legends
Above all, however, this product doesn’t rely strictly on rookie content. There is a star-studded NBA cast on the autograph checklist as well. Expect to find fan favorites, active veterans and legends. The Elite Signatures autograph set features several NBA standouts.
- Retired – Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Mark Aguire, Robert Horry, Grant Hill, John Starks
- Active – Seth Curry, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant
This is just a snapshot of what awaits collectors. Most importantly may be the Elite Signatures set. Which also has a Gold Parallel version #’d to 10 and a Pink version #’d to 25 or 99.
Product Rewind: 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards – Checklist & Sell Sheet
There’s a lot to like about 2017-18 Panini Status NBA Basketball Cards. Give it another look and show us what you hit on Twitter @GTSDistribution
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