Random Wax: 2018-2019 Contenders Basketball

The playoffs have not been kind to my Portland Trail Blazers who are on the brink of elimination at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.  I have watched a ton of NBA playoffs this year and it really has been fun to watch outside of this last Portland series.  That has put me on a NBA kick with cards so I grabbed another pack of the 2018-2019 Contenders basketball which is a brand I like.  My other team, the Atlanta Hawks grabbed Trae Young in a 2018 draft day trade with Dallas for Luka Doncic and draft picks.  Young started out slowly and I was worried this was going to blow up on them but he averaged 24.7 points per game and 9.2 assists after the all-star break shooting 44% overall and 34% from the arc.  Wow.  Atlanta has a budding star in this guy and I'm hoping with the 8th and 10th players in this year's draft this year they can do more to improve the team.

Fricking fracking Warriors! <simulated angry face emoji>

This set offers plenty of stars in each pack.  Khris Middleton and the Bucks look so good in the East.  Dirk Nowitzki played his final season this year.  Truly an all-time great and really changed how we look at big men in the sport.  Horford is a PC guy for me.  

Where Kemba Walker lands this off-season is huge.  He is a stud at point guard.  I hope he stays in Charlotte but it is so hard to say nowadays.  

J.J. Redick and Tobias Harris (traded to Philly) will be heavily regarded free agents in what will be a star studded 2019 NBA free agency period the likes of which the sport has probably never seen before.  We'll see how many players actually change teams but the names alone are enough to make any team or fan swoon.  Nikola Jokic (below) really had a coming out party during the playoffs this season.  For a big he has all the tools you want.  This was a fun pack and I'm sure I'll go back to it as opportunities allow. 

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  BREAKDOWN:

22 – Total Cards

1 – Winning Tickets

1 – Hall of Fame Contenders

1 – Lottery Ticket

1 – Game Ticket Green Parallel

Random Wax: 2018-2019 Contenders Basketball

I picked this pack of 2018-2019 Contenders basketball the same time as the Hoops pack I just showed off.  Like that one, this one started off at the top of the NBA food chain with LeBron James.  Nice seeing him in his Lakers uni on this card. 

    It took me some research on Basketball-Reference.com but I figured out what the numbers are for this year:  Section=Weight   Row=Height   Seat=Year Drafted   The first ones were pretty easy but that last one had me stumped for a bit.

Maybe not quite the star power of the first two packs I opened but still plenty here to keep me happy.  All three of these guys are currently starring for teams getting ready for their playoff run.

Enes Kanter was picked up by the Blazers after being released by New York. He was a great pickup and gives them some quality minutes off the bench.

Dwight Howard has played only nine games this year due to injury. Picked up in the offseason by the Wizards it is a shame as he still puts up good numbers for a 33 year-old big man. 

BREAKDOWN:

22 – Total Cards

1 – Green Parallel

1 – Lottery Ticket

1 – Winning Tickets

1 – Playing by the Numbers

2018-19 Panini Contenders Basketball (2 Packs)

 I always look for any cards in the Contenders family so I was happy to see the 2018-2019 Contenders basketball on the shelves.  Not my first look at these as I had the Portland Trail Blazers in a case break earlier this month.  

I do like the looks of these cards with a few exceptions.  I like the exaggerated team logo even if it takes up a bit much of the card front.  The photos are on blank backgrounds and seem a bit bland or leaves the photo hanging as opposed to the 2017-2018 Contenders basketball which had a nice muted background behind the photo.

Feels like Vince carter is as old as David Robinson.  He is the only Hawk I pulled.  Ironically I pulled all of the Trail Blazers of whom I already have 13 team sets from this product thanks to the case break I participated in - now I have 14.  That Aldridge is one of the two green parallels though the scan doesn't show it at all.

   

That Playing the Numbers Game card is much nicer in hand.  Marvin Bagley III is one of the young guys Sacramento is hoping to build a future contender around.  He's averaging 12 points and 6 boards a game in his rookie season at power forward.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more variety among the inserts.  Hopefully with more packs I'll get a look at the other insert sets. 

A great Giannis Antetokounmpo card.

BREAKDOWN:

44 - Total Cards (2 packs)

2 - Winning Tickets

2 - Lottery Ticket

2 - Green Parallel

2 - Playing the Numbers Game

1 - Retired Great 

2018-2019 Contenders Basketball Case Break - Portland Trail Blazers

I see guys purchasing their teams for a box or case break so I was very excited to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers for a case break (12 boxes) of the 2018-2019 Contenders basketball.  While I originally wanted the Atlanta Hawks the prices were well over $100 before those auctions were done.   The Trail Blazers were still over my budget but I got caught up in the frenzy of the last minute bidding and grabbed them for $32.  I pulled both a Rookie Ticket base auto and a Rookie Ticket premium auto of Anfernee Simons.  Simons hasn't really stood out to this point but they are some nice cards.  Premium parallels are shiny versions of the base card.   

I've done enough research on breaks so I know how they work and what terms to watch for.  This one was pretty straight forward and for my money I received all the Trail Blazer cards pulled during the case break.  The checklist for this set came out real late and I hadn't looked at it and it may not have been out when the break took place.  When I watched the break I quickly figured out that there were only three base cards for Portland.  So I was basically betting on grabbing some good parallels, relics or autos. 

 For me it isn't all about the relics and autos in a break but I did do well pulling two autographs.  I do have a ton of the base cards of Nurkic, Lillard and McCollum and also received two premium Nurkic cards as well of a Playing the Numbers Game insert.  This was a fun break and the seller showed the break live via YouTube which is exciting to watch.  Whoever purchased the Los Angeles Lakers was the big winner.  They pulled four Lakers autographs and a 1/1 LeBron James Championship parallel.  Wow.  

BREAKDOWN:

45 – Total Cards

15 – Jusof Nurkic (2 – Premium)

14 – C.J. McCollum

13 – Damian Lillard

2 – Rookie Ticket Autographs (1 – Premium)

1 – Playing the Numbers Game