Random Wax: 2016-2017 Donruss Basketball

The NBA Finals could be decided tonight with Toronto holding a 3-1 series edge so this topical 2016-2017 Donruss basketball pack seems appropriate.  Kawhi was with the Spurs for this set but he is now on the verge of leading Toronto to their first title in franchise history.  I'm a huge Leonard guy and really hope they can close out the Warriors tonight...not saying I'm putting money on it but I'll be rooting for him and the Raptors.

These guys need no introduction and will play a big part in whatever happens tonight.  You have to just enjoy watching the Warriors and how good they are.  They have hit a road bump against Toronto so far but I never count them out.

Embiid is always a good pull.  It'll be interesting to see what Brooklyn does this offseason and D'Angelo Russell will be a big part of that whether he stays or goes.  Aaron Gordon is a PC guy so another nice card though I'm not a big fan of those Orlando grey jerseys.  This pack yielded a great pull iand a lot of fun.

Nice Hall Kings of Benard King, one of the great scorers of the league.  I still remember watching him drop 60 on New Jersey on Christmas day so many years ago.

Damian Lillard should sign a max extension with the Trail Blazers this year.  I'm excited to see him continue to be the face of the franchise.  While Golden State had Portland's number, and his for that matter, Lillard is a great player and he is fun to watch in a Portland uniform.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards
7 – RC
1 – Hall Kings
1 – Green & Yellow Parallel

2016-17 Donruss Basketball Cards

The 2016-2017 Donruss Basketball cards have been out a while and with the playoffs starting today it is a perfect day to post some basketball cards.  I do like these cards.  Not as much as the Prestige cards from this year which I really love but as an overall set I'm very happy.  The design is a typical Donruss style that I'm good with.  I will say I think the photos are better than Prestige which seemed to be nothing but players dribbling.  More diversity here.   

The backs are colored in the team's primary colors and are fine with me.  They have the standard write-up, player info, last year's stats and career totals.  I will say I don't need total points as a stat.  Who really uses that stat anymore?  Plus steals and blocks were totals as well - no per game averages.  Fail.  Again it is all about per game averages.  This isn't the sixties.  It's not that I need them doing math for me.  It is all about putting the stats in a relevant form.  Plenty of inserts and parallels with the Champ cards sticking out to me. These cards highlight some of the all-time greats and their championship(s).  There are only 15 players in this set and I wish there were more. 

I really like the "Kings" cards across the Donruss sets and these are no different.  I pulled one Court Kings and one Hall Kings.  Great looking cards that have current and former players highlighted.  I'm also a huge fan of All-Star cards in general and these are pretty cool.  I received a Kobe Bryant that looks to be from an All-Star game of the past.  I like it.  Overall I'm very happy with these cards.  I'll probably pursue the insert sets more than I will the base cards but I think they were worth picking up.