Random Wax: 2023-2024 Donruss Basketball

23-24 Donruss:  De'Aaron Fox caught grief during the NBA Finals, and deserved for the most part, but he's really good.  He has career averages of 21 PPG and 6 APG.

Great pull in this pack.  KAT is now a Knick and a champion!  This is a pack I picked up two years ago.

Brandon Miller had another good year with Charlotte averaging 20/4/3 in his 3rd season.  The Hornets seem like they are ready to go to the next level.

Wow, did this pack hit.  I like that SGA photo.  He won his second MVP this past season.

I'm a big fan of New Zealander Steven Adams and that's a great looking Green Laser Holo Parallel.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
3 – Rated Rookie
2 – Green Laser Holo
1 – The Rookies

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Donruss Blaster

23-24 Donruss:  NBA draft is tonight!  Teams have dreams of picking futures franchise cornerstones like this guy.  He was drafted 7th in the 2009 NBA Draft behind Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis) and Jonny Flynn (Minnesota).  Yeah, look those guys up.  Had to kick off this post with the slick looking Holo Purple Laser Parallel #/99 Steph Curry.  Curry was 36 this season.  How will a full season of Jimmy Butler as a Warrior work and can Curry keep up his level of greatness at age 37 will be a big storyline next season.

Devin Booker may lose KD as a teammate in the upcoming months, but all indications are he's not looking to leave Phoenix.  Reigning MVP SGA.  Nice pull in this box.  This season's MVP (Shai) was drafted by Charlotte with the 11th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.  He was traded on draft night to the Clippers.

Shai: June 21, 2018: Traded by the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Clippers for Miles Bridges, a 2020 2nd round draft pick (Vernon Carey Jr. was later selected) and a 2021 2nd round draft pick (Scottie Lewis was later selected). (CHO's 2020 2nd-rd pick from LAC is CLE's pick.)

Needed this Wemby pull in a box that otherwise wasn't big on rookies.  Andre Jackson and his amazing hair was drafted 36th overall in 2023 by Orlando.

Darius Garland had a big year being named an All-Star and was a huge piece of the #1 seed Cavaliers.  Drafted by the Miami Heat in 2011, Bogdanovic didn't play in the league until 2014 after being traded for Norris Cole on draft night

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(Bogdanovic) July 12, 2010: Traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves (as a future 2011 2nd round draft pick) with cash and a 2014 2nd round draft pick (Markel Brown was later selected) to the Miami Heat for Michael Beasley.

June 23, 2011: Drafted by the Miami Heat in the 2nd round (31st pick) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

I like all three of these photos.  Jackson really looks like he's going to throw that down.  Is that Curry underneath him?  Fred VanVleet went undrafted in 2016 and signed with Toronto.

Great X-Pectations isn't a bad looking card as is Magicians.  Need more color on the Bomb Squad cards but it's nice to see a retired great gracing the front.  Trae Young was famously traded for Luka Doncic on draft night.

(Trae Young) June21, 2018 Traded by the Dallas Mavericks with a 2019 1st round draft pick (Cam Reddish was later selected) to the Atlanta Hawks for Luka Dončić. (2019 1st-rd pick is top-5 protected.)

What the Lakers do this offseason is huge.  Can they get enough talent and depth around LeBron and Luka?  That's why GMs get paid the big bucks.  More great pulls from this box which was lots of fun.

BREAKDOWN:

90 – Total Cards

6 – Holo Green Parallels

5 – Rated Rookie

2 - RC

2 – X-Pectations

1 - Magicians

1 – Bomb Squad

1 – Retired Great

1 – Franchise Features

1 – Holo Purple Laser Parallel #/99

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Donruss Basketball Blaster

23-24 Donruss:  Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves are struggling this season after the trade of Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks.  It seemed like an okay trade at the time, but it has not been as KAT has really played well in New York.  Edwards is shooting a crazy 41% on 10 attempts from deep a game this season.

Not a design I care for but plenty of great players in this box.  George and Maxey are now teammates on the sinking Philly ship while Young and the Hawks have been better than expected.  Who woulda thunk?

Plenty of youngsters.  GG Jackson and Amen Thompson are good players in the league while Ausar Thompson has been solid in Detroit.

New Orleans is doing everything they can to find Brandon Ingram a new home.  Not an indictment on him as a player as much as his impending free agency.  LaMelo Ball is healthier this season and having a great year averaging 30 PPG.  

SGA is an appropriate Franchise Features and may well be the league MVP this season.  Complete Players are not much to look at.  Dame can't even save that design.  Another nice Edwards pull.

Zion is injured again, and New Orleans has to be listening to any halfway sane offers for him.

Lots of big man love.

Kawhi back?  The Clippers are another surprise team this year and I'm curious what adding him to the lineup will do for the team.  Nice LeBron pull.  Three PC guys here with Kawhi, Dame and Sabonis.

BREAKDOWN:
90 – Total Cards
7 – Rated Rookie
6 – Holo Green Laser Parallel
2 – Great X-Pectations
1 – Bomb Squad
1 – The Rookies
1 – Complete Players
1 – Franchise Features

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Donruss Basketball

23-24 Donruss: The Oklahoma City Thunder are still fighting for their playoff lives in their second round series with the Mavericks, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is doing his part.  One of the best players in the league, he was acquired in the trade that sent Paul George to the Clippers.  If only LA had known...  This is a Green Holo Laser Parallel

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals last night.  Six times in the last eight years!  Amazing run!

These guys are still young and finding their way in the league.

All these guys are key contributors to their team.  Max Strus was born in Hickory Hills, IL.

Lavine and Thompson could be in new cities come next year.  Lavine has a huge contract so he may be hard to move but I think the Bulls are motivated to move on from him.  Thompson is a free agent and no matter how hard it seems to move on from a Warriors legend, I think it is time.

Paulo Banchero came up huge for the Orlando Magic in the playoffs.  Even though they lost in seven games to the Cavs, he's a big reason they have big hopes for the future.

Love Donovan Mitchell and how he plays.  Injuries ended his playoffs early, but Cleveland still played Boston tough.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

3 – Rated Rookie

2 – Green Laser Holo

1 – Franchise Features

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Donruss Basketball

23-24 Donruss:  I love that Basketball Reference used Jimmy Butler's hair from the pre-season for his photo.  Worth the look.  He didn't keep it that way.  I think it might have been a joke but he is having a career year shooting from deep.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Evan Mobley has continually gotten better and is having a really good year in Cleveland.  Injuries continue to plague Philly but maybe they can keep it together while Joel Embiid is on the mend.  The new look Rockets are struggling this year.

These three all bring great hair game to the league.  Bufkin doing a Princess Leia thing there?  Dereck Lively is having a good year for Dallas (8 ppg/7 rpg).

Not my favorite Donruss design.  Just doesn't work for me.

Jaren Jackson is having a career year, but his shooting numbers are down.

Max Strus had an amazing fourth quarter against Dallas a few weeks back to help Cleveland pull off a huge comeback win.  Brandon Miller is having a great rookie year and Paolo Banchero is having another good year in Orlando.  Both of those designs are nice looks.

Lauri Markkanen really came out of nowhere for me last year but is having another good season in Utah.  Fun cards.  I'm enjoying the NBA again this year.  Might be pressing the NFL for #1 in my fandom.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
3 – Rated Rookie
1 – RC
1 – Green Laser Holo
1 – Magicians
1 – Franchise Features

2023-2024 Donruss Basketball Mega Box

23-24 Donruss:  The NBA All-Star game is tonight and Donruss hit the shelves locally within the last few days.  We get to see players in their new uniforms in Donruss like seeing Dame as a Buck.  Milwaukee has "struggled" this year leading to Doc Rivers taking over as coach.

Wow, what a pull.  I think it was one of my last three packs where I pulled a Nokic, LeBron and either Kawhi or Giannis.  There are 150 cards in these boxes so in theory you should do well.  Approximately 250 base cards including rookies based on last year's set (no checklist for this set yet).

Keyonte George is having a solid rookie season for Utah averaging 11 PPG and 4 APG.  Nice draft pick at #16 in the first round.

Who doesn't hope for a Wembanyama?  He's doing great averaging 20/10/3 this year and you have to assume he'll get better.  Portland still isn't seeing the franchise part of Scoot Henderson yet but hopefully that'll happen sometime soon.  Thompson is averaging 8 PPG and 6 RPG for Detroit.

LeBron hot pack.  No complaints from me.  I like the Magicians and Franchise Features inserts.  Bomb Squad is okay.

Holo Green and Red Laser parallels are exclusive to Mega Boxes.  No red for me which was a disappointment.  The green is a great match on this Jaylen Brown card though.  The front design isn't great to me.  I first saw it with 2023 Donruss Football and didn't like the design there either.  The backs are blah but par for the course.

Donovan Mitchell is having another great season while Paulo Banchero is even better in year two being named Rookie of the Year in his first season.  I'm not a Kyrie guy but he can fill up the stat sheet.  Dallas has figured something out of late winning 7 of 9 including 6 straight.

More greats in the league.  Tons of base cards.  It feels like some more inserts would be appropriate in the packs and boxes.

Clippers showing out.  Los Angeles is another team that has figured it out.  I think they are as dangerous as any in the Western Conference.  Definitely a fun box and we'll end it with another Milwaukee Buck.

BREAKDOWN:

 150 – Total Cards

21 – Rated Rookie

10 – Holo Green Laser Parallel

3 – Franchise Features

2 – Bomb Squad

2 – Great X-Pectations

1 – The Rookies

1 – Complete Players