2020-21 Hoops Blaster Box Highlights
Early February saw the release of 2020-21 Panini NBA Hoops, a product containing one of the most comprehensive checklists of the season with 200 base veterans, 50 base rookies, and a 20-card Hoops Tribute base subset. Like previous years, Hoops features the first cards of this season’s rookie class in their pro uniforms.
Here are the highlights from the opening of a Hoops retail blaster box containing 11 packs with eight cards per pack. Blaster exclusives include Blue and Red parallels. In addition, collectors will find, on average, one autograph or memorabilia card per box.
Base Set Parallels:
Blue
Derrick Rose, Marc Gasol, Leandro Bolmaro RC
Purple
Trae Young
Base Rookies:
Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Killian Hayes, Theo Maledon, Cole Anthony, Desmond Bane, Tyrese Maxey, Saddiq Bey, Immanuel Quickley, Xavier Tillman, Robert Woodward II, Udoka Azubuike, Malachi Flynn, Daniel Oturu, Cassius Winston, Tre Jones, Tyler Bey, Josh Green, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Cassius Stanley, Jahmi’us Ramsey
Hoops delivers on the rookie quantity, yielding 22 total RCs on a two per pack basis, highlighted by #1 overall pick Edwards and current top rookie Ball. Ball’s Hoops #223, debuting on the new Beckett Basketball Hot List at #5, experienced early sales as high as $200+, but prices have since cooled into the sub $50 range. Another impressive rookie, New York Knick Immanuel Quickley sneaks onto the Hot List at #20 with his first mainstream RC that doesn’t include an autograph.
Rookie Inserts:
Arriving Now
Isaiah Stewart
Autographs and Memorabilia:
Great SIGnificance
Anderson Varejao
Hoops Great SIGnificance, a 100-card autograph insert set, features many rookie signatures as well as some big name veterans. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.
Other Inserts:
Frequent Flyers
Derrick Jones Jr.
Jersey Swap
Antetokounmpo Brothers
Lights, Camera, Action
Ja Morant
Damian Lillard
Vanity Plates
RJ Barrett
Hoops SLAM
Carmelo Anthony
Nothing really exciting here with just base versions pulled. The Hoops SLAM inserts, exclusive to retail, are proving popular, with the Kobe Bryant and LeBron James cards leading the way.
Overall, 2020-21 NBA Hoops continues its tradition as a flagship hobby/retail release that’s heavy on rookies and inserts. And, with several retail outlets implementing policies to increase consumer availability, collectors may actually be able to find some in the wild.
Looks nice. I have yet to see any in retail.
Our local stores are still allowing three products per SKU per person, meaning the half a dozen guys that wait in line all day can easily clear out 3 mega boxes, 3 blasters, 3 hangers and 3 jumbos apiece of every product.
Meaning, let’s say the card distributor sets out 2021 Topps Series 1 baseball, 2020 Contenders Football, 2020-21 NBA Hoops and 2020 Optic Football.
One guy can walk out with 48 different pack/box configurations.
Ridiculous.
How about … 3 products per person, period?
Meaning, if a guy wants to wait in line at Target all day while I’m at work, great … then he can pick up one mega box each of Hoops, Optic and Topps baseball, and then be done, and be gone.
That way, a grand three or four hours later when I am driving home from work, I can still stop in and grab a blaster or two.
Doesn’t seem to be too much to ask.
The one day a couple weeks ago that I was accidentally the only guy in Target when the card lady showed up to put cards out, I asked if she had NBA Hoops.
Yep – but a Target employee had done an inside job and already cleared out all the megas, blasters and hangers before she could even take them out of the back.
So, even though she was only able to put out a grand total of about eight fat packs of Hoops, I was only allowed to grab three because they were “all the same product.”
That was exactly 352 days since I had last found an NBA licensed product “out in the wild” – exactly one blaster of 2019-20 Optic.
So in 352 days I’ve found one blaster and three jumbos packs of my favorite sport to collect.
Good times.
Haven’t ever seen these sold in retail. What is the actual Retail Price ?? Lol
Agree with previous posters. The idea that these are “in the wild” is a stretch.
Target is really missing the mark with their policies. Now they’ve moved to selling 3 items/SKU on a first come first serve basis Friday’s at 8am. This is a TERRIBLE idea.
Last Friday I showed up at 5am and was 8th in line at my local store. There was a group of 5 guys in the front that arrived at midnight. They were flippers. I waited in the cold for 3 hours, only to see 2 more guys jump out of the car and join the group at the front right before 8am. I was pissed but didn’t say anything, because I figured being 8th in line would net me all I wanted… BIG MISTAKE.
I watched the first guy buy $800 of product, the next guy $500, etc, etc… The guy in front of me bought the last two packs of Donruss NBA. I was “able” to get 3 blasters of Heritage, 2 Topps Hangers, and 3 Topps fat packs. All that for 3 hours in the cold..
Target’s policy isn’t resulting in anyone having more access to cards. The flippers are just camping out, cutting in line, and buying everything before anyone else has a chance. It’s just insane to make these policies to promote “fairness” when in reality, you gave all your product 7 guys who flipped them online. TERRIBLE.