2010-2011 Donruss Basketball Break (Panini)

Disclaimer: I loved Donruss. I loved them so much that I was angry when they lost their license for baseball cards, more angry than any grumpy comment or blog ever posted about Upper Deck losing theirs. This post may contain drool.

Down to business. The good folks over at Panini sent over another box of product for my entertainment and review, 2010-2011 Donruss Basketball. All teams are available if you would like any of them (except the Lakers and Gallinari).

I had alot of fun opening this box, it immediately gave me a somewhat vintage Donruss type feel as soon as I opened the first pack. The fronts of the cards are glossy, while the back are not. The backs of the cards are pretty cool, and very retro. I took scans of the front and back of the base cards so you can see what I am talking about.




This set also resurrected the "Rated Rookie" cards of childhood. There was roughly one of these per pack in the box, with the obvious favorite here being John Wall. Here is a look at the Rated Rookies that were in the box.





For the Rated Rookies, I actually prefer the action shot on the black or white background as opposed to an in game shot. I like the idea because it makes these cards different than just the regular base veteran cards.

Next, I would like to show the checklist cards. Most sets I throw the checklists in the garbage and don't care for them. This set features one checklist per team, some with a team photo and others with random teammates on them. These also appeared roughly one per pack.




So now we get to the inserts and parallels, which are pretty awesome... if you loved Donruss. There are die cut base parallels which are not serial numbered.


Here is another one of the keystone insert cards from Donruss, Production Line. These cards are serial numbered /999. Oddly enough, the die cut Production Line are not serial numbered. I would have thought it would have made sense to do it the other way around.




Boo Celtics!! This is another die cut insert, Magicians, Rondo. This is also just a regular insert with no serial numbering.
Craftsmen

This was another one of my favorite inserts from the baseball sets, though I think the old baseball ones from 2003-2004 were nicer than this design. I think Amar'e Stoudemire would have looked better on the baseball design.


Another card of Amar'e Stoudemire, but this time with Dwight Howard, on a new insert (well new to me), Duos.


Gamers insert of Kobe Bryant, which is /299. Kind of a cool generic insert, however instead of green, go with purple next time.


Jersey Kings insert, Luis Scola.

The next three cards are the ol' Press Proof cards, which are printed on a prism type board, but have the same weight and thickness as a regular card. They are serial numbered /100, and are very cool. I would love a Robbie Cano one like these.



Dwayne Wade


Ben Gordon


Kevin McHale GU /299


Derrick Rose /299


Omri+Casspi auto /199
I'm not really a fan of this auto card at all. It's on a sticker (lame), and I almost passed right by it in the pack because other than a spot of lightness, it has no distinguishable features making id "different". It may sound overly critical, but I think I am just bored with being stuck buying or collecting the same exact card in 30 different (but not really) versions.

Overall, I think this set did a tremendous job capturing the Donruss feeling and putting a set together that brought back memories of those sets.

Do you guys agree that Panini did a good job with bringing back Donruss in this set?