2012-13 Panini Crusade Basketball Box Break

So, after picking up a pack of 2012-13 Panini Crusade Basketball, with some pretty successful results, I figured I'd try my hand at a full hobby box of the product.

Basketball is easily number four on my list of the top four major sports, but I do like to keep up on my collection from time to time, especially if the right product grabs my attention. When going into a product of a sport that I tend to shy away a bit from, what brings me in is value. With Crusade, you get six packs per box for the price of (at my LCS, at least) $115. Each of those packs will contain a memorabilia card or an autographed card, as well as one Prizm refractor.

For some reason, though, the Prizm cards, or the big names at least, are selling like crazy. The LeBron James I pulled out of the single pack I bought earlier this month, which is the BASE version, sold for $25 on Ebay. That's the BASE version of a one-per-pack insert. Serial-numbered versions of LeBron's have sold in the hundreds.

In other words, you may be getting six "official" hits, but if you factor in value, you're really getting 12.

Like all Panini basketball products for the 2012-13 season, each box contains a five-card pack of Kobe Anthology, which chronicles his career from the beginning to the present. Some pack contain relics or autographs, but I wasn't lucky enough on this one.

For the individual pack's I'll just give a basic listing of what I found in each one.

Pack 1: Jeremy Lin, Deron Williams, George Hill. J.J. Redick Prizm Blue, Chris Paul Jersey

Pack 2: Joakim Noah, Manu Ginobili, Alexey Shved. Kevin Murphy Prizm Red 84/99, Roy Hibbert Jersey

Pack 3: Al Jefferson, Mike Dunleavy, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen Prizm Green 13/25, Kyle Singler Auto

Base- Kyrie Irving, Marcin Gortat, Wesley Matthews, Amir Johnson Prizm Blue, Courtney Lee Auto

Base: Jason Kidd Nobility, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Manu Ginobili Prizm Blue, Byron Mullens Auto

Base: Kevin Durant, Vince Carter, Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah Prizm Blue, Alonzo Mourning Jersey

For the value, I'd definitely say I got my money's worth. That Ray Allen, especially, was a good pull, and will likely pay for half the box. This was definitely a fun box to open, and one I would highly recommend to any casual basketball fan who is looking for a quality product to open, without having to spend too much money. Even if you don't go for a full box, $20 will get you a single five-card back with a guaranteed Prizm card and auto or jersey card. It's really hard to beat a value like that.