搶先看:2016-17 Excalibur Basketball

Ysponder

Most trading card products strive to deliver, at the least, that one go-to move; a calling-card staple that, with just a few tweaks from year to year, keeps collectors intrigued season after season after season. Panini America’s Excalibur Basketball franchise, however, has two such defining staples: The colorful, Prizm-powered Crusade chase and the explosive, one-per-case Kaboom! insert.

In late June, both of those popular brand tenets — along with a few new revelations — return with full force in 2016-17 Excalibur Basketball. On average, each hobby box (eight cards per pack, 20 packs per box, 16 boxes per case) will deliver 10 Crusade inserts, two autographs and one memorabilia card.

The highlights of 2016-17 Excalibur Basketball are many and include . . .

• The Crusade continues with base Silver, Blue (numbered to 149), Red (numbered to 99), Purple (numbered to 49), Orange (numbered to 25), Gold (numbered to 10) and Black (numbered to only one) versions.

• The wildly popular, one-per-case Kaboom! insert returns with original artwork featuring the game’s biggest superstars.

• The new Apprentice Signature Shield insert includes both an autograph and a piece of memorabilia from members of the 2016 NBA Draft Class.

• Mix and match your favorite player combinations with the new Jousting chase that delivers both left and right card designs.

• The Calligraphy insert showcases autographs of young stars from today along with some of the NBA’s all-time greats.

We’ll have plenty more to preview on 2016-17 Excalibur Basketball in the coming weeks right here on The Knight’s Lance. But until then, enjoy this extended first look:



       

Ysponder

Once again this year, there are no signatures. There are no technicolored, multi-break memorabilia pieces. But what Panini America’s captivating Kaboom! insert might lack in the area of autographs and game-worn, it still more than makes up for in all the ways that matter. Like, flashy technology . . . and needle-in-a-haystack rarity . . . and a cult-like following . . . and a penchant for making the NBA’s high-flying stars seem just a little more super and heroic.

It’s Kaboom!, perhaps more than any other aspect, that has helped make Excalibur Basketball a hit during the last few seasons. Granted, there are many things to like in the newest iteration of Excalibur set to release in early July, but it’s the super-rare, super-cool, super-hero inspired Kaboom! that’s sure to cause the biggest commotion.


This year’s insert features 25 new original illustrations, including three rookies and four legends. The cards fall roughly once in every hobby case, which makes the following gallery featuring almost every card in the set must-see stuff.

Still, even this revealing glimpse is no substitute for the full Kaboom! experience that takes place when you hold one of these babies in your hands. Enjoy the gallery and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for continued coverage.

Ysponder

The absolute rocket-like ascendency of the Kaboom! insert in Panini America’s Excalibur Basketball over the last several seasons has served to steal most of the product’s headlines, sometimes overshadowing the fact that Excalibur has so much more to offer. Like the popular, Prizm-powered Crusade chase . . . and strong autograph and memorabilia lineups . . . and a new parallel structure that mirrors royalty rankings . . . and a completely revamped insert lineup.

Of course, it still delivers the captivating Kaboom! insert, too. We gave you a card-by-card breakdown of this year’s Kaboom! installment a few weeks ago right here on The Knight’s Lance. Today, we’re taking a deep dive on everything else 2016-17 Excalibur Basketball has in store with a must-see Quality Control Gallery.


2016-17 Excalibur Basketball is set to arrive in hobby shops across North America on Wednesday. On average, each hobby box (eight cards per pack, 20 packs per box, 16 boxes per case) will deliver two autographs, one memorabilia card and 10 Crusades. Kaboom! gems will fall once per case, on average, and the hobby version will also deliver the exclusive Count base parallel.

You can check out a little bit of everything 2016-17 Excalibur Basketball has to offer in the extensive gallery that follows. Enjoy the sneak peek and stay tuned for continued coverage, including a complete breakdown of the retail-exclusive components.