Hobby
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First and foremost, special thanks to Clay of TOPPS for providing us at Hobby Insider the
chance to review one of there newest products. Please
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Review:
2005-06 Topps Finest Basketball (Review
by Bill Kovacs A.K.A. chiliwilly)
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2005-06 Topps Finest Basketball
Each sealed box contains 18 packs (three 6 pack mini-boxes) of 4 cards each in a 169 card base set including 100 Veterans, 30 #`d 2006 Draft Pick redemptions 1:6, 20 #`d Rookies, 14 #`d Autograph Rookies, and 5 #`d Celebrities. >>> Each box will contain THREE 2006 Draft Pick redemption cards, SIX #`d parallel cards, THREE Memorabilia and/or Autograph cards, and ONE #`d box loader card. Parallel sets: Refractor (#`d to 249; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 299, Draft Pick > #`d to 319), Red Refractor (#`d to 169; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 199, Draft Pick > #`d to 209), Green Refractor (#`d to 89; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 99, Draft Pick > #`d to 129), Gold Refractor (#`d to 39; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 59, Draft Pick > #`d to 59), Black Refractor (#`d to 19; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 19, Draft Pick > #`d to 19), White Frame Refractor (#`d to 1; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 1, Draft Pick > #`d to 1), X-Fractor (#`d to 199; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 249, Draft Pick > #`d to 249), Red X-Fractor (#`d to 139; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 149, Draft Pick > #`d to 169), Green X-Fractor (#`d to 69; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 79, Draft Pick > #`d to 79), Gold X-Fractor (#`d to 29; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 39, Draft Pick > #`d to 39), Black X-Fractor (#`d to 9; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 9, Draft Pick > #`d to 9), White Frame Refractor (#`d to 1; Rookie Autograph > #`d to 1, Draft Pick > #`d to 1), and SuperFractor (6 variations > each is a 1-of-1). Inserts: Finest Facts 1:6 (Refractor > #`d to 199, X-Fractor > #`d to 9, and SuperFractor > each is a 1-of-1), Moments #`d box loader 1:box (Wade > #ing TBD, Wade Autograph > #`d to 5, Iverson > #ing TBD, Iverson Autograph > #`d to 3, Celebrity > #ing TBD, and Celebrity Autograph), Memorabilia cards (Patchworks: Single > #ing TBD, Refractor > #`d to 29, X-Fractor > #`d to 9, SuperFractor > each is a 1-of-1; Finest Fact: Single > #ing TBD, Refractor > #`d to 199, X-Fractor > #`d to 49, SuperFractor > each is a 1-of-1; and Dress for Success: Single > #ing TBD, Refractor > #`d to 29, X-Fractor > #`d to 9, SuperFractor > each is a 1-of-1), Autograph cards (Single > #ing TBD, Refractor > #`d to 25, X-Fractor > #`d to 9, and SuperFractor > each is a 1-of-1), Autograph Memorabilia cards (Patchworks > #`d to 3, Finest Fact > #`d to 5, Dress for Success > #`d to 5), and 1-of-1 Printing Plates 1:216 (one per 12 box case).
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Base Card Scan |
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2005-06 Topps Finest Basketball is one of the best looking set designs yet. The way the card is designed; it sort of brings the player to life on the card. The back of the cards has a short bio along with a complete statistical listing of the players' last year.
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Rookie Card Scan |
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The rookie cards we pulled were all redemptions like last year. Pick # 13 (Thabo Sefolosha) is a regular rookie card, while pick # 15 (Cedric Simmons) should be a red refractor and pick #26 (Jordan Farmar) is a regular refractor.
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Insert Card Scans |
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The inserts/parallels are very plentiful in this box. Our pulls included;
- Kobe Bryant Red Xfractor /139
- Michael Finley Refractor /349
- Shawn Marion Xfractor /99
- Hakim Warrick Refractor /199
- Vince Carter Xfractor /229
- Yao Ming Gold Refractor /39
- Kevin Garnett Red Refractor /169
- Steve Nash Refractor /349
- Josh Howard Finest Fact /1899
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Box Topper Scan |
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The box topper we pulled was an Allen Iverson First and Foremost #d to /399. The card in uncirculated and encapsulated. The card boasts one of Iversons finest moments; this was the 1999 Playoffs against the Orlando Magic.
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Game Used Scan |
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The game used we pulled was a Finest Fact of Sarunas Jasikevicius of the Indiana Pacers. The fact explains how he was one of the most respected players in Europe and that the fans had petitions made up to try and get him to stay. Just an interesting Finest Fact about this player.
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Autograph Card Scan |
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Both autographs we pulled from this box are of two rookies with great potential in the NBA. Here's the details;
- Hakim Warrick Green Xfractor Autograph /79
- Francisco Garcia Xfractor Autograph /169
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The
Final Verdict! |
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rate this box a 4 1/2 of 5 HI Fives. A very nice high quality set in my opinion. In the past, some of the Finest sets had a little bow to the cards; these do not. There has been a vast improvement in quality in this years cards over last year alone. Also there are some very nice subsets in this years Finest. Such as the new patch set and the auto/patch set. These boxes are priced in the $85 to $95 price range on the web sites I have checked. Good value for the money in my opinion. |
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