2014-15 Prestige Plus basketball box #2

Sport:  Basketball
Product:  2014-15 Prestige Plus retail box
Break Date:  November 2, 2014
Hit Breakdown:   Three autograph and/or jersey cards
Summary:  So since my wife has historically had a hot hand when it comes to picking boxes at retail outlets (see here, and here, and here, and...), I figured when we were at Target, I'd take another swing at Prestige Plus. 

Glad I did, because she did it again.

First and foremost, I really like Prestige Plus. It's definitely superior quality to the hangers (haven't opened a blaster or Premier box), and with all the parallels and inserts, it's just a fun break.

But, guaranteed hits at a reasonable price point for a retail-only product is just good marketing by Panini.

So, I got to opening. The first pack yielded a blue /99 Bonus Shots Damian Lillard, which was a solid start. The second pack showed a bit of color that wasn't in the first box - purple: a Ty Lawson Bonus Shots, numbered to 49. I wish it was either a player I collected or a better player in general, but it's a cool card. There was also a blue Chandler Parsons /99, so a nice Gator PC card.

The auto turned out to be nice - Jarnell Stokes (again, on-card). I know that a lot of people don't get too excited with a second rounder, but (A) he's a local Memphis product that (B) plays for my local team, the Grizzlies and (C), in a shallower draft he's probably a first rounder. Now, would I rather have had a higher-end auto? Sure. But, if I'm going to pull a second-rounder (and now, in two boxes, that's what I've gotten) at least it was a PC guy.

The jersey cards were where things got interesting. Since it's a pre-packaged box, there's no decoys in these packs. So, it's easy to tell which are the jersey cards by pack thickness, so I set those aside and opened them last. 

The first was your standard /199 Thanasis Antetokounmpo...not too exciting. But, after opening the last pack and revealing the second, I was pretty happy:  a three-color prime Jabari Parker, numbered to 25. And, it's a nice patch rather than sleeve piping, which tends to pop up. It's a really nice card.

So, yet again, the wife came through. Amazing.
  
Grade for the product:  A-

Grade for the break:  A-

Prestigious Premiers:  Jarnell Stokes

True Colors /25:  Jabari Parker
True Colors /199:  Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Bonus Shots Blue /49:  Ty Lawson

Bonus Shots Blue /99:  Damian Lillard, Chandler Parsons

Bonus Shots Red /199:  Thanasis Antetokounmpo (RC), Carlos Boozer, Nicolas Batum

Pioneers:  John Havlicek

Franchise Favorites:  Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams

Hardcourt Heroes:  Carmelo Anthony

Connections:  Mark Price/Kyrie Irving