So, how do you follow an industry-rattling juggernaut like
2012-13 National Treasures Basketball? Although that’s something of a rhetorical question, it’s one that must be answered — and will be definitively — when
2012-13 Elite Series Basketball releases August 21, exactly three weeks after the still-scorching NT.
For the record, though, here’s how
Panini America plans to follow it: With fancily foiled base cards that look more like inserts. With perpetually popular autographed brand staples such as
Court Kings and
Inscriptions. With super-premium upgrades to the venerable
Passing the Torch Autographs, and
Aspirations and
Status parallels. Oh, and for good measure, you throw in the company’s first Plexiglas inserts with
Elite Glass and
Glass Masters.
That’s the elevator-pitch summation of 2012-13 Elite Series Basketball, which promises to be an immediate candidate for Rookie Product of the Year and one that provides a distinctly different — but no-less-enticing — collecting experience than National Treasures.
Over the weekend, the Panini America NBA Product Development team got up close and personal with Elite Series during the packout process. What follows are the considerable fruits of their labor, an exhaustive gallery that provides your first extended look at the devastatingly good-looking 2012-13 Elite Series Basketball.
Enjoy, and stay tuned to
The Knight’s Lance for additional coverage.
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