Buzz Break: 2019-20 Panini Chronicles NBA cards (blaster)

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The box: 2019-20 Panini Chronicles basketball cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one ...

Packs per box: 8 (all cards from box in gallery below)
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 40
Chronicles set completion: 7 of 50 (14 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Kemba Walker, De'Aaron Fox, Jamal Murray, Julius Randle, Devonte' Graham

Rookie Cards (24) – see gallery

Base subsets: 27 (all cards are numbered as part of the standard set but I'm detailing them here as I would if inserts)
Crusade (1) – Tacko Fall
Essentials (2) – Trae Young, Kevin Porter Jr.
Flux (1) – Jarrett Culver
Luminance (2) – Luka Doncic, P.J. Washington Jr.
Marquee (3) – Eric Paschall, Tremont Waters, Darius Garland
Panini (2) – Coby White, Eric Paschall
Playbook (2) – Ja Morant, Keldon Johnson
Prestige (4) – James Harden, Sekou Doumbouya, Tyler Herro, P.J. Washington Jr.
Recon (2) – Ja Morant, Darius Garland
Rookies & Stars (4) – Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Brandon Clarke, Nickel Alexander-Walker
Threads (3) – Ja Morant, Cam Reddish, Darius Garland
XR (1) – P.J. Washington Jr.

Inserts: 6
Pink Chronicles parallel (1) – Karl-Anthony Towns
Pink Luminance parallel (1) – Keldon Johnson
Pink Marquee parallel (1) – Cameron Johnson
Pink Panini parallel (1) – LeBron James
Pink Prestige parallel (1) – Cameron Johnson
Pink Recon parallel (1) – R.J. Barrett

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: My first box was an A+ thanks to one parallel of a key rookie and this one gets that same nod thanks to not one but four Ja Morant appearances and a single showing from Zion Williamson and Luka Doncic with a Pink LeBron James insert in the mix. My base Chronicles cards here were rough and the inserts were, too, save for one card (LeBron) but the rest of the sets -- I'm still calling them sets though this one is numbered where each release is part of one whole set -- were pretty strong as expected. How the various sets mix out, say, on a per-case basis is where the value will be found here, especially with the parallels. Stuff could be far more subtle in its scarcity over time here, especially those Pinks, once the eBay flood dries up and the boxes do, too. Nothing was numbered here (and I don't think much is) but the volumes could be far smaller than you might think for some of the parallels ... As said last time, blasters are the home to Pink cards and those are largely the only colors here other than Silver parallels for the stuff on Optichrome stock (Prizm, Hometown Heroes, Flux, etc.) though I didn't land anything that wasn't Pink among all of my boxes. Hits are possible here -- mostly as Red parallels but some others are possible -- but since I landed nothing in that realm I'm not all that worried about it. I will say the variety factor of Chronicles is one that I've been a fan of the last few years but I had a little higher expectations here for some added variety. Everything I landed here was standard stock or foilboard other than the basic Optichrome stock cards that don't flow very well in blasters. The overall mix here is still an A product but I think based own this format it just needed something a little extra to put it into the elite status product-wise. Really good products have to deliver well in all formats ... and even in a lesser box. This is a fun one and a strong one -- I'd go mega box if you can find or afford them as they include a lot more volume -- while hobby boxes can also deliver way, way bigger if you pony up. (Hit that link up top for a few formats.)

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A+ (another strong box thanks to Ja Morant and more)
Fun Grade: A

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