Buzz Break: 2021-22 Topps Finest basketball cards

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The pack: 2021-22 Topps Finest basketball cards
First Buzz preview & Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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

Cards per pack: 4
Base set completion: 
3 of 60 (5 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Kurt Rambis, Larry Nance Sr., Scott Burrell

Insert cards: 1
Refractor parallel (1) – Damon Stoudamire

Autographs: None

What's Buzz-worthy: There are times when card companies try different things (a good thing) and I do ponder why ... and then what kinds of discussions or scenarios went into the mix and what might have occurred changes-wise along the way to arrive at the outcome. This is one of those times. I've said here a lot in the past how I am a fan of non-traditional cardboard and even stuff like Pro Line back in the day (though those were league-licensed portrait cards with plenty of logos) but this pack still felt like a miss with the photos and the players ... granted, small sample size here, but it's also a pretty small set. (Three of the four guys in this pack I wouldn't have wanted to find in their primes.) This unlicensed released seems like it was in the works for some time -- signing teasers were out there in the world long before its arrival -- and it includes some big names from the 1980s and mostly 1990s -- guys like Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Dennis Rodman, Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton, Dominique Wilkins, Grant Hill, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Hardaway, Dikembe Mutombo, Damon Stoudamire and Vince Carter to name most of the bigs. Autographs are one per 18-pack box and there's color but the odds are a bit stingy if accurate (may not be with ink listed at one in 27) -- three Refractors per box and then color starts every other box with Atomics at one in 24 and Purples at one in 29 ... rough. But the ink does include some big names (checklist at link above) and all of those have color, too, so a box is the safest way to go. I didn't ever open any of this online-first release largely because I thought the initial price out-kicked the typical return, but you never know with energetic NBA fans who pay big money for a lot of 1990s stars ... maybe that's why this one happened.

Product Grade: B
Pack Grade: C+ (saved only by the Refractor presence ... only three per box)
Fun Grade: C (clean design with good color but a repetitive pack)

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