What: 2022-23 Panini Mosaic basketball cards
Arrives: Jan. 25, 2023
Box basics: One autograph per 10-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Mosaic arrives with its familiar high-energy look and format for basketball collectors once again with plenty of flash and color in store with rookies and stars from the past and present all in there.

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What: 2022-23 Panini Contenders Optic NBA cards
Arrives: Sept. 20
Box basics: One autograph per six-card box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Contenders Optic's fifth NBA edition is one that includes an autograph in every box and more for fans to chase in this colorful Optichrome-stock release.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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What: TruCreator Creator Series 1 Update Jumbo trading cards
Arrives: July 26
Box basics: One 1/1 card per 24-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TruCreator's newest release once again meshes selected athletes with creators with a 1/1 of some sort -- base or insert parallel, memorabilia or autograph -- in every box and then with other autographs dropping as extras.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Super Glow Super 7s sports cards
Arrives: July 17
Box basics: One autographed card per seven-card box (seven boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Glow once again turns to a one-auto-per-box approach with a new multi-sport release packed with star power and card designs and stocks familiar to other releases but with some new twists here, too, like the dual-autos seen above.

Keep reading for more info and a selection of images.

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What: 2023 Leaf Three Point Play Basketball
Arrives: June 30
Box basics: One signed basketball and two other basketball boxes per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This one meshes memorabilia with boxes jam-packed with autographed cards all in one spot with some legends of the game among them.

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What: TruCreator Stellar Jumbo Edition trading cards
Arrives: Mid May
Box basics: Two autographs (/50 max) and 10 inserts (/50 max) per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TruCreator's newest release will focus on athletes and creators once again with some new names only found in this edition from both realms -- and with past legends and current stars included.

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What: 2022-23 Panini National Treasures basketball cards
Arrives: June 2
Box basics: Four autos, four mem cards, one printing plate and one base/parallel card per 10-card box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: National Treasures is back with its familiar lineup of inclusions but adds some new stuff, too, for basketball fans to chew on.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Super Glow One Time Edition Series 1 sports cards
Arrives: April 19
Box basics: One autographed card per box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Glow once again turns to a one-auto-per-box approach with a new multi-sport release packed with star power. How much? Each case will include one of the names you see above and there will be Hot Cases with a 1/1 card in every box out there, too.

Keep reading for more info and a selection of images.

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What: 2022-23 Leaf Vivid basketball cards
Arrives: April 2023
Box basics: Six autos per hobby box (12 per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The colorful new brand in the Leaf lineup arrives on the basketball court with nothing but ink from stars from all eras -- past, present and future -- and another chance at one NBA legend's ink.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

WILD THING!
The Card: Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) 2014 Topps Archives Major League 
The Reason Graded: As you can tell by the green label, this one is an older submission of mine ... but since spring training will be upon us soon I figured I'd lead off with an oddball classic and a card that has been pretty pricey in recent years despite being from a set where they showed up one per blaster box (if I remember correctly). The challenge here? Now even finding blasters is not easy ... they got ripped. Why? There weren't just basic inserts for some of the stars of Major League who got carded ... they signed, too. (Roughly one auto per hobby case.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one was clean so I knew I wanted to slab it -- the backs here have black borders that can be an issue -- and as it turns out this is the only 10 of a small bunch graded. That's a win for me.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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What: 2022-23 Donruss Elite basketball cards
Arrives: March 3
Box basics: Two autographs per 20-pack box
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Elite continues its run in the Panini America NBA lineup with some new touches, the rookies and superstars of yesterday and today and even more in the familiar package.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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What: 2022-23 Leaf Signature Series basketball cards
Arrives: Late February
Box basics: One 1/1 autographed card per box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf unleashes a new autographed set where everything is a 1/1 creation with stars of the past, present and future all in play here.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022-23 Leaf Exotic Basketball cards
Arrives: Late February
Box basics: Three autographed cards per box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf goes wild for basketball cards with an ink-only product where every card is limited to only 15 copies and is jam-packed with color and designs that are wild.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022-23 Leaf Optichrome basketball cards
Arrives: March 31
Box basics: Five autographed cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: A new line from Leaf using chromium stock will showcase basketball players of the past and present on a number of looks -- and with autographs on every card.

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What: 2023 Leaf Superlative Sports
Arrives: Early 2023
Box basics: Two "super-premium cards" per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's high-end line returns with double the number of cards per box in this one with a meaty mix of big-name ink, superstar memorabilia and a range of sports including everything from the stars of the World Cup to the stars of Wrestlemania all in one spot.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Pro Set Pure sports cards
Arrives: Dec. 30
Box basics: Four autos per hobby box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf adds a new Pro Set product to its lineup with every card being an acetate autograph using memorable past designs from all around the sports world all in one spot.

Keep reading for more details.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketball Jerseys
Arrives: Sept. 9
Box basics: One autographed basketball jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the hardwood with some of the biggest stars in the history of the game involved as either standard jerseys or as the big chase.

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What: 2022 Leaf In The Game Used Sports cards
Arrives: Oct. 28
Box basics: Five hits per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's multi-sport premium brand once again takes on the entire sports world with a mix of notable possibilities from the legends of the past to recent superstars all in one spot.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images released so far.

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What: 2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic basketball cards
Arrives: Soon via Panini's site
Box basics: One autograph per 10-pack box
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: A new photo-driven NBA line arrives soon from Panini with an online-first release that includes stars from the past as well as the present all in one spot.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

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What: 2021-22 Topps Finest basketball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com
Box basics: One autograph card per 18-pack box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps returns to the basketball ranks with a release that's teased to be a colorful stylistic throwback with a relatively meaty mix of names with ink for many of them.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ... another super-sized edition with some new inclusions like comic books and magazines.

FRESH OFF THE TRUCK
The Book: Captain Britain No. 1 (1976 Marvel UK magazine, with mask) -- first appearance of the character
The Reason Graded: This one arrived back in my hands from CGC on Sunday, so I'll have it lead off here as it's as fresh as it gets in my stash of slabs -- and it actually presents a question for people familiar with pressing. (Help a newb out!) First, the back story ... I picked this up probably 30 years ago via Mile High Comics for more than I would have normally spent back then -- probably around $20 -- for a NM-MT copy. For all these years, it was in its magazine bag with one of their old round condition stickers still attached before I recently decided to dig it out for slabbing. Why? It's obscure -- it's a newsprint-style, magazine-size book released only in the UK -- and it's pricey when it's in elite grade. (We'll get to that.) This debuting character is one that had evolved a lot by the time I had gotten into comics (around 1990) and he was the leader of the British X-Men group, Excalibur, which launched as a standalone title in 1988. As part of collecting key issues and artist favorites back then, I tracked down this debut that was mentioned on the back of his 1990 Impel Marvel Universe card. (That set is what drew me into comics.) I knew this copy wasn't perfect, but it was close and I figured it was best to get it slabbed despite some paper-texture funk (the vertical black lines in white areas around the nameplate and corner box). I assumed some of that might lighten up as part of CGC's pressing/cleaning process. If it helped at all, I had figured it might get it closer to one of those top grades.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (Universal)

Click for a closer look

Reality Check: This one checked in lower than I had hoped for as I had thought a 9.6 might be realistic -- but the only dramatic difference here vs. higher marks is the dollar signs and probably some of that funk. (My back cover wasn't as clean as I remembered so my gut feeling may be moot.) A 9.8 copy of this has topped $5,000 on eBay while ones in my condition have been around $1,500 ... so it's still a good slab. (I'm sitting on it like everything else in my stash.) ... Here's where I can use some help from the pressers/slabbers out there, though. It seems like pressing may have actually added to the funk or emphasized it in spots. Some of the white areas definitely have more of that showing now, not less, particularly around the right side of the No. 1 box and the "free inside" mask circle where there's plenty of white paper. It's absolutely the same book (minor pulp spots are there as they were when I sent it) but I was surprised by the paper texture seemingly being emphasized (or not as clean) after pressing. (Click on the image above right -- ignore the color difference as that is likely due to my photography skills.) You can see more dark spots/texture of the paper visible -- perhaps it's from ink on the inside page showing through? I assume I'm not the first to press one of these -- or that they wouldn't press these if it would make its condition worse. I didn't have this on my mental list of outcomes, and naturally, I wondered whether this dropped me a grade and it will always bug me now. Perhaps this happened because the cover is newsprint and not white paper? The time it takes for pressing has had me not doing that on nearly all other submissions but this one -- my first sub I had pressed -- left me wondering if it helped at all. (If I could do this one all over again ... I would not have.) By the way, the color you see peeking out the right side? That's a perfect mask tucked inside the issue just like the cover promises from almost 50 years ago. All in all, I'm glad I graded this one and I think it's the priciest comic book in my stash ... but it definitely prompted some questions.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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What: 2021 Break King Multi-sport Superior Edition
Arrives: December
Box basics: At least two graded buyback cards per four-card box (two boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Break King opens things up to the wider scope of sports cards for a buyback release that includes slabs and plenty more from around the sports world all in one spot.

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What: 2020-21 Panini Spectra basketball cards
Arrives: Oct. 27
Box basics: Four autographs per four-pack box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Spectra arrives for another colorful run on the NBA hardwood with all those hot rookies, legends from the past and an autograph in every pack.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Goldin Auctions continues to set new sales records in each of its auctions. Your valuable items could be next.

If you're headed to the National Sports Collectors Convention, consign your high-end items with Goldin (minimum $10,000 value) for its popular Goldin Elite Auction and you will be entered into a drawing for a random group of box breaks including 1993 Upper Deck SP baseball, 2000 UD SP Authentic football and 1996-97 Topps Chrome basketball.

Goldin Auctions (booth Nos. 1100, 1102 and 648) also is offering fun and excitement with a chance to see rare trading cards and memorabilia at the show, set for July 28-Aug. 1 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Collectors can also meet the founder, chat with trading card and memorabilia experts and be entered into giveaways.

Collectors can also find Goldin Tickets in boxes of the 2021 Blowout MegaMix with auction credit values as high as $1,000 randomly inserted into boxes. Visit Goldin Auctions at the show for a chance to take part in these rare opportunities.

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What: 2021 Super Break 'We Talkin' 'bout Playoffs' Basketball Edition
Arrives: July 7
Box basics: One graded buyback card per box
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break takes to the hardwood with a slab in every box of this one and with the biggest names in modern NBA history in play.

Keep reading for more info and a selection of images.

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