What: 2015-16 Panini Clear Vision basketball cards
Arrives: May 13
Box basics: Two rookies, one insert and two parallels per box with one auto per inner case  (two eight-box inner cases per 16-box case)

What's buzz-worthy: The acetate-driven Clear Vision comes to the basketball court as a standalone product with five four-card packs per box and every card inside being a clearly conceived creation printed on plastic.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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He's a 7-foot-3 NBA rookie who's on the only team with perhaps the best shot of dethroning the Golden State Warriors' juggernaut. He's a rookie who's only averaged 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds a game but already has regional TV commercial appearances because he's already got a bit of a cult following.

His name is Boban Marjanovic ... and he's a San Antonio Spur who's also now got his first official NBA Rookie Card from Panini America. It's arrived at a perfect time, too.

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Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon may not have won the NBA's slam dunk contest during the All-Star weekend, but he's arguably the biggest winner on cardboard from the midseason showcase.

The story lines heading into this one revolved around the big names -- the biggest name and story being the final All-Star appearance for Kobe Bryant -- and the game's MVP was a big and well-collected name, too, in Russell Westbrook. Even the dunk contest winner, Zach LaVine, was already well-known with his status as last year's winner.

Gordon is the one who was introduced to the world -- or at least the world of casual basketball fans and collectors.

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Eight new products are scheduled to arrive this week with a mix of hockey and basketball leading the way with two brands apiece for the sports.

The second series of Upper Deck hockey cards arrives with Jack Eichel the Young Guns Rookie Card to chase, while Leaf goes high-end with 2015 Leaf Ultimate, a brand loaded with nothing but hits. There are 50 Young Guns in Series 2 and they are found one in every four packs, while memorabilia cards are found one per box in both hobby and retail boxes.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Pondering what the baseball world might look like with Topps & Panini America traded places, NBA at 50 auto RCs, and big breaks.

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What: 2015-16 Panini National Treasures basketball cards
Arrives: May 4
Box basics: Eight autographs or memorabilia cards along with one printing plate and base card or parallel per box (four boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: The Treasures return with full NBA Finals letter patches for the first time as well as a new look at USA Basketball and international stars along with all the high-end content that collectors have come to expect from the brand.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2015-16 Panini Limited basketball cards
Arrives: April 13
Box basics: Three autographs or memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: Limited is back after three seasons on the bench and returns with an emphasis on hits from top rookies and notable veterans -- there's just one base card and insert along with three hits per box.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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With the NBA All-Star Game and its corresponding events set for this weekend in Toronto, that means Panini America will be on the scene for the event's NBA Centre Court interactive event.

For those in attendance, that means exclusive trading cards and autograph signings.

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Today's apparently National Pizza Day, and, while it's totally one of those meaningless Internet holidays, it's still real.

And so is this baseball card.

In 1988, the Detroit Tigers' 1968 championship was revisited in a forgettable card set that included this "Avoid The Noid" coupon card. If you don't remember The Noid -- or past pizza sets -- keep reading.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2015-16 NBA Hoops basketball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 11
Cards in this box: 110
Base set completion: 
100 of 300 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable names pulled on base cards: Andrew Wiggins, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Damian Lillard

Rookie Cards pulled: Jahlil Okafor, Jerian Grant, Anthony Brown, Willie Cauley-Stein, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson R.J. Hunter, Trey Lyles, Nemanja Bjelica and Kobe's floor-riding buddy Larry Nance Jr.

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If you're in certain parts of the U.S. as you read this, then you're snowed in thanks to Mother Nature and Winter Storm Jonas.

It will probably give you some time to consider collecting some new players.

Maybe Brett Blizzard is an option -- he had a pretty decorated college career but never made it to the NBA. He did have cardboard, though, and he's still playing overseas.

But he's not your only option ...

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What: 2015-16 Panini Luxe basketball cards
Arrives: March 23
Box basics: Four autographs or memorabilia cards per box (eight boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: Luxe is back with a new look but packing nothing but hits and at least two autographs per box with every card limited to no more than 99 copies.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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It's the Rookie Card of two NBA icons sandwiching a legend. It's a relic from the past days of simpler cardboard from toward the end of the early Topps era. It's a piece of cardboard perfection with all the flaws you'd expect from its time -- and that's got nothing to do with condition.

And this card in this condition? Well, it's a $27,000 card after selling on eBay earlier today.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: The Steiner Sports Cleveland Browns trade-in, Nick Saban's greatness, some Panini America NBA and baseball cases and one mighty pack of Star Wars cards.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: National Treasures hits and case breaks, the dirty Cincinnati Bengals, the dirty Pittsburgh Steelers, Carlos Correa, Panini Rewards and more ...

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We should all know by now how good Stephen Curry is by his play on the basketball court.

But maybe we should look at his basketball cards, too.

The reigning league MVP and leader of the defending NBA champs has been hot on cardboard for a while now. How hot? Well, you might call it new-car hot as his high-end rare cards are often priced in small-new-car territory.

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Steiner Sports has landed the biggest rookie in New York these days for an exclusive autograph deal.

The rookie is Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis.

"It quickly became apparent that Kristaps is on to something special in New York," said Steiner Sports CEO Brandon Steiner in an announcement on Thursday. "He is mature beyond his years and a true talent on the court. Steiner Sports has held a valued memorabilia partnership with Madison Square Garden since 2010 and we are looking forward to seeing Kristaps' growth at The World's Most Famous Arena as a member of the Steiner Sports family."

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Just for fun with this one -- Lil' Stephen Curry starring in his dad's Burger King commercials.

Way back in 1999, Elton Brand was a star center for the Duke Blue Devils -- a center from tiny Peekskill, N.Y., who was about to make a big impression as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Fast-forward to today and the former Chicago Bull is coming out of retirement to join the NBA's worst team -- the Philadelphia 76ers, owners of a 3-33 record -- to help mentor another former Blue Devils star and first-round pick, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, of course, has had issues off the court this season while also picking up the NBA game quickly. It's a match made in Blue Devils collecting heaven.

"He's not unlike most 20-year-olds you probably know, and he's definitely not at all different than most of his fellow players," Brand wrote in a piece for Sports Illustrated's website. "... if camera phones were around when Brad Miller, Ron Artest and I were Jahlil's age, we might've been banned from the league altogether, never mind suspended for a few games."

So, what about Brand on cardboard?

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Panini America starts off the new year with not one but four new products scheduled to arrive this week -- from four different sports, too. Meanwhile, there's only one other brand on the calendar.

The biggest for most collectors is the arrival of 2015 Panini Contenders football cards with the annual chase for the Rookie Ticket autographs one that's been a mainstay for years. Which ones will be short-prints? Which ones are variations and which ones aren't? We'll find out more beginning Wednesday. Each box includes at least five autographs -- and it looks like some of them might be coaches who have never signed before. Will those be short-prints? Should be interesting to watch.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Contenders variations, game-dated Relic confusion, signing 1/1 cards & more

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It's a time of change, a time of high-end product exploration and a time of options for many collectors in what we call the sports card industry these days.

Tastes, products and prices continue to evolve as does the business environment that helps bring us our cardboard. For every super-pricey box being made, there are seemingly just as many buyers ready to rip or pick off singles for not-always-so-super prices (but super bargains).

The Buzz has only been around for part of 2015, but Buzz has been here all along as part of the world of collecting. Here are Buzz's picks for 15 cards that helped define 2015.

2015-16 Upper Deck #201 Connor McDavid RC
The impressive prices being paid for what's just a simple piece of cardboard with just gloss and some foil stamping shows that fundamentals never go out of style when there's a big name involved. This time, it's the No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, a Canadian phenom drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. This photo was selected by collectors and it even has a fun sign of 2015 -- the fan showing off a photo on her phone in the background.

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When Topps Chrome arrived in basketball, it was a bit simpler time than it is today -- so much so that the brand was a retail-only release because the idea of merely Chroming a set perhaps wasn't a sure thing.

Plenty of time has passed since 1996 and in that time so has the career of Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant who was a rookie back in 1996-97 Topps Chrome.

The best card in that landmark product is arguably Bryant's Refractor version of his Rookie Card and this copy is the best of the best of the thousands that were pulled and saved since then.

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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.

For the first grading diary here on The Buzz, it will be a mix of cards graded for a few reasons.

The Card: 1993 Upper Deck #449 Derek Jeter
The Reason Graded: This was pulled straight from an underpriced factory set and looked very clean except for a tiny spot on the back -- Buzz figured it might push into the high grades even with the gloss issue. These cards are also not easy to pull from wax or sets cleanly because the high-gloss cards often stick together, peeling away specks of paper. Another reason? This is an iconic card that's worth grading if you own a clean one.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The SP Jeter rookie is the one people chase, not this one. This one's $20 on eBay -- and perhaps undervalued considering how they grade on the pop report. BGS 9s and higher are really much rarer than people think.

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What: 2016 Leaf Best of Basketball
Arrives: February 2016
Box basics: One buyback or redemption card plus one new Leaf card per box.

What's buzz-worthy: The elite basketball cards from the past will be found here in buyback form accented with new creations featuring Hall of Fame-enshrined players.

Keep reading for more.

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