This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five Kobe Bryant cardboard basics to own.

A ROOKIE CARD
It's clear that a lot of people who aren't seven-day-a-week collectors have been picking up Kobe Bryant basketball cards since his death in late-January, and the easy starting point for someone -- regardless of budget -- is a Rookie Card. His best Rookie Cards are from major manufacturers and most of them show him in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform or at least use Lakers logos. He has a ton of draft picks and early cards, too, but his 16 Rookie Cards all from the 1996-97 season are the ones to consider first. Here's a rundown of the brands -- Bowman's Best, Collector's Choice, E-X 2000, Fleer, Fleer Metal, Flair Showcase, Fleer Ultra, NBA Hoops, SP, Topps, Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Upper Deck, UD3 and Z-Force. They're all in demand but they have always been relatively findable and vary in price. Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Bowman's Best and SP are arguably the better ones, so they'll cost more, while Collector's Choice and Hoops will be on the cheaper side. There are parallel versions for the Chrome and Finest cards, too, and there are also fakes for some of the basic cards here to be weary of. I'd grab one that's been graded by BGS, PSA or SGC only. My Favorite? Probably Finest (above) as I was actually able to find one in a pack long, long ago ... I also once had a Chrome ... but traded it. (Story for another day.)

Keep reading for four more basic cards to consider for Kobe Bryant.

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls and breaks highlights in today's edition.

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: The Houston Astros' cheating chatter ain't slowing down, new NBA and NFL breaks, showing off 1990s NFL stuff, picking a team and favorite MLB memorabilia pieces in this Sunday edition.

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but breaks and big pulls in today's edition.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post 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: 2018 Donruss Optic baseball cards (Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 4
Cards per box: 40
Set completion: 
10 of 100 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Mickey Mantle, Frank Thomas, Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, Nolan Arenado, Manuel Margot, Chris Archer, Jonathan Gray, Yadier Molina, Brian Dozier

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but breaks and a couple of opinion-heavy threads make up today's edition.

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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BO KNOWS
The Item: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Series 1 1985 Topps Red Autographs (/25)
The Price: $399.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This price might not be the best one out there, but this guy is my pick to watch this season among the rookies and young stars you should be looking to find in packs. The 1985 cards actually aren't my favorite inclusion in 2020 Topps Series 1, but these cards (all colors) have on-card sigs and that's a big plus. I'd also consider the stickered 1985 Chrome autos that are in box-topper packs as there has to be a limited volume of those out there -- and inevitably there will always be some stuck in sealed hobby boxes for years to come. Prices for rarer versions of top guys on unsigned cards show there is some serious interest in those cards, too. I'm not sure this price will get hit, but after his rookie season where he hit .311 with 11 homers, 18 doubles and 21 RBI in just 46 games we may be all wishing we had been chasing him now at some point later this season.
Similar Pieces: Bo Bichette autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2020 Topps Series 1 boxes

Keep reading for more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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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: 2019-20 Donruss Optic basketball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 28
Base set completion: 18 of 150 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards: Lauri Markkanen, Khris Middleton, James Harden, Jeremy Lamb, Tim Hardaway Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Lou Williams, Jordan Clarkson, J.J. Redick, Goran Dragic, D'Angelo Russell, Al Horford, Myles Turner, Malik Monk, Clint Capela, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Justin Holiday

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Houston Astros cheating chatter, NFL breaks, 2020 Topps hauls, Optic and Revolution NBA highlights and comic books in today's edition.

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Zion Williamson thrills, Brett Gardner has a fan, a loaded MLB box and the Houston Astros still cheated.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post 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: 2019 Donruss NFL cards (Fanatics blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 11
Cards per box: 88
Base set completion: 
71 of 250 (28 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Calvin Ridley, Drew Brees, Nick Chubb, Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, Anthony Munoz, Amari Cooper, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mark Ingram, Eli Manning, Baker Mayfield, Todd Gurley, Philip Rivers, Tim Brown, Aaron Jones, Matt Ryan

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Ryan Newman, Lou Whitaker, AEW chatter, big breaks and a meandering NBA/NFL thread.

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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: 2019-20 Donruss Optic basketball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 28
Base set completion: 18 of 150 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards: Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Hassan Whiteside, Derrick Rose, Justise Winslow, Donovan Mitchell, DeAndre Ayton, Allonzo Trier, Nikola Vucevic, Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustin, Kevin Knox II, Rudy Gobert, Jarrett Allen, Tobias Harris, Alex Len, Otto Porter Jr., C.J. McCollum

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What: 2020 Panini Select baseball cards
Arrives: April 15
Box basics: Two autographs and two memorabilia cards per 12-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Select returns as a standalone release after some time as a Chronicles inclusion with a lineup of tiered cards, parallels and hits all in varying colors and parallel textures.

Keep reading for a gallery and more info.

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Houston Astros cheating chatter, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, big NBA and MLB pulls and an oldschool repack that brings back some memories.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys.

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BIG INK
The Card: Mark McGwire 2017 Topps Tier One Tier One Autographs (/30)
The Price: $45.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: For years, my only Mark McGwire autograph was one on a somewhat average-condition Oakland A's World Series team-signed ball that I found in an unusual way and got via a trade. (In short, it was sitting in a mug on co-worker's desk. He didn't know what team it was ... it was just his dad's ball that had been brought in for some reason. There it sat ... until I happened to pick it up and look. Then I picked up my jaw.) I added a similar and different item in recent years -- a bat -- and both pieces are 100-percent legit but without authentication. (That happened back in the day when teams signed items ... without merch deals and MLB Authentication around.) This time, though, I added a fresh McGwire release that's on both the rarer side and the cheaper side since the price was right (and dramatically lower than others out there for comparable cards). McGwire has always been a pricier auto -- he didn't sign much during his career except for very early on (before certified auto cards) -- and then became an Upper Deck guy after his record-setting years. Topps got him back in the fold in 2014 releases and he's also been in Panini stuff. I liked the price and the look of this one, which has him watching a homer from late in the 1998 season.
Grab a box right here: 2017 Topps Tier One baseball cards

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: When an Optic run turns into the mother lode of hot wax, computerized grading, 2020 Topps, new NBA breaks and plenty more.

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If you happen to look at the backs of the 2019-20 Donruss Optic T-Minus 3, 2, 1, insert cards -- ones that show NBA players ready for liftoff on the front -- you might notice something.

It's the Flux Capacitor from Dr. Emmett Brown's DeLorean time machine in Back to The Future.

No, really ... and it's not alone.

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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: 2019-20 Donruss Optic basketball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 28
Base set completion: 17 of 150 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards: LeBron James, Trae Young, John Wall, Lonzo Bal, Myles Turner, Paul Millsap, Cody Zeller, Justin Holliday, Serge Ibaka, Evan Fournier, Jaylen Brown, Dennis Schroder, De'Aaron Fox, Pascal Siakam, Jabari Parker, Wesley Matthews, Rudy Gay

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Donruss Optic, more Donruss Optic, 2020 Topps, the Astros still cheated, more 2020 Topps and an interesting legal development.

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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: 2019-20 Donruss Optic basketball cards (Walmart mega box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 10 (eight standard, two Hyper Pink)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 5 per Hyper Pink
Cards in this box: 42
Base set completion: 15 of 150 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, Steven Adams, Dennis Smith Jr., Rudy Gay, Joel Embiid, Draymond Green, Dejounte Murray, Nicolas Batum, Gary Harris, Jarrett Allen, Ivica Zubac

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

--

HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW?
The Item: Zion Williamson 2019-20 Donruss Optic Holo (Silver Prizm) Rookie Card parallel
The Price: $1,499.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What's the hottest box on the planet at the moment? It might be this one and it arrives just as the NBA's No. 1 pick is at his peak so far after a late arrival that has generated plenty of attention. Retail boxes are vanishing within seconds of arrival for this one and the various hobby formats are also scorchers -- and it's not really been around long enough for a huge number of single-card sales to be out there on eBay just yet. Too many box flippers affecting that? Or is it just me? (It could be just as I've been shut out all season long on pulling any Zions in an NBA uni ... I'm bitter.) This brand is one I like because it seems to deliver a little more fun and a little more volume than its other Optichrome counterparts -- there are a few brands with plastic potential -- but they're all very popular this year and I'm sure there's more to come. I'm not totally sure what's going on with the photo crop here (Maybe it's to facilitate autos?) but that doesn't matter. Raw copies of the base card have pushed $100 so you can expect plenty of action -- and volatility -- on everything else, too. The one constant? People want them. If I pulled a big one like this, I'd be slabbing before selling.
Similar Pieces: Zion Williamson Optic cards on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for all 2019-20 Donruss Optic box formats

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Donruss Optic is just starting to heat up, Houston Astros cheating chatter ain't going away, storage strategies, 2020 Topps breaks and ... investing in Jeter Downs?

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What: 2019-20 Panini National Treasures basketball cards
Arrives: April 15
Box basics: Eight autos or mem cards, one printing plate and one base/parallel card per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: National Treasures takes to the hardwood with a new crop of Rookie Cards -- the biggest one of them all in Zion Williamson above -- and plenty more for another season of high-end chases.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2019-20 Panini Impeccable Premier League soccer cards
Arrives: July 29
Box basics: Four autograph and one other auto or mem card per eight-card box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Impeccable hits the pitch for the first time with a meaty array of inclusions as well as a number of established stars and newcomers all in one place -- and 15 different autograph sets for starters.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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