2005 Topps Pristine Basketball
What I pulled--
Parallels:
Uncirculated Encased Parallels - Mike Bibby (#193/325), Luol Deng (#27/325), Mike Dunleavy (#234/325), Raymond Felton
(#142/325), Sebastian Telfair (#173/325)
Die-Cut Parallel Box Loader - Josh Childress (#2/50)
Relic Cards and Autographs:
Personal Pieces Common - Tim Duncan red All-Star shorts (#29/350), Chris Kaman red jersey (#333/350)
Base Relic Uncommon - Andrew Bogut purple jersey (#79/500), Kirk Hinrich red jersey (#235/500), Dwyane Wade black
shorts (#225/500)
Personal Endorsements Common - Carmelo Anthony (#142/215)
Review:
Topps puts their Pristine brand in action with Pristine Basketball and the results are pretty darn
good.
What makes Pristine different is the pack in a pack in a pack concept that always works well, since
it gives off a high-end feel that the price tag and the cards warrant. Each "pack" is actually a box,
which, when you open it, contains a tray holdind an uncirculated encased parallel card and an
oversized pack of cards. That pack contains a relic card and yet another packs of cards, holding
six cards (one of the five boxes will replace one of those six with an autograph card).
The base cards themselves are nothing special, with a very white background, some piping and, as with
all Pristine products, the C (common), U (uncommon, R (rare) or S (scarce) notation in the corner. For this
price tag, it might not be a bad idea, though, for the base cards to carry a little more oomph (chrome,
maybe?).
Of course, Pristine isn't really about the base cards. Each pack has that encased parallel, which always
looks great, and a relic card, with a player list featuring most of the biggest names in the game. And the
autographs? Well, look who I pulled - Carmelo Anthony, one of the top young players in all of basketball. I
think you can guess my feelings on that pull (which certainly raised my opinion of this box, as well). And as
with many recent Topps products, Pristine contains relics and autographs from their celebrity endorsers,
include Jay-Z, Carmen Electra and Jenny McCarthy, which, if you pull one, will make a unique addition to
any collection.
As I said in my Pristine Football review, I had a great time opening this box. It is unique and a lot of fun to peel away the layers
and hopefully find that gem of a card. And isn't what collecting cards is all about?..........
B+
