We were able to get a case of the new 2022-23 Panini Recon Basketball lobbed to us in the paint this week. We decided to throw one down just ahead of the NBA Finals.
Hobby boxes feature six cards per pack with ten packs per box. Boxes also boast two autographs and 20 inserts or parallels per box. Current pricing is between $160 and $180 per box.
The greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry is featured on the packaging, shown in his throwback Warriors uni.
In our first pack, we found a rookie insert of the Bulls Dalen Terry and a numbered card of Phoenix Suns centers DeAndre Antonio. Not a great start.
The base cards in this product are very appealing and there are a number of shiny color parallels. The backdrop of the card features a silver ball with various shapes, lines and designs underneath. The player is featured in the center of the card in a nice in-game action shot. We pulled a Giannis Antetokounmpo in his City Connect Bucks jersey.
The second pack featured a Top of the Charts John Stockton insert and a DeAnthony Melton serial number card. Its quite nostalgic to see Stockton’s short shorts in a 2022-23 pack.
In pack three we got a catchy insert called Rock the Rim featuring Cleveland Cavaliers stud scorer Donovan Mitchell. It’s a very outer space and futuristic looking design. 
This quickly became a Donovan Mitchell box as in the next pack we pulled an All Systems Go Mitchell parallel numbered to a mere ten copies.
The next pack featured a very cool Vector insert of Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey. We also snagged a Bradley Beal numbered to 99 out of the same pack.
Next up we pulled a Rookie Recon of Jalen Duren. There has been a lot of doubling up of specific cards and players in these packs, which has thrown us a little off. Another Duren rookie surfaced later in the box.
We pulled a Dyson Daniels Future Legend insert in our next pack and that might be a really questionable card. We also had our first autograph in the same pack a Glorified Signatures Brandon Clarke sticker numbered to 99. It sure would be nice if these guys’ signatures were actually legible once in awhile.
Our next pack featured another one of those interesting Rock the Rim inserts, this time featuring Indiana Pacers rookie Benedict Mathurin–and yes, there was another one that emerged later in our rip. 
We also received a Dyson Daniels rookie number to 299.
Our second autograph came in the form of a True Potential insert of Chicago Bulls rookie Dalen Terry… the same player who we received the insert of earlier in the box. Although this is practically worthless (Terry averaged two points and one board per game), the image of choice for the card is really impactful. It’s an intense picture of Terry screaming with his fists clenched and his arms crossed. Aside from having almost no value at this point, it is at least a great looking card. Now about that autograph….
This is yet another box where we won’t come close to making our money back even by our dealer cost threshold, let alone at a full retail price. The duplicates coming out of the same box is frustrating, too. 
I’m sure there are plenty of great boxes out there but we’ve been shooting some real airballs as of late.
Check out sports card boxes of all kinds in Sports Zone’s online store here.
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