Group Break Raptors Goodies

The first NBA cards of the 22-23 season dropped, and let's see the goodies out of the case. One change from last year is the Tribute cards are not SPd, meaning I ended up with a healthy number of these. The font looks really off for this salute to the 1992 set, but at least it kinda gives you the idea of what these might look like for a team that wasn't around at the time.

Here's the base design. Pretty much what I'd expect from this, and pretty much the names I'd expect to see. Even though I'm slightly surprised that all the names shown here are still around after the trade deadline. But only slightly, since some of the proposed trades really didn't feel like a proper return for some of the rumored departures. And hey, I'm welcoming Christian Koloko to the binders, and it looks like Ron Harper Jr will have to come from some NCAA release.

Fortunately, Koloko isn't the chase player that Scottie Barnes was during his rookie year, so at least they'll be cheaper dates this season.

The backs - typical for the release. B&W. 

Purples are just one of the many parallels in the product. That Vince Carter Tribute card would look spectacular with this version, even if the shade isn't the perfect match.

This was the only other parallel I got from the case - a Gravity parallel /75. I would have loved it if these parallels were only used for photos where the player is off the ground. Alas, no.

As I expected, Scottie Barnes was the star of the inserts. I'm happy the City Edition with the dino logo makes an appearance in the set this year, although I'm sure there will be better looks hiding among some of the late 21-22 releases. Prime Twine needs to go away and choke on its own puniness. 

Start with a retro player, end with one. It's only fair!

There you have it!