By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

As 2012 winds down, we figured we’d take a few minutes to take a look back at 2012 via the covers of Beckett Basketball — a magazine that only published eight times this year but will be making the move back to monthly in 2013.

Heck, we’re already working on March’s issue.

It was a choppy time for NBA collectors with limited releases and no Rookie Cards, but that time is over as we’re pretty fan into a new season and a double-dose of RCs to make up for lost time.

Here’s a gallery of the 2012 covers — we want to know, just for kicks, which one you liked best.

And if you want to give us your rundown of 2012, do that in the comments.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

The auctions have ended, the numbers have been crunched. The ranges have been tabulated and the OPG has been posted.

The 2012-13 Totally Certified basketball card set from Panini America has arrived on Beckett.com with the favorites, autographs and memories in tow. Let’s take a look inside the numbers crunched by Beckett Basketball Senior Market Analyst Rob Springs – and see even more — after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Total value:  $34,010
Average price:  $15.14

Highest card:
– Totally Certified HRX Video Cards #1 Kobe Bryant $200-$400

Other notable cards:
– Totally Certified Rookie Roll Call Autographs Blue #3 Anthony Davis $175-$350
– Totally Certified Gold #70 Damian Lillard $175-$350

Springs says: Totally Certified has lots and lots of autograph and memorabilia goodies (one per pack), so if you have been missing the rapid-fire hits, then this product is for you.  Like the 2010-11 vehicle, this product is mainly driven by the tougher Black, Gold and Green parallels, which are largely unpriced due to scarcity, but have seen very solid sales on the secondary market.  The on-card Rookie Roll Call autographs are the driver on this product and there are only a handful of players that had redemptions.  HRX Video Cards return (with autograph parallels) and are strong sales, a little lower on average than the 2010-11 bunch, but they are still trading for big money.

Olds’ Opinion: If you’re a hit-minded buyer and enjoy foil-etching and varied color parallels, this one is here for you. An added potential bonus in this one would be the latest crop of video cards — the latest in some new cardboard technology — but those old-fashioned autographs, Rookie Cards and rare parallels get the job done here.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

You can be in the NBA’s Starting 5 by heading to a sports card shop in December.

A joint program through the NBA and its lone trading card licensee, Panini America, the NBA Starting 5 begins today and will allow collectors who pick up Panini cards at participating hobby shops the chance to get some exclusive cards, autographs, win prizes and maybe even get a VIP trip to the 2013 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot.

There will be an 18-card set made specifically for the promotion, and they will be distributed in packs available at more than 250 hobby shops around the country.

Five players are noted each week as starters and collectors who collect each card while buying in a hobby shop will receive a pack of Starting 5 cards. Some packs will include autographs and there may be a contest card inside as well good for shirts, memorabilia or trips such as one to the NBA All-Star Game.

Below are the players and a gallery of some cards made for the program.

Starting Five for Dec.1-8
Kyrie Irving
Brandon Knight
Harrison Barnes
Thomas Robinson
Austin Rivers

Dec. 9-15
Anthony Davis
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Derrick Williams
Jared Sullinger
Andre Drummond

Dec. 16-22
John Henson
Bradley Beal
Dion Waiters
Kawhi Leonard
Iman Shumpert

Dec. 23-29
Kobe Bryant
Blake Griffin
Kevin Durant
Blake Griffin (from packs of 2011-12 Limited)
Kevin Durant (from packs of 2011-12 Gold Standard)

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Join Beckett Basketball‘s Chris Olds and Rob Springs as they rip into a pair of 2012-13 Totally Certified boxes from Panini America in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

The flagship is back on the hardwood.

Panini America‘s basic Panini line of basketball cards hasn’t been seen since 2009-10 but it’s back for this season after the company unveiled the first glimpses of the brand on Monday.

Set to arrive in late-February, it will include a 300-card base set along with 60 rookie autographs and plenty more. Each 24-pack hobby box will include two autographs.

Insert cards for this one will include Knight parallels (seven per box), Spirit of the Game, Heroes of the Hall and Matching Numbers (each three per box). Each box also will include three additional inserts.

For the certified autograph hounds, there are five autograph sets to chase, while the memorabilia lineup includes just 50 Dress Code jumbo memorabilia cards. Hall of Fame signatures will showcase stars from the past, while Spokesmen Signatures will showcase the guys you’re likely to find on Panini’s wrappers — the likes of Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis — and some cards will combine them.

Rarer inserts will include Black Knight parallels, each numbered to 10, and a Knights of the Round die-cut cards that are found one per case.

Also to be found will be Rated Rookies —  a selection of autographed patches here — while an All-Panini set will showcase 100 established veterans.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

After a year on the basketball card bench because of the NBA lockout, the foilboard is back.

The Elite foilboard, that is.

Panini America unveiled on Monday the first images and basic product information for 2012-13 Elite, which will arrive in February.

Back for a run besides the foilboard, a staple of Elite, will be acetate Rookie Inscriptions autographs, which will be found among the three autographs and one memorabilia card  in every 20-pack hobby box.

The base set will be 100 cards capped by the 100 rookie autographs,  and it will include four parallels from the familiar Aspirations, Status, Gold Status and Black Status cards seen in the past.

Also in this one will be five other autographed insert card sets — Passing the Torch among them — and four memorabilia sets, according to the company.

Inserts in this one will include Dominators, Elite Signatures, All-Time Greats Signatures,  Craftsmen, Elites and Rookie Elites.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

A season has passed, the patches are gone and Contenders is back.

Panini America has unveiled the first looks at 2012-13 Contenders and it’s back to the more traditional approach for the brand — no embedded patches and autographs like the release of two seasons ago — while also perhaps testing the waters with an organic design a la recent Rookies & Stars releases that utilizes a fluid approach rather than a geometric one.

Arriving in January, it will include 20 packs per hobby box and four autographs per as well. The company announced that three of those sigs will be from the double rookie class that has been utilized heavily in all of its products this year.

The base set will consist of 200 cards with the 100 rookie autos and an array of inserts and parallels (Silver, Gold and Black) while a few of the insert sets will be tough pulls. Contenders’ Hall of Fame Contenders will be found one in every 20 cases, while Throwback Rookie Tickets will be one in every 13.

Autograph-wise, there will be three inserts to chase, while there will be just a single memorabilia card insert, Contenders Materials, as the company continues to pare down its game-used offerings.

Other inserts will include Contemporary Contenders and Historic Contenders autographs.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

The NBA season tips off tonight with three games that will inevitably restart the fires with a few collectors and perhaps prompt a few others if there are any surprises.

But we’re not waiting for a 7 p.m. tip-off in Cleveland for the season to begin. We’ve got 20 questions about basketball and basketball cards that we’re curious to see how you, the collectors, answer.

Some are for fun, some are more serious … if you have more to say about the NBA these days — or collecting, of course — you can let us know in the comments below.

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See the rest of the questions … after the jump.

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Have anything else to add? Tell us in the comments below.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Panini America hopes that collectors think it’s timeless and that it will be treasured.

The first glimpses at 2012-13 Timeless Treasures arrived from the NBA’s lone licensee on Thursday, and it will include two autographs and one memorabilia card in every five-card tin when it arrives in December.

As with other Panini releases this year, it will include 100 Rookie Cards — each of these being autographed. There will be one RC auto per pack.

As seen in Limited, Panini will present a two-sided memorabilia card in this one — Revolution Materials, but this time the memorabilia pieces apparently will spin inside the card to show off two players’ swatches.

The base set will include 150 cards, capped by the 100 rookies, while there will be three parallel sets — Platinum, Silver and Gold.

As with other brands, not only will there be a new look but there will be a bit of a simplified hit lineup. Timeless will include  five memorabilia sets and six auto sets, with new inclusions this year including Time To Shine autos (rookies) and Treasured Ink (stars and legends).

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Basketball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Panini America offered the first glimpses at its plans for this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention on Monday, teasing four of the six cards it will make available to collectors who purchase a VIP pass to the event.

The cards, created using the Gridiron Kings design of recent years, showcase NBA rookie Kyrie Irving, NFL rookies Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III as well as NHL newcomer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The company will reveal the final two cards on Aug. 1 in Baltimore — the opening day of the show.

It’s worth noting that there is not a presence in the set for the company’s fourth major license — any cards of baseball players under its MLBPA deal.

The Irving card, which shows him at last year’s NBA Draft, is just the second card released for him by Panini. His first was at last year’s NSCC, and, because of a lack of Rookie Cards because of the NBA lockout, it’s been a hot seller.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.