First look: 2012 Absolute basketball cards

By Chris Olds | Beckett Basketball Editor

It’s back? Absolutely.

Panini America announced on Tuesday the return of Absolute to the hardwood as the high-end brand will arrive in December after a couple years on the bench.

Absolute will pack three autographs per four-pack box, while all 100 Rookie Cards in the product will feature on-card autographs.

The base set will consist of 150 standard cards with 100 autographed RCs capping the release. The set will also feature three parallels — Black, Platinum and Gold.

Absolute’s lineup also includes five autograph sets and seven memorabilia card sets, all of which will be limited to 99 or less but many limited to 25 or fewer copies.

New this year will be Every Player Every Game patches — a card that will include the serial-numbering from the tagging of the jersey, while autograph offerings will include Heroes, Hoopla, Marks of Fame, Iconic autos and Frequent Flyers.

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.