Hockey card collector looking for info on Basketball cards

[G0SHARKSG0]

Hey guys,

Been a hockey card collector for about 12 years now and being from Canada, got into the hype of the Raptors championship run. Now I'm looking to get into basketball card collecting but haven't been able to find some of the info I'm looking for online.

Is there a good low end set for set collecting? Some of my favorite hockey card sets are MVP, OPC and Series 1/2 because they are large base sets with a good amount of rookies. I really enjoy learning what players play for which teams by set collecting but haven't really been able to find any info on a good set collectors set.

Appreciate any info I could get.

Thanks

[shockwiresports]

A good set that I like to collect is Panini Hoops!

Two others that cost a little bit more but I also enjoy from Panini are: Prizm and Donruss Optic!

[dragonslayer913]

Hoops and Donruss are your best bets.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yes, Hoops and Donruss are great for low end set builders. There isn't much of a market anymore in basketball for that kind of thing (which saddens me as it's my demographic) -- there used to be many more sets like that -- but Hoops and Donruss are at least still around.

[G0SHARKSG0]

Thanks for the help guys. Another question,

My LCS seems to have Prizm 18-19 in stock on their site (Didn't see hoops or donruss but they may have more stuff in the store) but I see a retail version that is much less expensive than the hobby version. What are the differences between those? It says the retail has 1 auto per box while the hobby has 2 autos per box. Are there any other differences? Is retail a good value buy if I'm not really chasing autos? ( would be collecting the base set/rookies and maybe base inserts)

[shockwiresports]

I think this may come down to what you are looking for. More cards in retail but the auto in hobby *could* be super valuable. Say you get a rookie auto like Doncic or say a superstar like LeBron - then the hobby box was great but you may also get a lesser player so a gamble of course!

[creasecollector]

Best of luck with the basketball cards man!

[bballcards015]

Getting back into collecting basketball, too. A few questions:

Is Panini's basic set Hoops?

When do the basic Panini and Donruss sets come out?

Thanks!

[shockwiresports]

A lot of the ones referenced likely release in late October and November. Many more come out throughout the NBA season and quite a few high end products

I think Hoops could be considered a basic product, nice to keep running it out based on its historical nature.