Today is the day many of you have been waiting for, with the release of 2011-12 Exquisite Basketball. I know that even though I am a football collector, I have been really excited to see what Upper Deck can manage with the granddaddy of them all. So far from what I am seeing on eBay, there is a mix of ridiculously awesome cards, and some that maybe should have been left on the cutting room floor. Either way, there is likely going to be enough excitement generated over the product that many of these inconsequential poorly designed cards wont make too much of a difference.

Here are some of the big cards so far:

2012 Exquisite Michael Jordan Dimensions Shadow Box Autograph

2012 Exquisite Michael Jordan / Lebron James Dual Manupatch Autograph

2012 Exquisite Magic Johnson / Jerry West Dual Manupatch Booklet Autograph

2012 Exquisite Michael Jordan Legacy Auto /23

By far, the coolest Exquisite cards of the year are the Dimensions shadow box cards. In fact, they might be the coolest cards of the year, period. They are just unbelievably awesome in every way shape and form. To see that Michael Jordan and Lebron now have cards like this will make people nuts trying to chase them down.

We also see that Upper Deck did get autographs from some of the rookies to include them in the set, and the cards do look really nice. Of course, Panini has protected themselves against a situation like this by getting exclusive deals with many of the top guys, but unlike other sports, some of the lower tier rookies are still very collectable. Regardless, this is a testament to why exclusive deals should be made illegal.

The manufactured patch cards look ugly to me, as I don’t think these type of cards belong in a product like Exquisite. The manupatch has long played out its place among the creative programs in the industry, and it is my opinion that Exquisite should be the last place they are included. With how awesome the UD Black cards looked in Exquisite Football, I was disappointed to see these cards make an appearance looking this way.

I am not seeing enough auction action to make a call on this product quite yet, but I think that for the most part, we should see what Upper Deck is truly capable of within a hobby that is dominated by Exquisite clones.