Panini has been on a roll with their NBA card products lately and the frequency in which they're releasing them. What started out with NBA Hoops has progressed to Court King and their flagship Prizm a couple of months ago. But just recently, those in the hobby have more reason to be excited with the release of the 2021-22 Panini Optic to the market. We take a look below at the first impressions of this basketball card set.

4 first impressions on the 2021-22 Panini Optic Basketball set

4. A sleek base card design

Last year's design of Optic was certainly a departure from the last two editions. While the latter presented a clean look, the 2020-21 set introduced more elements into the base card design. This year's version, though, is a callback to the past as Panini opted to go for a sleeker design for both the product's base and rookie card look.

Image 1 - 2021-22 CADE CUNNINGHAM PANINI DONRUSS OPTIC #161 RATED RC SILVER PRIZM HOLO!!

As is the case with Optic, the card takes its inspiration from vintage sports cards and evolved it to suit today's times. This is in far contrast with Prizm and Select, which optimizes the use of chrome for their respective base card designs. The end result of this new look for Optic is a cleaner and sleeker one than last year's NBA card release.

3. Lackluster set of hobby inserts

Panini's Optic has always been one of the most fun and eye-catching products when it comes to inserts. In years past, avid NBA card collectors would often go for the brand's stunning offerings, especially the retail inserts. Some of these include My House, Splash, and Winner Stays. The thing is, this year's hobby-exclusive inserts aren't putting up much of a fight.

Image 1 - 2021-22 Donruss Optic RUSSELL WESTBROOK SSP RED PRIZM /99 Light It Up, Lakers

This year's insert set for Optic Hobby include Light It Up, Stargazing, and the 75 Years of the NBA with a Prizm logo on it. As compared to inserts found in retail products, those found in hobby boxes aren't that desirable in the eyes of most basketball card collectors. While the card design isn't that hard on the eyes, they aren't standing out from the crowd either. It remains to be seen, though, whether the trend will continue with the release of Panini Optic retail boxes and packs.

2. Authentic rookie card images

The release of Panini Prizm a couple of months back was hit with criticism due to the images used for the set's rookie cards. While previous iterations of the product went for actual images of the rookies in their appropriate team jerseys, the company's flagship product uses altered photos. Those in question, such as cards that feature Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green, took the player's pre-NBA profile and digitally added the team uniform to them.

Image 1 - 2021-22 Donruss Optic Jalen Green HOLO Rookie Card RC Rockets 🚀 Mint

This isn't the case anymore with the latest Panini Optic basketball card set. The base Rated Rookie design incorporates the player's actual jersey into the image itself. This change makes it somewhat better than Prizm rookie cards, especially to those who are particular about these details.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)

1. Quality control issues

Speaking of details, there is a lot to be desired from Optic, especially when quality control is concerned. Ever since the release of this Panini NBA card product, there have been missing autographs from hobby boxes, very off-centered cards, and even the absence of short-print offerings from the more exclusive First Off The Line (FOTL) boxes, which is somehow a guarantee when purchasing one.

Of course, not every release from Panini can be considered mistake-free. But the fact of the matter here is that these hobby boxes currently go for an estimate of $600 while the FOTL variants are more expensive. Collectors expect the cards their purchase to be complete or don't have any defects to them.

Even with all of the negative points, the current set of Optic is looking good as the set itself is in demand everywhere. In any case, collectors are advised to plan their purchase of this NBA card product to get the most out of their hard-earned money down the line.