It has been months since Prizm and Select NBA cards have been released to the public. Since then, the supply for these products has certainly met the public’s demand. But after those offerings, the time has come for one of the hobby’s staple sets to make its mark on the market – Panini Optic.
Ever since its introduction in 2016, Optic has gained a dedicated following over the years. The card’s vintage-inspired look, paired with a chrome finish, has become a favorite in the hobby. And with the latest edition released earlier this month, collectors have a new reason to go card hunting once again. We take a look below at several reasons why the newest Panini Optic set is something to look out for.
A Fresh-Looking NBA Card Design
As compared to the two previous generations, this edition of Optic comes with a more vibrant look that mimics one of Panini’s other products – Donruss. While the player’s profile is still inside a framed design, it now possesses more color and radiance.
The same concept is also used in Optic’s Rated Rookie subset, which features the LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards cards. Much like their Donruss counterparts, these offerings feature last season’s rookies using a new action shot embossed on chrome.
The end result of this fresh take is a welcome approach for some collectors while others see it as a useless deviation from past designs that clearly worked. Nevertheless, this new look will help Optic stand out from Panini’s other products in their basketball line.
Chrome Overload
Without a doubt, Optic’s Silver NBA card parallels are one of the many cards collectors are hunting right now. Its shiny look takes the card to a whole new level of value and aesthetics, a combo that works well in the hobby. But for this latest generation of Optic cards, things have been taken to the next level.
While there have been cases of complete chrome cards in last year’s seat, this one has a lot of them in it. This is really evident in the Rated Rookie set, which has a blank background. As a result, the majority of the card’s surface is covered in chrome.
The initial impression is that the card looks a lot more awesome than it was in the past. But at the same time, there have been concerns from collectors ripping Optic Hobby Boxes that the surface of these Silver parallel cards is easily scratched. In some ways, this is a nightmare for hobbyists, especially those who are planning to have their pulls graded by PSA or BGS.
Those who are hunting the latest Optic cards need to be more discerning before biting the bullet, especially those who are buying from other sellers. In this way, you can get your money’s worth from these new products.
Quality Concerns
With each major release of Panini’s NBA card products, collectors can expect a couple of quality issues to come along with it. For this year’s Optic set, there are a few.
For starters, there are tons of box breaking videos on the internet showing these new Optic cards with a lot of surface scratches on them. Right out of the pack, these imperfections greatly bring the card’s value down by a mile.
Along with these surface issues, centering is another concern that is clearly visible from the get-go. Since a framed design is used on these cards, it’s very easy for collectors to determine how centered a card is or not. Unfortunately, there have been some cases when most cards in a box come with bad centering.
These two issues are just some of the things collectors have complained about so far. While there’s no perfect product ever released to the market, it wouldn’t hurt for Panini to improve its quality control. In this way, collectors won’t have any buyers’ remorse when spending huge amounts of money on the company’s products.
Colorful Optic Parallels
Any Panini NBA Card product wouldn’t be complete without having tons of parallels in it. In Optic’s case, the company has opted to include a wide variety of colored variations in the set.
With the release of Optic hobby boxes, there have been sightings of Silver, Lime, Red, Blue, and Gold parallels in the market. There are also Pink and Black Velocity cards, and short-print Gold, Gold Vinyl, and Photon pulls that have been spotted. Without a doubt, each of these parallel offerings is a breath of fresh air in a market that has seen too many Prizm and Select cards for the past few months.
In less than a month, Panini’s Optic will soon flood the market. By that time, the prices of these cards will go down. That would be a better time to splurge on this product since their respective values will be corrected. But if you can’t wait for that, better make sure you inspect your Optic card prospects first so you won’t end up with a purchase you’re going to regret.
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