Now that Panini's 2020-21 Prizm product has dropped and the onslaught of retail products arriving is in droves, it's time to take a look beyond Panini's first tentpole release and towards the next three products that are scheduled to arrive next.
Panini Origins, Panini Crown Royale, and Panini Impeccable are all on-deck, and each one offers something unique to the table for hobbyists and investors alike.
Origins
Origins is in its second season as an NBA product after largely being an NFL release in previous years. The line is defined by a colorful set of base and parallel cards that take inspiration from Court Kings and Impeccable. The exploding paint background not only makes for a colorful card, but the parallels are made unique by the different colors in the background.
This year, Origins comes with 10 different parallels. It's a manageable total for rainbow hunters relative to the amount of parallels that are ripe for chasing in big-boy products like Panini Prizm.
The base card in Origins comes with a white background. It's one of the two parallels in the product that are not numbered, joining the Red parallel in that category. From there, the parallels come with specific print runs, beginning with Blue (/99), Orange (/75), Pink (/60), Turquoise (/25), Purple FOTL (/21), Gold (/10), Green (/5) and Black (/1).
Most of the print runs of these parallels are the same as they were in last season's product. The only one that's different is the Pink parallel, which was numbered to /35 last season.
There are no inserts in Origins. Instead, Panini is introducing a 10-card base variation subset that's made up of five current superstars and five of this year's top rookies. LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Giannis Antentokounmpo make up the superstars in the subset. LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Patrick Williams, James Wiseman, and Killian Hayes are the five rookies that complete the base variation set.
Panini also dropped a multitude of autograph and memorabilia subsets that cover all of this year's top rookies to go with a steady stream of veterans, legends and current superstars.
The Legendary Autographs set is made up of a who's who of NBA Hall of Famers, including rare signers like Kevin Garnett, Bill Russell and John Stockton.
Rookie autographs make up the rest of Origins' autographs checklist. The Rookie Autographs and Rookie Jersey Autographs return for the product's second season. But if you're opening Origins, you should be after the Rookie Autographs Silver Ink set. These autos are differentiated by the silver and gold pens the rookies used to sign the card.
Origins is also the first Panini product of the year to offer rookie autograph booklets that include massive patches of the rookie's team jersey.
The chase card in Origins is the Six-Star Signatures that feature six rookie autographs in one card. This year, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball, Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, Deni Avdija, Obi Toppin, Killian Hayes and Onyeka Okongwu are all featured in the two-card autograph subset.
Origins releases on April 14, 2021. One master case comes with 12 boxes. Each box comes with seven cards, including two parallels, an autograph and either an autograph or jersey card.
Crown Royale
There's a three-week gap between the release of Origins and Panini's next product, Crown Royale. Those three weeks are largely reserved for Prizm retail products.
Crown Royale is another fan-favorite product that includes one of the most sought-after rookie patch autographs of the year, as well as one of the can't-miss case hits of the year. Crown's die-cut base cards are unique because they're cut in the shape of a crown. Ingenious, Panini. Parallels are expected, and this year, Panini is introducing a pair of new parallels via the product's FOTL boxes: Green Crystal (/21) and Black Crystal (/4).
A pair of new inserts will also be introduced in this year's Crown Royale. The Test of Time insert features today's lineup of superstars with an intricately designed watch face background. The other new insert is called Sno Globe, and yes, the top-half of the card is cut to form the shape of a snow globe with the players standing inside the globe.
Crown Royale's lineup of autograph sets is arguably one of the best among all of Panini's products. Two intriguing auto subsets are Regal Achievements, which highlights a player's accomplishments, and Royal Signatures, which includes a lineup of legendary Hall of Famers. Both auto sets are die-cut and are expected to feature on-card signatures from the players.
The highlight of Crown Royale, though, are the Silhouettes. These are patch autographs featuring the year's top rookies and a loaded roster of superstars and legends. The Silhouettes, or “Silos,” come in a variety of forms, including low-numbered Prime and Super Prime versions that have some of the sickest patches you'll see in a card. The product's FOTL release also includes a low-numbered Premium Silhouette.
Then there's the Kaboom! One of Panini's hottest case hits returns to Crown Royale for the third year in a row. The design hasn't changed: the comics-styled explosion holographic foil is one of the set's most enduring features. It returns in grand style this year, ensuring that this new set of Kaboom! cards will fetch a king's ransom in the market.
Crown Royale is scheduled to release on May 5, 2021. One master case includes 16 boxes, and each box comes with eight cards, including two parallels/inserts, one memorabilia card, and one autograph.
Impeccable
Impeccable is the first of Panini's high-end releases, and, if you ask veteran collectors, it's probably Panini's most underrated product. It definitely offers the most variety as far as aesthetics go. Impeccable is where you'll find base cards printed on a mesh-like surface, stainless steel cards printed on a piece of metal, and cards that come with silver and gold bars.
Beyond all these offerings, Impeccable includes the first high-end rookie patch autographs of the year. The Elegance RPA, in particular, is an annual knockout, and this year's version looks no different. Non-jersey rookie autographs are also included in the product.
Impeccable also houses a host of veteran-laden autograph subsets that are considered some of the best auto subsets of the year. The Impeccable Draft Pick autograph is numbered to a rookie's draft position in the draft. The Impeccable Hall of Fame autograph is numbered to the number of seasons the Hall of Fame player played. The Impeccable Jersey Number autograph is numbered to the player's jersey number. The last one is the Impeccable Stats autograph, which is numbered to the highlighted stat of a specific player.
Barring any delays, Impeccable is scheduled to release on May 12, 2021. There are only three boxes in one case. Each box contains one pack that contains nine cards. Of those nine cards, there are five autographs, on average, and one metal insert.
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