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2021 Panini Prizm Baseball Cello Box
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$69.991 × $69.99
2021 Panini Prizm Baseball Cello Box
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2021 Panini Prizm Baseball Cello Box
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After hitting the shelves for its’ most recent release on October 1st, Donruss Optic is now five years old and has finally become one of the industry’s more respected basketball products. However, it remains one of the final releases for the 2020-21 NBA season and comes just before the 2021-22 season begins, so many collectors forget about it. But fear not, the 2020-21 Donruss Optic Basketball review gives the release the attention it deserves.
But Donruss Optic may eventually become a member of the elite basketball card tier. So, let’s take a look at the 2020-21 product.
Looking for 2021-22 Donruss Optic Basketball? Click here.
When it comes to sports card collecting, it seems like everyone loves a shiny card. That is why Topps Chrome and Panini Prizm sets have exploded in value over the past few years. Likewise, the love of chrome was one of the reasons Donruss Optic debuted in the 2016-17 NBA season.
Before Donruss started selling basketball cards, it had plenty of success in football. The 2016-17 Donruss Optic basketball series was a big hit partially due to a base card featuring LeBron James being guarded by Kobe Bryant.
But besides the love for chrome-style cards, collectors love owning licensed rookie cards with players in their professional uniforms, including on-card Rated Rookie Signatures, which are facilitated by the late release date.
It is also one of the most popular sets to collect because of the parallels, which feature many different colors, many kinds of numbered cards, and some scarce and unique cards for each player.
The 2020-21 Donruss Optic basketball hobby box will be the only place to obtain the Gold Vinyl Parallels (1/1), 6 Different Hobby Exclusive Inserts (Elite Dominators, All-Stars, The Rookies, Lights Out, Star Gazing, Rainmakers), and the Super Short Printed Photon Base and Rookie cards.
Optic hobby boxes are available on eBay.
FOTL Hobby Boxes have become popular recently. They feature all the same Hobby-Only exclusives but guarantee at least one Purple Stars parallel in each box.
The Choice Hobby Boxes are the only place you can find the Choice Dragon SSP and One-of-One Nebula parallels.
Besides the exclusive Prizms included in the Hobby Hybrid boxes, you will also get a chance at grabbing the Red Pulsar, Blue Pulsar, or Gold Pulsar (#’ d/10) parallels that are only found in Hybrid boxes.
The Fast Break boxes will also give collectors a chance to land one of the seven parallel sets from the Fast Break set, including the Black parallels, numbered to one.
If you are ever lucky enough to find a Blaster Box in a retail store, be quick to grab them because they will include the very rare Checkerboard Prizms.
Donruss Optic returns for the 2020-21 season with a total base set featuring 200 cards: 150 veterans and 50 rated rookies.
The entire set of 2020-21 Donruss Optic is loaded with rookies. The quality of the class is controversial. However, if you believe in this group, the release includes on-card autographs and action scenes from their rookie season.
Some of the rookie cards you can find in the 2020-21 Donruss Optic series are:
Aside from the valuable rookie cards in this series, this is the second season for Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, Coby White, Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish, Tyler Herro, Darius Bazley, Eric Paschall, Bol Bol, and Terence Davis.
Aside from the rookies, there are some strong second-years in this series (picture taken from Panini).
Eventually, trading cards are going to run out of colors for their parallels. But until that happens, companies seem determined to churn out new types of parallels each year.
Donruss Optic 2020-2021 Parallels:
The 2020-21 Donruss Optic Basketball set is one of the best sets from the 2020-21 NBA season for autographs. They feature everything from all the rookies from the 2020-21 NBA season to legendary Hall of Famers in their signature sets, all of which are on-card autos. But the Gold Vinyl might be the stud from this series in terms of future value.
| 1 | Otto Porter Jr. |
| 2 | Kevin Huerter |
| 3 | Bradley Beal |
| 4 | Shake Milton |
| 5 | Jarrett Allen |
| 6 | Markelle Fultz |
| 7 | Zach Collins |
| 8 | Cam Reddish |
| 9 | Kyle Kuzma |
| 10 | Joe Harris |
| 11 | Lauri Markkanen |
| 12 | Mike Conley |
| 13 | J.J. Barea |
| 14 | LaMarcus Aldridge |
| 15 | Myles Turner |
| 16 | Devonte’ Graham |
| 17 | Lou Williams |
| 18 | Domantas Sabonis |
| 19 | Trae Young |
| 20 | Mo Bamba |
| 21 | Gordon Hayward |
| 22 | Thomas Bryant |
| 23 | Jarrett Culver |
| 24 | Spencer Dinwiddie |
| 25 | Kelly Oubre Jr. |
| 26 | Jayson Tatum |
| 27 | Cameron Johnson |
| 28 | Bam Adebayo |
| 29 | Kelly Olynyk |
| 30 | Lonzo Ball |
| 31 | Kawhi Leonard |
| 32 | Duncan Robinson |
| 33 | Jrue Holiday |
| 34 | John Collins |
| 35 | Donovan Mitchell |
| 36 | Tobias Harris |
| 37 | Patrick Beverley |
| 38 | Boban Marjanovic |
| 39 | Anfernee Simons |
| 40 | Donte DiVincenzo |
100 cards
50 Cards
30 Cards
| 1 | Shawn Kemp |
| 2 | Jack Sikma |
| 3 | Baron Davis |
| 4 | Kenny “Sky” Walker |
| 5 | Rod Strickland |
| 6 | Alex English |
| 7 | Magic Johnson |
| 8 | Dino Radja |
| 9 | Robert Horry |
| 10 | Isaiah Rider |
| 11 | Ray Allen |
| 12 | Al Harrington |
| 13 | B.J. Armstrong |
| 14 | Toni Kukoc |
| 15 | Rik Smits |
| 16 | Michael Cooper |
| 17 | Paul Pierce |
| 18 | Chris Mullin |
| 19 | Elgin Baylor |
| 20 | Allen Iverson |
| 21 | Rick Barry |
| 22 | Nate Archibald |
| 23 | Terry Porter |
| 24 | Jason Williams |
| 25 | Calvin Murphy |
| 26 | Wally Szczerbiak |
| 27 | Kevin Garnett |
| 28 | Mehmet Okur |
| 29 | Xavier McDaniel |
| 30 | Jerry West |
30 Cards
Rookie Dominators is an old favorite (get them on eBay).
| 1 | Anthony Edwards |
| 2 | James Wiseman |
| 3 | LaMelo Ball |
| 4 | Patrick Williams |
| 5 | Isaac Okoro |
| 6 | Onyeka Okongwu |
| 7 | Killian Hayes |
| 8 | Obi Toppin |
| 9 | Deni Avdija |
| 10 | Jalen Smith |
| 11 | Devin Vassell |
| 12 | Tyrese Haliburton |
| 13 | Kira Lewis Jr. |
| 14 | Aaron Nesmith |
| 15 | Cole Anthony |
| 16 | Isaiah Stewart |
| 17 | Aleksej Pokusevski |
| 18 | Josh Green |
| 19 | Saddiq Bey |
| 20 | Precious Achiuwa |
| 21 | Tyrese Maxey |
| 22 | Jae’Sean Tate |
| 23 | RJ Hampton |
| 24 | Immanuel Quickley |
| 25 | Payton Pritchard |
| 26 | Udoka Azubuike |
| 27 | Malachi Flynn |
| 28 | Desmond Bane |
| 29 | Daniel Oturu |
| 30 | Jordan Nwora |
100 Cards
There is something special about opening a pack of cards and seeing an insert towards the back. They are about as valuable as the base cards, but they present another item a collector will want to think about when chasing down the 2020-21 Donruss Optic series.
5 Cards
20 Cards
25 Cards
We like the Elite Dominator parallels (picture taken from Panini).
25 Cards
15 Cards
What do you think of the Lights Out parallels? (picture taken from Panini).
20 Cards
20 Cards
15 Cards
15 Cards
15 Cards
5 Cards
20 Cards
If we were looking into the future to figure out if the 2020-21 Donruss Optic Basketball set was worth investing in or not, then we first would have to look at the history of both the singles and the wax. Thanks to Zion Williamson and Ja Morant causing a massive chase for their cards last year, 2019-20 Donruss Optic boxes are still selling for close to $1,000. Even the Retail Blaster boxes will be $150, while the Retail Mega boxes sell for $250.
The industry has changed, and so has the value of everything. So, you will no longer be able to obtain anything from Donruss Optic Basketball on the cheap.
For the past five years, Donruss Optic Basketball has been fighting for a spot of its’ own among the elite trading card sets. However, the appeal has grown, and more people have become aware of the set. The increased cache of the set has raised the value of singles from the older sets. Of course, it helps that these releases included desirable rookies like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, and Ja Morant.
Here is a quick look at some of the more valuable PSA 10 cards from the past few years.
| 2016-17 | Rookie Kings Aqua | Ben Simmons | /25 | $1,500 |
| 2017-18 | Green Emerald | Jayson Tatum | /5 | $15,500 |
| 2017-18 | Premium Box Auto | Jayson Tatum | /10 | $15,000 |
| 2018-19 | Blue | Luka Doncic | /49 | $44,100 |
| 2019-20 | Choice Dragon | Zion Williamson | $12,445 | |
| 2019-20 | Premium Box Auto | Zion Williamson | /10 | $18,100 |
The Zion Choice Dragon has a strong value (look for one on eBay).
If you would rather gamble on your investment, or flip it, get yourself some Donruss Optic wax. The pricing of boxes from 2018 to 2020 is on the lower end of the pricing charts. Possibly allowing you more room for a return on your investment.
| 2017-2018 Blaster | $155 |
| 2018-2019 Blaster | $419 |
| 2019-2020 Blaster | $159 |
With blasters currently available for $59, there seems to be little chance that you will lose money by buying the blasters. The 2020-2021 blasters may not reach the price of previous years due to over-saturation and a questionable rookie class. But it is far more likely to go up from the current price than down.
| 2017-2018 Hobby Box | $915 |
| 2018-2019 Hobby Box | $4,000 |
| 2019-2020 Hobby Box | $1,200 |
The hobby box is a less attractive option to hold. Currently selling for around $750, you are not likely to lose money on a hobby box, but unless one of the rookies turns into a Zion or Luca type star, the return will likely be minimal.
The 2017-2018 hobby box is particularly valuable (get them on eBay).
But since the rookie class dictates the value of any season of sports trading cards, why not start buying the more elite classes?
It is rare to purchase a box of cards that dates back to the previous season, but Donruss Optic comes out so late that you get to enjoy a stroll down memory lane when opening it. It is also one of the few places to find rookie cards featuring rookies playing in regular-season NBA games, making it more valuable. The release is a good one, and it looks as though Panini has been listening to their fans and making improvements.
But suppose you are looking to keep these cards for the long term. In that case, you might want to reconsider because their value is in those strong rookie classes, and they tend to fluctuate before declining in overall value a few years later unless the rookie has shown to be much more than anyone ever imagined.
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