2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball Review

The National Treasures Basketball release may be their most beloved high-end release. In a market that changes constantly, the Panini National Treasures Basketball line has consistently delivered beautiful cards with high values.

But these are different times. Fanatics is in the process of taking away the rights from Panini, and that includes nabbing exclusives for the autos of some of the biggest players. In addition, this release is very late, coming well into the 2024-2025 season.

So, is the 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball release the kind of slam dunk this product has always been? Or are we talking about another sloppy Panini turnover? How many lousy basketball metaphors do I plan on using in this review?

Find out in our 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball review.

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History of Panini National Treasures Basketball

The product first appeared for the 2009-10 season. It was designed to be the future of high-end cards and featured 6 autograph and memorabilia cards. One of the nicest touches in this series was that all the cards were numbered /99 or higher.

That was a revolutionary idea at that time. It dropped fully formed, including the beautiful on-card auto logon patches that would become the trademark for this excellent release.

It was the MacDaddy OG premium Panini set. But by 2014, it had some respectable rivals. Panini had released Flawless and Immaculate, weakening National Treasures’ hold on the high-end market. But the product was too good to be held down and continued to stand out.

Introducing new exciting cards, like the swatches, helped keep National Treasures fresh and popular. The number of cards was also increased to 10.

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But that year, we also started to see the dreaded on-sticker auto phenomenon creep into National Treasures, a factor that lowered its cache for a while and allowed its rivals like Flawless to catch up. Nonetheless, National Treasures picked up its game and returned to a purely on-card format, which helped it regain its top position in the high-end market.

2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball release date

The timing of the release could be better. The 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball Hobby Boxes are slated to drop on December 11, 2024.

That is almost two months into the next season, namely the 2024-25 campaign. How does that compare to previous releases? That is a deterioration from an exceptionally late release in 2023-24, when the product was released on November 15, 2023.

The year before that, it was released just after the playoffs ended. There is no question that the release dates for National Treasures Basketball keep deteriorating; it is almost as if Panini isn’t trying anymore. And sure, we understand why. But with these prices, that is not acceptable.

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2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball release format

This is a hobby box-only release. It’s much too upscale to have a retail release, you plebs. As far as I can see, there is no FOTL.

Hobby Box

• 4 Autographs
• 4 Memorabilia
• 1 Printing Plate
• 1 Base Card per box, on average!
• 10 cards
• 1 Pack
• 4 boxes per case
• Preselling for $3,500

2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball pros

There is a lot to like traditionally about the National Treasures Basketball release. I am unaware of a more consistently attractive and classy release than this one.

That is true; there have been a few changes in the design over the years. But why mess with perfection when you have mastered the elegant look with big patches and on-card autos? And speaking of autographs, the National Treasures items tend to be the most crisp and appealing of all.

I’m a big fan, and most people are too. As a result, the RPAs from this release and other strong autographs tend to hold value better than the competition.

No one ever shrugs their shoulders when you try to sell an RPA of a star from National Treasures. They will always take it seriously for good reason.

The price for National Treasures is usually a con. This one is pre-ordering for $3,500, which is different from Chump Change. However, in comparison to previous releases, it is relatively reasonable. It will likely go down further without a Wemby auto in this release.

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2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball cons

I already rated the design as a pro, but I will also rate it as a con. Yup, that’s very Jekyll and Hyde of me. Even though the design remains attractive, the blue lines are a bit cheap-looking and not up to the usual high standard. Also, the RPAs seem particularly hard to read, which could be better.

But that is pretty minor. There are some serious issues with this year’s release. The most important one is that you cannot score a Wemby RPA. And that is enough to make the whole release seem pointless. Fanatics tried to accomplish that by getting exclusive rights to the player’s autograph.

Then there is another problem. As discussed here on Cardlines, sophisticated scanning operations can now find hits without opening a box.

They specialize in expensive boxes like National Treasures, which increases the odds that if you buy a box, it will have been scanned; therefore, there is a lower chance that it will contain a big hit.

Between the scanning, the Wemby issue, and this box coming late, it’s hard to find people who are that enthusiastic about the product. Indeed, the distinct lack of buzz surrounding National Treasures over the last couple of years will likely worsen.

2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball checklist

We already know the most crucial fact about the checklist: there won’t be a Wemby RPA available. What else do we need to know? Also, Panini is getting late with releasing the official checklist, so we don’t have all the details.

Review of the 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball

Wemby defines the rookie class for 2023-24, who appears to be a generational talent. But his autos are not present here. Others, like Scoot Henderson, are also missing from these products.

This might explain why the Panini folks are not rushing to release the checklist. Another issue is that Chet Holmgren, the other outstanding rookie of 2023-24, is not in this release either. He already appeared in 2022-23 releases but then missed the season with injuries.

Unfortunately, Brandon Miller, the other outstanding rookie of the year also does not have autos in Panini products. Yeah, this is a serious problem for these releases.

Review of autos

The selection of autos has always been the highlight of this release. The RPAs are usually the highlight, but without Wemby and with a design that is not the best National Treasures has had to offer, that may not be true this time.

Still, the RPAs are always fun. They come at the standard /99 level of rarity. However, you can also hit the /75 orange versions, the classic Black /3 and, if you are fortunate, the 1/1 Logoman.

The Swatches

Luckily, there are some other perfect cards here. The swatches are beautiful this time. Their addition to the product a decade ago has been one of the secrets to National Treasures’ success, and they do quite a bit of heavy lifting here.

They are different from the classic design we expect from this release. However, swatches always have a more modern feel, so that works nicely.

Booklets

The release comes with some booklet-style cards. They include Rookie Jumbo Jersey Autographs, Rookie Jumbo Brand Logo Autographs, and Rookie First Edition Signatures.

You are always going to be happy to hit a booklet. But the 2023-24 version lacks some of the charm of previous years. It doesn’t quite have the classy look we have come to know and love.

Memorabilia Cards

National Treasures is primarily about the autos. Nonetheless, there are great memorabilia-only cards, though, their value tends to be lower. The best ones include entire swatches and patches. For example, the Highly Treasured cards have some of the best swatches broken into three parts in a very appealing design.

The metallic Treasured Metals cards, which come in silver, gold, and platinum versions and are numbered 25, are a nice addition to the checklist. They do not really fit in the National Treasures design concept, but it’s good to shake things up occasionally.

Panini National Treasures Basketball value

The value of National Treasures cards is always a selling point. The RPAs from this brand tend to be among the strongest ones on the market. But, of course, we do not have a Wemby in this release. That would otherwise be one of the most desirable National Treasures cards ever. That will lower the value of wax. So, will it be worth a pop at the lower wax prices for this year’s release? We crunch the numbers and try to find out.

Wax

Let’s see how sealed wax from previous years performs on the market. Here are the prices of recent hobby boxes nowadays.

Only one box is selling for less than the starting price for the 2023-24 release, which is a good sign.

Most of these years do not have a Wemby equivalent, and they still sell well. So, if the box price drops a bit, it may be a good purchase anyway. It is certainly not disastrous.

Singles

There is a dearth of really good autos in the 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball release. That means it is not very likely that you will hot a massive card. I mean, it is never likely. But now it is even less so. Still, we took a look at what the biggest cards from this release are going for right now.

Those Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards cards went for a really good price for a /99 card. Kudos to the sellers for getting that amount. The market for strong cards from this release remains as robust as ever.

There is also no reason to believe that will change when Fanatics get the rights to NBA cards. But there is a pretty good chance that the cards from this release will never get to those heights.

With Henderson, Miller, and Wemby autos not present, we aren’t sure who would get to this level. Unless there is an unexpected jump ahead for another player.

Final word of the 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball review

National Treasures looks the same as it always has this year. The cards are generally, not all of them, quite beautiful. But the lack of the strongest autographs is too serious a problem to overlook.

Then, add to that the fact that this release is coming incredibly late. We are talking well into the next season, when everyone is talking about a new class of rookies. All that makes it seem highly unappealing to drop $3,500 on a box of 2023-24 Panini National Treasures Basketball.

Will people do it anyway? I guess. But I am really not sure why. Boxes from previous years are selling for similar amounts and you can hit the biggest rookies from them.

Take for example 2022-23, where you can get a Paolo Banchero. If you are smart, get that one instead. Or even better, just buy singles of players with upside. It will cost more, but you won’t come up empty.