2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball Checklist Review

The Recon product hasn’t yet carved out a significant place in the hobby. However, there are a couple of trademarks associated with this release.

First, it is known for its very flashy and almost garish designs. In addition, the checklist is massive and carries a wide variety of cards.

But is this enough to justify the Recon release? Does it offer any real value, either wax or singles? Read our 2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball review to find out.

History of Panini Recon Basketball

Panini Chronicles includes a wide variety of inserts and designs. Now and then, one of those designs gains popularity and leads to a spin-off standalone product. This is one of those cases.

The Recon insert first appeared in 2019-20 Panini Chronicles Basketball. Since then, this product has come out every year. The hobby boxes for that first release were legit-loaded. Each came with 2 autos, 10 inserts, 10 parallels.

It has remained with that walloping lineup, though now it promises 20 inserts and parallels together rather than 10 of each.

The Recon product has never been top-rated. Therefore, when new editions come out annually, there is a sense of surprise that it has survived another year. Unfortunately, with Panini about to lose their basketball rights, this product will likely never be top-rated.

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball release date

The release date for this product is May 1, 2024. I don’t have to tell you that releasing a basketball product now is ridiculous. The playoffs start in April, and the NBA Finals occur in June. But this is marginally better than the 2022-23 box release date, May 24, 2023.

Meanwhile, that was better than the August 2021-22 box release. So, things are moving in the right direction here. Sort of.

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball release formats

Panini Recon Basketball is a hobby box that has only been released. This year, as in most years, it also accompanied an FOTL box, which will start at $500 at the Dutch auction. Lately, Panini has been releasing fewer of those. So, we will wait to see if that will happen this year.

FOTL Hobby Box

• 6 cards per pack
• 10 packs per box
• Look for 2 Autographs, 20 Inserts or Parallels, and 2 Bonus FOTL-Exclusive Parallels #’d/12 or less OR 1 Bonus FOTL-Exclusive Parallel #’d/12 or less and 1 Bonus FOTL-Exclusive Autograph #’d/18 or less per box, on average!
• It will go for up to $500 on Dutch auction

Hobby Box

• 6 cards per pack
• 10 packs per box
• 12 boxes per case
• Look for 2 autographs and 20 inserts or parallels per box on average
• Hobby boxes are preselling for $259.95
• Cases are preselling for $2,9995

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball pros

The main pro for Panini Recon Basketball is obvious: It provides many hits for a relatively low price. If you are a parallel guy, Recon offers you an excellent selection. Indeed, every year, they appear to add more to the collection.

This year, the parallels include the Gala /8 RCs, long associated with Chronicles. This has made some people wonder if Panini is thinking of scrapping Chronicles.

The massive advantage of that is not necessarily value since it is lacking in this release. Instead, this is an extra fun rip. You get more hits than in most other boxes, and the cards tend to be pretty good-looking, at least if you like these designs, which I do.

Another well-known advantage of Recon boxes is the high quality of the FOTL boxes for a relatively low price. Because this product is not everyone’s favorite, the FOTL usually has a low ceiling and closes much closer to the floor.

But the quality gap between the regular hobby boxes and the FOTL is quite significant, making them a pretty good buy, at least in previous years. So be on the lookout for those and consider entering the Dutch auctions.

The inserts tend to look better than in most releases. Finally, despite being a relatively inexpensive release, Recon comes on better stock than many other better loves sets.

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball cons

There has always been a general lack of excitement around this release. Everyone knows that Panini makes too many products—that is not even up for debate. And when people list the products they would like to cut, Recon is always mentioned.

To make things worse, Panini also treats it as an afterthought. For example, in the past, it has sometimes published incorrect checklists for Recon and did not bother to fix them. You know that wouldn’t happen for Prizm. That, of course, also influences the value of these cards on the open market, as we will see in the value section.

It would be shocking if a Panini box with two guaranteed autos were not a sticker auto release at this price range. And Panini has decided not to shock us here.

The rookie class of 2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball

The rookie class is, of course, dominated by Victor Wembanyama, who had a historic rookie season. Averaging over 21 points and 10 rebounds per game in your first year is insane and proves that all the hype was justified.

Barring any unexpectedly unpleasant developments, the presence of Wemby rookie cards in the 2023-24 products will keep them higher than most other years.

The rest of the rookie class is fine, and if any other player in it emerges as a big star in the long term, that will add to the luster of this year. Brandon Miller and Jaime Jaquez Jr. seem to be the most obvious choices for adding depth to this rookie crop.

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball checklist

The Recon checklist hasn’t been released yet. However, it is always very rich in parallels and inserts. The base list has traditionally been 250 cards long, and we expect it to be the same this year as well.

Parallels

Here is the complete list of parallels in this release.

• Holo
• Holo Dots – SSP
• Bronze Holo – /299
• Red Holo – /199
• Blue Holo – /99
• Purple Holo – /75
• Effect Holo – /49
• Gold Holo – /10
• Green Holo – /5
• Platinum Holo – 1/1

Inserts

Recon has a wonderful array of inserts. It is almost reminiscent of Chronicles in having a ton of nice inserts that don’t seem to be worth much. Indeed, those two brands occasionally exchange inserts, and as we have seen, Recon started as a Chronicles insert.

Fuzion

Fuzion is supposed to recreate the physics of nuclear fusion. But to me, it looks more like a sperm fertilizing an egg. No wonder I got better grades in biology! So far this insert has only appeared in the football release. 1/1s can go for over $100.

Gala

Perhaps the most exciting addition to Recon this year is the Gala insert. Veterans of the hobby may remember the unsuccessful launch of Panini Gala Basketball as a standalone product in 2015-16. It was then an occasional presence in Chronicles and now here.

It’s not a bad-looking card. Because they are numbered to /8, the right one (like a Wemby) could have some value.

Autos

Yes, the Recon autos are stickers. But that is to be expected at this price. Nonetheless, Recon autos are pretty cool. In particular, the ones that stand out are the Draft Night Acetate Signatures and Sophomore Acetate Signatures.

They have a unique design that is layered because of the material used. The look for these cards is one of the many ways Panini makes this release slightly different from others.

Memorabilia

Though this is an inexpensive box, it comes with lovely swatches. We are fond of both the Rookie Jersey Autographs and the Novice Patch Autographs. They are among the more attractive low-end memorabilia cards that Panini offers.

2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball value

We don’t expect too much value from a set like Panini Recon. But then again, the price for a buy-in isn’t that high, either. Therefore, we crunched the numbers to see how Recon does on the open market.

Wax

The wax boxes do better than expected. Each of them holds the value of a new box. Even more remarkable, they do so consistently. Regardless of the rookie years, we don’t see any significant differences between cohorts.

That is probably because while there aren’t any considerable cards in Recon, it is a reliably fun rip with many hits. Therefore, while it does not have a high ceiling, you can count on these boxes being fun and perhaps yielding the odd awesome card. That is why they never go for too little.

There are so many products today that sell for less than the buying price, especially during a weak year. It’s nice to find a product with a rock-solid floor. Doubtless, Recon Wax is a better investment than I expected.

But we do have to wonder, with Panini getting out of basketball, if Recon will have the nostalgia value that other company brands will. Probably not.

Singles

We know the Recon features a beautiful variety of hits. It offers 2 autographs and around 10 parallels, and they tend to be pretty good-looking cards. But as we know, when “hits” come from the wrong product, they just aren’t worth all that much on the open market.

When we crunch the numbers here, we will often see great RPAs go for very little if they are from the wrong product.

Therefore, we have looked at some of Recon’s most substantial recent card sales. Let’s see how the biggest cards you can hit will do.

The best cards in Recon perform better than expected. Indeed, if you land that massive 1/1 card in this product, you can sell it for a reasonable price. The Recon brand is not as much of a drag on a big card as expected.

I credit the beautiful designs of these cards. When you have a great item that also really pops, people are willing to pay more for it.

But there you have it. Recon performs better than expected for both singles and wax. Color us pleasantly surprised.

Final thoughts on the 2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball checklist

You may think of Recon as a release that offers little value but is fun. You are right about the fun part but wrong about the value. We all were. It seems the market has some low-key respect for this product.

The boxes are no significant investment, but they indeed hold their own. They may even end up increasing value. After all, this is a new product and hasn’t had time for the boxes to gain vintage status, as it were.

Meanwhile, the singles are pretty strong for a box in this price range. When I went over the recent bigger sales from the product, I was struck by the high number of cards selling for more than a box is worth.

Because there are so many hits, and the market seems to like them, your chances of making up the box’s value are higher than many other products. You won’t get that life-changing card here. But you definitely could land two $400 cards or something like that.

Recon has a bad reputation it does not deserve. The cards in this release are consistently attractive and unique enough to tell you apart from those in other releases quickly. They also have a sneaky amount of value that I was not expecting.

In addition, it comes loaded with more hits than most. The combination makes Recon something that the hobby currently vastly underrates: a genuinely fun rip. Let me finish this by saying something nobody expected: Panini Recon Basketball is a great product.

Full 2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball checklist

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2023-24 Panini Recon Basketball