$0.00 0

Cart

No products in the cart.

Continue shopping
$0.00 0

Cart

No products in the cart.

Continue shopping

A Review Of 2024-25 Panini Revolution, Which Includes Kaboom! For The First Time

2024-25 revolution basketball boxes

Panini Revolution has had some trouble differentiating itself and standing out in the vast basketball product schedule provided by the company.

However, a significant change is coming for the 2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball release. The release will now have Kaboom! inserts, probably the most valuable and beloved Paini insert of all.

They may be hoping that this counteracts the missing autos of some of the most outstanding rookies. Will that save this release from the clutches of mediocrity?

Or will the Panini Revolution be mostly ignored as it always has been? Find out in the 2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball review.

History of Panini Revolution Basketball

The product debuted back in 2015. At that time, most of the Panini designs were fairly restrained. But Revolution laid on the flashy designs, some of which were quite gaudy.

However, the vast majority were creative, making this a welcome addition to the calendar from an aesthetic perspective.

The release was also unique in the lack of autos in most boxes. Autos are about as hard to come by in Revolution as any release you can think of.

The first release came with an auto in one of every four hobby boxes. However, now there is one in every hobby box. That is a definite improvement. But now the autos are sticker ones, as they started out as on-cards.

Of course, nowadays, on-card autos are saved for the most elite releases only. So, you are trading quantity for quality. Ain’t that just how life goes.

The release had many inserts instead of autos. Some of them were pretty attractive, including New Wave, Showstoppers, Rookie Revolution, By The Numbers, and Star-Gazing inserts.

Panini kept adding new ones to the release; generally speaking, they were more attractive than in most other releases. The Galactic insert, in particular, has become a hobby favorite.

The other element that emerged as a replacement for autos was the parallels. In 2016-17, Panini increased the number of parallels to seven, using an array of holographic designs and trademark psychedelic ribbons. Each parallel was numbered 100 or less.

Meanwhile, the number of autos also rose. These improvements kept Panini Revolution Basketball relevant. It was one of the more enjoyable, cost-effective releases.

Price increases with Panini Revolution

The trouble is that over the years, the price ballooned—just like everything else. But with little value for the cards, many felt that the increase to over $200 was unwarranted. That meant that its initial market, casual collectors, and young fans were put off, and the popularity of the release suffered significantly as a result.

In addition, while Revolution stood out in design at the time of its debut, over the years, Panini has added products with more meticulous designs, such as Obsidian.

All this has meant that Revolution’s standing in the hobby has steadily plummeted. Meanwhile, the 1990s-style design has looked increasingly dated and unattractive. Attempts to add a more modern flair have fallen flat.

The introduction of Kaboom! Now is the first serious attempt to stop this deterioration in years.

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball release date

The official release date for the product is February 14, 2025. I am happy to see products come out during the correct season. My standards are low these days, and this meets that.

The season ends in April, so this is fine. How does it compare to previous years? It is a significant improvement over 2023-24 and 2022-23 when the product dropped in April. Kudos to Panini for keeping this moving in the right direction.

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball release formats

Revolution is a hobby and retail release. We still have not received word on all the retail formats, so some of these numbers are estimates.

Until further information comes in, we will assume their configuration is similar to those of previous years.

Hobby Box

  • 5 cards per pack
  • 8 packs per box
  • A case contains 8 hobby boxes or 16 boxes.
  • Look for 1 autograph, 8 base parallels, 4 inserts or insert parallels, and 4 rookies per box on average
  • A box is preselling for $199.95
  • An 8-box case is preselling for $1,584.95, and a 16-box case will be released but is not yet available for preselling. It will likely cost around $3,000.

Blaster

Mega Box

Chinese New Year Box

  • 5 cards per pack
  • 12 packs per box
  • Look for 12 Chinese New Year Parallels per box
  • Presells for $64.95
  • Set for release on February 26, 2025

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball pros

The addition of the Kaboom! Insert is a fantastic step forward for this product. It makes opening a box a more fun prospect. But even more so, buying entire cases is a much more enticing prospect.

The presence of big inserts like Kaboom! is even more important than usual since Fanatics has been depriving Panini of many of the biggest autos.

The price for a hobby box is more reasonable than in recent years. You can pick one up for $200. That is not bad. Everything has been creeping up for years, so when I see a price come down a bit, that is worth celebrating. It is especially notable since there are Kaboom! Inserts in the new boxes.

The design is a plus this year. Last year, I wrote, “To make matters worse, it’s one of those abandoned children of Panini—or, to use another disturbing metaphor, a sort of Zombie release. It still exists, but the company has stopped updating its designs.

They certainly do not seem materially different from what they were in 2015.” Man, I can be mean!

It looks slightly better than some of the highly lackluster specimens we have seen in recent years. The base set is nothing to write home about, but that was never the most crucial element in the Panini Revolution. The inserts look far better than usual.

Finally, there are not many products that basketball set completists types can enjoy. However, Revolution combines a relatively modest price with a very fun rip. Just for that, it deserves its spot on the release calendar.  

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball cons

The problem with the Revolution has always been value. The hobby does not take these cards very seriously or place little value on even the best cards.

That didn’t bother anyone much when the boxes cost under $100. However, as prices increased, customers expected more in return, and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see if the Kaboom! cards here sell for what those inserts usually get or if the value will be cut due to the association with the unpopular Revolution brand. I could see it going either way.

Then we have the issue of the autos. They are sticker autos as they have been for the past few years. That is to be expected, but it still sticks out because this was once an on-card product.

Then, we also have the issue of Fanatics’ exclusive contracts with some of the top names. All that takes its toll on this release.

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball checklist

Revolution always has a fun checklist. With 150 base cards, it is a set you can complete and does not have too many parallels. However, like many other releases, it has had a certain amount of inflation.

Review of the 2024-25 Panini Revolution class

The 2024 rookie class is not the strongest we have ever seen. Especially coming after the Wemby year, there is a bit of a hangover.

So far, Zach Edey has proven the standout, with Bub Carrington and Jaylen Wells also making waves. But statistically speaking, this cohort has had less influence than most, as shown in the card value.

Review of the autos in 2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball

Revolution is no longer a release with very few autos, as there is now one per box. Most of the ones you will find fall into the generic Autographs and Rookie Autographs set.

They have a few very remarkable parallels: Impact (/100), Infinite (/25), and Kaleido (1/1), which are hobby exclusives. These also have Holo Gold Chinese New Year (/8) found only in that release. The hobby boxes come with exclusive Around the Rim Autograph cards.

Review of the inserts

The always strong Revolution insert lineup is bolstered by the addition of Kaboom!, the most excellent insert. But there are other standouts as well.

The other case hit is Revolutionary, with its very cool psychedelic design. They are pretty enough to compensate for not getting a Kaboom! in your case—well, almost.

The less exclusive inserts include Liftoff!, Rookie Revolution, and Supernova. The Supernovas are popular. However, the designs have worsened over the years and seem remarkably cheap now.

You might also find the awesome die-cut Star Factor cards if you get a Chinese New Year box.

2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball value

Revolution is there to be a fun rip. You can’t expect much value from it. But since these boxes are $200 these days. So, we also can’t expect no value at all.

And with Kaboom! cards in these babies, there is definitely more upside. However, we can’t examine their value just yet. So, let’s crunch the numbers and see if there is any value to have.

Wax

There are not many people out there stashing boxes of Panini Revolution Basketball. But if you were to do so, what kind of return on investment could you expect?

2019-20 Panini Revolution Basketball Hobby Box$140.95
2020-21 Panini Revolution Basketball Hobby Box$170
2021-22 Panini Revolution Basketball Hobby Box$129.95
2022-23 Panini Revolution Basketball Hobby Box$115
2023-24 Panini Revolution Basketball Hobby Box$172.95

The prices paint an obvious picture. Even when they have outstanding rookies, the boxes of Revolution do not break even at $200 a box. There has also been a steep decline in the prices of some of these boxes, especially the older ones, since last year.

That is also a cautionary tale that these boxes do not age well. While the Kaboom! Cards may help somewhat, but I don’t think they will materially change the picture.

Singles

While we did not expect wax to have much value (though it underperformed even the modest expectations), singles might do better.

We took a lot at the highest-selling recent Revolution cards. However, we don’t have numbers on the Revolution Kaboom! Yet, this might give us some indication of what value they may ultimately have.


2019-20 Panini Revolution Ja Morant Kaleido RC 1/1 Auto (PSA 10)
$4,135
  2019 Panini Revolution Kobe Bryant On Card Auto Autograph #KBR (PSA 10)  $3,950
  2023-24 Panini Revolution VICTOR WEMBANYAMA 4/10 Rookie RC Lava Spurs #104 (PSA 10)  $2,555
  2021 Cade Cunningham Panini Revolution NBA Rookie KALEIDO AUTO TRUE 1/1 (Raw)  $2,000
  Jalen Williams Kaleido 1/1 1 Of 1 23-24 Revolution On Card Auto Panini Sealed (Raw)  $1,500

Most of the highest-value cards from this release come from the on-card auto era. Since then, there has been a definite decrease in value, with few cards selling for over $2,000. The best Kaboom! Cards may pass that threshold.

A few of the sticker autos in the release will be available. But there are enough cards worth several times the price of the box to make it a worthwhile rip.

Final word on the 2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball review

The addition of Kaboom! Cards has made Revolution a better rip. It was already a fun one where you had the potential to pull a big auto. Now, you can also get an excellent insert.

However, it has deteriorated as a wax investment. Some of the older boxes fetched reasonable prices in the past. Now, they are worth significantly less. The somewhat improved design also helps it maintain the fun rip designation.

And the price has gone down somewhat as well. All of these little differences add up. 2024-25 Panini Revolution Basketball is shaping to be one of the better fun rips among basketball products. It is relatively guilt-free at the current price, which is increasingly rare, especially since there is no point in keeping these boxes.

More in Misc, Releases »

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim is the emeritus editor of Cardlines. He continues to write for several hobby outlets, including this one and Cardbase. He collects primarily vintage baseball and soccer and has a weird obsession with 1971 Topps.

In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat. But cards are more fun.

Who are the best rookies to chase in 2025 Topps Series 1? (Plus issues with the set)

Cardlines February 13, 2025 9:42 am

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Vegas.com

CARDLINES NEWSLETTER

Keep up on CardLines articles, and receive exclusive content with expert analysis of hobby trends.

Related »

© Copyright 2025 - All rights reserved Cardlines.com / Media Techs LLC - Sports Card News, Reviews, Releases and BREAKS - #thehobby.

Important: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.