There was a time when WNBA releases were also-rans on the release schedule. But now they are events. You can thank the wonders of feminist empowerment for that.
More than anything, it is the advent of the superstar Caitlin Clark. Now, these releases are getting the love they deserve. In addition, Panini has few assets left to invest in for the future. It has the rights to the WNBA and its biggest stars locked up.
So, we can expect a good deal of investment in these releases. With so much riding on this release and others like it, does the 2024 Panini Origins WNBA stack up? Find out in our 2024 Panini Origins WNBA review.
Shop for boxes of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Panini Origins is basically the Panini version of Topps Inception. In 2013, Topps launched that series under the Bowman label. They were gorgeous hand-drawn cards, mostly action shots, with bold backgrounds. The football version was prevalent.
Therefore, when Panini took over football rights, it made its version. The result was first seen in the 2016 Panini Origins Football. The designs were similar, though they had lost some of the artsy heft that made the early release of Inception so unique.
The focus, much like in Inception, was on rookies. But the Panini version stressed autographs. Hobby boxes of the first release included one primary rookie auto and a rookie jumbo patch card with another rookie signature.
It never became a top release for Panini. However, it maintained enough of an audience to enjoy consistent releases until today.
The Origins brand came to the WNBA in 2023, bringing these unique designs to women’s basketball. Each box averaged two autographs and one relic. That release was, of course, far lower-key than the new one.
It was before Caitlin Clark had entered the league. However, the decision to expand the WNBA offerings was almost certainly inspired by that eventuality.
The product released on October 16, 2024, less than a month after the season ended. The 2023 release came out on October 25, 2023, a month and a half after the 2023 WNBA season ended on September 15, 2023.
That means there is some improvement, but it is modest. The idea is to have it out for the holiday season. Still, it is far less exciting than having the rookie cards out during the season.
Shop for boxes of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball
WNBA Origins was a hobby box-only released in 2023. This will remain the case in 2024.
The designs in Origins are consistently among the most appealing that Panini has to offer. The hand-painted look of the Inception cards on which they are based has been preserved. However, more attention to detail is undoubtedly needed.
There have been few WNBA releases yet, which means there isn’t a glut of cards like in other sports. When you consider the growing excitement around the sport, that is a great thing. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are now national stars, and you have their rookie cards here.
More importantly, there isn’t much competition, and these may be the best-looking of the crop. Therefore, the autos could be excellent investments in the long term.
Shop for boxes of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball
However, the most significant advantage is the Caitlin Clark autos. She is one of the hottest things in the sports world, and Panini has an exclusive contract with her.
Because of the small selection of WNBA cards we already mentioned, this is one of the few official rookie card autos of Clark you can get.
That advantage comes at a cost. The price is far higher than WNBA fans are used to paying. The box sold for around $120 at the time. Due to the league’s enthusiasm, it is up to $170.
The problem is that there isn’t a massive market for WNBA autos yet. Very few players have cards that can be worth a box. No, it’s not only Caitlin Clark. But there aren’t too many more.
One user on Blowout Forums wrote: “$300 a box. Woof. I knew it would be expensive, but $300 is outrageous for 2 autos that will probably be $10 if not Clark. The worst part is that MSRP is $100, so they’re charging 3x of the cost. Greed.”
Indeed, it appears that Panini is taking advantage of the uncertainty and ignorance in the WNBA market.
Another Blowout Forums user wrote: “I am one of the largest WNBA vendors on eBay, and I can assure you that the “new crowd” generally has no idea what they are doing, and there are wild swings in pricing/value from day to day.
I’ve seen some movement on the low end and have sold some base sets to low feedback accounts that don’t sell anything, which indicates genuine, new interest.
There are also some larger accounts trying to scoop up “investment pieces” like key RCs of superstars and Gold Prizms, driving the prices up to huge multiples of where they were previously.
It gives me massive 2020/2021 vibes, so I’ve been selling a lot to capture some profit if it falls back to where it was or even slightly above. I don’t want to find myself in another spot where I regret not taking the cash when people were eager to throw it at me.”
The Origins release is relatively expensive and relies on aesthetics to sell copies. These are some lovely cards. That is why it annoys me that they use sticker autos for this release.
The WNBA will probably be their most significant source of income, alongside the soccer releases. Somehow, the rich and attractive backgrounds only make those stickers look tackier. Topps has not consistently made Inception auto-on-card, but the release has undoubtedly been better when it has.
Adding insult to injury, the release also lacks game-worn apparel. These are severe problems for a product that is supposed to base its appeal on the auto and memorabilia cards.
Shop for boxes of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball
The product has a base set of 100 cards. The selection of parallels could be more affluent. However, they do fit nicely into the space theme.
It is worth noting that while Swirl parallels are not numbered, Panini tells us that they are “short-printed.” Make of that what you will.
Base parallels:
This is easily the highest-profile WNBA rookie class in history. You don’t need me to tell you that. Caitlin Clark is already the best-known player in league history, and she has only been there for one year.
Whatever criticism she received, breaking the league assist record, shattering the rookie scoring record, and winning Rookie of the Year proved the hype was justified.
Her rival, Angel Reese, is also very high-profile. While she enjoyed quite different heights of success in her rookie year than Clark did, the center broke the single-season record in rebounds and was an All-Star.
Their presence makes this an incredible rookie crop. However, Rickea Jackson is another rookie who had an excellent year. She also has a good social media presence and a strong chance of breaking out into media stardom. Kamilla Cardoso is another name that elevates this class.
The bottom line is clear. Boxes from this year are likely to age like fine wine. This is a historical year for WNBA cards. That is why the very high prices might be justified.
The main attraction in this release is, without a doubt, the autos. Their quality is essential for the quality of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball. We already mentioned the main shortcoming: these are sticker autos.
The advantage is that the Origins autos tend to be quite attractive. Take a look at the Universal Autographs Caitlin Clark card, for example. With a small selection, these more attractive versions could hold significant value.
We have recently seen some NBA autos of this kind sell for between $1,000 and $2,000, such as the Luka Doncic and Steph Curry ones. Caitlin Clark can sell for more because there is less competition.
The Jumbo Jersey cards look even better this time around. The mock-up for the Angel Reese card is stunning.
There has only been one previous Panini Origins WNBA Basketball release, and its rookie cohort is not directly comparable to the current one. Therefore, the comparison between the two needs to be more credible.
Nonetheless, we will do our best to get as much out of the comparison as possible. I will also look at other Origins releases with more prominent stars to see what we can learn from them.
Shop for boxes of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball
There has only been one box of this product. The 2023 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball hobby box costs $180. That is significantly less than half the value of the new box.
But considering that this one has Clark and Reese, that may be reasonable. Let’s take a look at some of the NBA and NFL hobby boxes to see how this product holds up more generally.
| 2020/21 Panini Origins Basketball Hobby Box | $475 |
| 2021/22 Panini Origins Basketball Hobby Box | $300 |
| 2022/23 Panini Origins Basketball Hobby Box | $309 |
| 2023/24 Panini Origins Basketball Hobby Box | $349 |
| 2020 Panini Origins Football Hobby Box | $900 |
| 2021 Panini Origins Football Hobby Box | $260 |
| 2022 Panini Origins Football Hobby Box | $249 |
| 2023 Panini Origins Football Hobby Box | $449 |
The more desirable Origins boxes from other sports sell for around or over the price of 2024 Panini Origins WNBA Basketball. You could make a case that this product will be worth more than most on this list with less of a selection of cards for the WNBA and such a massive rookie class.
But that really depends on whether you think cards for this league are a fad or are here to stay.
Once again, we don’t have too many comps here. But let’s look at how the best singles from 2023 do on the market and some early returns from the 2024 release.
None of these cards are life-altering, and the best ones aren’t worth much more than a new product box. Still, while these are all well-known players, none of them have the media exposure of Clark and Reese, so we can expect their cards to be worth a good deal more.
Nonetheless, it looks like WNBA Origins is better for wax than singles. That certainly applies to this product, too.
After all, aside from the two big names, it is unclear whether any cards will retain value. However, as one of the few hobby boxes with legit Clark and Reese rookie cards, the price could be very high.
This release has much upside. There aren’t too many releases with official Caitlin Clark rookie cards. With the attractive designs that Origins offers, the rookie cards from this release could be among the most unique and desirable.
Of course, you are not very likely to pull a big Clark auto. Therefore, this is more of a wax investment than a single one.
Now that Panini has fewer sports to work with, we can expect more investment in its WNBA offerings, which is good news for WNBA fans. However, we are concerned that with the extra attention, the prices of the products will go up. That was certainly the case here.
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