2023-24 Mosaic Basketball Preview — Is The Release Price Too High?

Mosaic Basketball has often been overshadowed by the big three opti-chrome brands – Optic, Prizm, and Select – but this year might be the one that changes everything.

Here’s our detailed look at 2023-24 Mosaic Basketball and why it could be a standout product for collectors and investors alike.

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An introduction to 2023 Mosaic

Mosaic is releasing on August 7 at $499 dollars. Each box contains 10 packs of 15 cards, which should hold the following: 

• 2 Autographs 
• 15 Mosaic Parallels
• 5 Silvers
• 20 Inserts

One thing to like about this product is the amount of cards you get. While $499 is still considerable, you have 150 cards (and chances) to pull something big that will offset the price tag.

The autographs can be big but the Mosaic Parallels and silvers can be equally valuable if you hit a nice rookie in a low-numbered parallel form. 

Unpacking 2023-24 Mosaic basketball set

Mosaic has consistently been one of the best-looking products, and 2023-24 is no exception. Let’s look at the parallels, sets and autographs you can expect to see. 

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Parallels and Inserts

This year’s Mosaic features an extensive array of parallels with some new additions:

• Hobby Exclusives:
  • Mosaic Red
  • Mosaic Glitter
  • Mosaic Blue (#’d/199)
  • Mosaic Pink (#’d/149)
  • Mosaic Purple (#’d/99)
  • Mosaic Teal (#’d/75)
  • Mosaic White (#’d/25)
  • Mosaic Gold (#’d/10)
  • Mosaic Gold Glitter (#’d/5)
  • Mosaic Black (one-of-one)
• Choice Exclusives:
  • Mosaic Choice Peacock SP
  • Mosaic Choice Fusion Red & Yellow (#’d/75)
  • Mosaic Choice Fusion Green (#’d/18)
  • Mosaic Choice Black Gold (#’d/8)
  • Mosaic Choice Nebula (one-of-one)
• Fast Break Exclusives:
  • Mosaic Fast Break Silver
  • Mosaic Fast Break Blue (#’d/85)
  • Mosaic Fast Break Purple (#’d/50)
  • Mosaic Fast Break Pink (#’d/20)
  • Mosaic Fast Break Gold (#’d/10)
  • Mosaic Fast Break Black (one-of-one)

Inserts

Collectors can find 20 inserts per Hobby box on average, including returning favorites and new additions:

• Returning Inserts:
  • Storm Chasers
  • Overdrive
  • Razzle Dazzle
• New Inserts:
  • Bank Shot
  • Heat Check (short-printed)
  • In-Season Tournament (short-printed)

Super Short Print (SSP) Inserts:

• Stained Glass
• Micro Mosaic

Autographs

The 2023-24 Mosaic Basketball checklist is rich with autograph options:

• Autographs Mosaic
• Rookie Autographs Mosaic
• Pictographs Mosaic
• Collage Autographs Mosaic
• Showtime Signatures (new)

Hobby-exclusive autograph parallels are numbered from 49 to 1, including the new Mosaic White parallel (#’d/25).

Base Sets

New base sets this year include:

• Base NBA Debut
• Base City Edition
• Base NBA Greats

Parallels and Inserts

This year’s Mosaic has the same numbering system with slightly different colors. 

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• Red Mosaic
• Glitter
• Blue Mosaic – /199
• Pink Mosaic – /149
• Purple Mosaic – /99
• Teal Mosaic – /75
• White Mosaic – /25
• Gold Mosaic – /10
• Gold Glitter – /5
• Black Mosaic – 1/1

Hobby inserts include Men of Mastery, Splash, Straight Fire and Swagger.

Possible autograph sets could include  In-Focus Signatures, Rookie Autographs and Showtime Signatures.

Should you invest in 2023-24 Mosaic Basketball? 

Is Mosaic a good product to invest in? Let’s look at some historical data. 

Investing in a Sealed Box

Is it a good hold as a sealed product? 

Here’s the value of the last few year’s based on recent sales (7/18/2024)

So, the numbers make for a very clear answer: 2023-24 Mosaic is seriously overpriced.

The cost of the box generally depends on the strength of the rookie class. Headlined by Wemby, the 2023-24 class is expected to be strong, but even if he’s a generational talent, the current release price of this product is still far out of reach of what should be a fair price in comparison to previous iterations of this product – especially given that there aren’t even Wemby autos therein. 

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If you want this product, it might not be a bad long-term investment. But at $500? Absolutely not. 

Investing in Panini Mosaic Basketball singles

Mosaic is and forever will be the fourth child of the optichrome family, and therefore any single investment should come with this warning: never overpay for Mosaic if you can get a better card in Prizm, Donruss Optic or Select.

But still, Mosaic is a good product, just not a great one. If the opportunity presents itself to snatch a nice Wemby card at a good price, buy and hold. Bonus points if you get a raw card and grade it yourself. 

Bottom line: Rip, hold or pass?

Mosaic Basketball is not a terrible product, it’s just held back by it’s bigger brothers and a sky-high price tag. 

What do you think of this product? What will it be worth in 5 years? Let us know on Twitter @card_lines.

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2023-24 Panini Mosaic Basketball checklist

2023-24 Panini Mosaic