THE BEST SPORTS CARD HOBBY BOXES TO BUY & INVEST INTO EACH YEAR — 2021 GUIDE
THE TOP BASKETBALL CARD HOBBY BOX RANKINGS FOR SPORTS CARD COLLECTORS — 2021
Ranking the top hobby boxes for sports card collectors — more specifically basketball card boxes — is no easy task. Which hobby boxes will give you the best shot at pulling a huge hit? Which are the best value or bang for your buck? Which ones are a complete waste of money? Unfortunately there’s no single, definitive answer as many sports card collectors’ interests are different.
Some enthusiasts may be after that one monster hit, while others may be interested in collecting base cards of the year’s top rookies. Some may be after a specific card — an SSP hit like Kaboom! for example. Others still, may be after RPA’s. Keeping that in mind, please remember that this list is subjective. Just because we rank a specific brand higher than another does not mean it’s definitively better.
This is a list based off of personal preference having opened several hobby boxes of each brand and tier. Prizm for example, has several different tiers as do many of the other hobby boxes: FOTL (First of the Line), Hobby, Fast Break and many others. Too many to list in this article. The main difference is the price and # of hits included in the box. Some have exclusives that can only be found in those specific boxes.
THE BEST BASKETBALL CARD HOBBY BOXES FOR SPORTS CARD COLLECTORS 2021
Invest in these hobby boxes for the best chance at pulling rare cards, rookies short numbered parallels and autographs that have the highest long term value for collectors. Buy these brands, sit on them for a few years and then take them to the bank. Keep your hits from these hobby boxes and add them to your personal collection (PC), pass them down to your children while teaching them a fun and rewarding hobby or decide to sell them at massive premiums on ebay, online marketplace or through a dealer.
THE BEST BASKETBALL CARD HOBBY BOX RANKINGS BY BRAND
We rank the hobby box brands each year and for the first time ever — a new hobby box brand has surpassed Panini Prizm for the #1 spot. You can find rookie cards, autos, short numbered parallels in each of these boxes. Choose the best brand based on your budget or amount you can comfortably spend.
Do not spend money that you can’t afford hoping to pull that one monster card. There are several stories online about collector’s addiction to chasing a big hit costing them more than lost money. For some it can become an addiction like gambling. That being said, hits from these hobby boxes are great to hold for the long term.
These are the brands that will appreciate in value more than the others, and should be staples to pick up each year — building an enviable collection of the best and most sought after basketball cards.
2020–21 BASKETBALL HOBBY BOX RANKINGS
1. 2020–21 PANINI SELECT BASKETBALL
For the very first time — Panini Prizm Basketball is not first on our list. The shock and horror! Yes, we know. Prizm — the brand created as the successor to the legendary Topps Chrome cards of the 90’s and early 2000’s is still the annual hobby powerhouse and a top choice for collectors.
However, beginning in 2018: high-end Panini Select rookie cards have been commanding bigger dollar amounts and selling for higher prices than the high end Panini Prizm rookie cards. That’s right, Courtisde Silver rookie cards have been selling for higher values than Prizm silver rookie cards.
But that’s not the reason Select has our top spot. The hobby boxes this year, especially the FOTL hobby boxes are absolutely loaded with hits. Having opened more than 10 boxes of each brand, it’s not even a close comparison. 2020–21 Select Basketball boxes this year have been insane, while 2020–21 Prizm Basketball has been pretty disappointing.
FOTL SELECT BASKETBALL IS LOADED WITH BIG HITS — YOUR ODDS ARE BETTER THAN THE ULTRA-HIGH END BRANDS
Sure, if you’ve got an unlimited budget — you could luck up and pull a monster card out of the higher priced brands like National Treasures, Flawless and some of the other ultra high-end hobby boxes, but the odds aren’t always in your favor. You could end up spending several thousand dollars (2019–20 National Treasures Basketball FORL Hobby Box $16,999 for 8cards, 2019–20 Flawless Basketball $11,999 for 10 cards) and pull a dud for your RPA.
Even if FOTL Prizm Basketball and FOTL Select Basketball hobby boxes were priced the same — I’d choose Select over Prizm Basketball every time.
2020–21 SELECT BASKETBALL FOTL HOBBY BOX BREAKDOWN:
3 Autographs or Memorabilia cards per box (1 FOTL Exclusive Parallel Autograph), 10 Base Premier Level cards, 2 Base Courtside cards, and 12 Prizms (including 1 FOTL Exclusive Parallel) per box on average!
Collect all three tiers of the base set, along with various Prizm parallels for each level! (Concourse, Premier Level and Courtside)
Find Rookie Jersey Autographs of top rookies from the 2020 NBA Draft in the following formats — Base (#’d/199), Purple (#’d/99), Tie-Dye (#’d/25), Gold (#’d/10) and the one-of-a-kind Black parallel! Tie-Dye, Gold and Black all feature prime swatches of jersey!
Look for a couple new insert sets this year including Unstoppable and En Fuego! Look for parallels numbered to as low as 1!
Chase the highly coveted Zebra parallel across all three tiers of the base set!
2. 2020–21 PANINI PRIZM BASKETBALL
Panini Prizm Basketball is still the annual hobby powerhouse returns for another NBA season via 2020–21 Panini Prizm Basketball. Panini Prizm Rookies — especially the silvers & parallels have held the most value year after year.
Prizm Basketball has become the “Topps Chrome” of new era card collecting. Card values, especially rookie cards, silvers and parallels have increased more than any of it’s rival brands over time.
Every Box of 2020/21 Prizm Hobby Basketball contains Two Autographs, 22 Prizms, and Ten Inserts!
Prizm is back and better than ever with a highly anticipated draft class! On average, each Hobby box delivers 2 Autographs, 22 Prizms, and 10 inserts!
Look for the popular Hobby Exclusive Black, Black Gold, Gold and Mojo prizms! Find the top players from around the league including the new 2020 draft class!
3. 2020–21 PANINI SPECTRA BASKETBALL
One of most sought-after opti-chrome products of the year, Spectra returns to deliver popular card sets and parallels!
Each pack contains 1 Autograph and 1 Parallel such as Silver, Celestial, Interstellar, Meta, Gold, Universal Die-Cut, Marble, and Nebula!
Find on-card Rookie Jersey Autographs of the top rookies such as LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and more in popular parallels Celestial, Interstellar, Astral, Meta, Gold, Marble, and Nebula!
The short-printed and highly popular insert Color Blast, makes its return to Spectra with 25 of the top current, retired and rookie players!
2020–21 SELECT BASKETBALL FOTL HOBBY BOX BREAKDOWN:
2020–21 DONRUSS OPTIC BASKETBALL
Panini America’s Optichrome-infused 2020–21 Donruss Optic Basketball arrives in hobby shops across North America with a power-packed new installment rife with a rainbow-array of Prizm parallels and must-have rookie content.
In the extensive product preview below, we’ll showcase a bevy of preliminary images from the upcoming 2020–21 Donruss Optic Basketball as well as the product’s Hobby, FOTL, Hobby Hybrid, Choice and Fast Break.
2020–21 DONRUSS OPTIC BASKETBALL HOBBY BOX BREAKDOWN
Estimated Release Date: June 9
Product Configuration: Four cards per pack, 20 packs per box, 12 boxes per case.
BOX BREAK: One autograph and 20 inserts or parallels per hobby box, on average.
The highlights of the product are many and include:
- Donruss Optic returns to the hardwood this year with a loaded new rookie class and a full arsenal of stunning parallel cards.
- Hobby boxes are the only place to find the following Prizm parallels: Pink Velocity (numbered to 79), Black Velocity (numbered to 39) and Gold Vinyl 1/1s.
- Find the top rookies of the year in Rated Rookies. Look for on-card autographs of all the top picks from the 2020 NBA Draft in a variety of parallels numbered to as low as one.
- Collect a full lineup of hobby-exclusive inserts in the following sets: Elite Dominators, All-Stars, The Rookies, Lights Out, Star Gazing and Rainmakers.
- Chase the hobby-exclusive SSP Base Photon and Base Rated Rookies Photon.
Check back as we complete our Top 10 2020–21 Nasketball Hobby box rankings soon…
