First impressions on the new 2022-23 Panini Donruss NBA card set (2024)

After NBA Hoops, Panini is on a roll by releasing the latest Donruss NBA card set for the 2022-23 season. This new release gives collectors and investors alike the chance to score the hottest rookies on the court right now, like Paolo Banchero and Benedict Mathurin, and reliable veterans, such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic, among others. We take a look below at several impressions on the new Panini Donruss set.

First impressions on the 2022-23 Panini Donruss NBA card set

5. A base card design that deviates from previous editions of Panini Donruss

In years past, the design of Donruss base NBA cards seemed to have a common look that centers around a simple border emphasizing the player featured. For the latest 2022-23 set, Panini has deviated in such a way that favors a boxier design filled with squares and rectangles, making it look boxier than ever.

While it looks retro-inspired, the design won't certainly work for everyone as some prefer a sleeker and minimalist approach to their Donruss cards. Nevertheless, it's not as busy or cluttered as Panini's most recent Mosaic set, which is filled with geometric elements. It remains to be seen how the latest Donruss NBA cards will fare as time goes by.

And while the jury is still out for how the new set looks, what's certain at this point is there are 200 cards in the base card list. Along with these come different parallels, which span from the most common (Silver Press Proof and Laser) to short-numbered variants (Gold #10 and Black 1/1). Even if there are some who don't like the base card design, the inclusion of these parallel options will make getting this product more worthwhile.

4. Better-looking NBA card inserts

Donruss' previous inserts wouldn't really turn any heads, especially those from the last two editions. Outside of Net Marvels, there wasn't much to hunt for when it comes to this type of NBA card. This year, though, it looks like Panini has stepped up their game by giving Donruss better-looking inserts.

With the recent release of 2022-23 Panini Donruss hobby boxes to the public, sports card enthusiasts are seeing how good these inserts look. Offerings, such as Net Marvels, Unleashed, Night Moves, and Animation, all look good especially when they're collected as a set. Add the chance of getting low-numbered parallels to these inserts and anyone will have a better time collecting these cards.

3. An early peek at the upcoming Panini Optic NBA card set

It's always a certainty that Panini will take Donruss' design, apply some chrome to it, and release it as Optic a couple of months later. The same can be said this year as the release of this particular set serves as an early glimpse at one of Panini's hottest products.

As mentioned above, Donruss' base card design is somewhat different from years past. With a boxier look than before, it's also worth noting that this could be how upcoming Optic NBA cards will look. In any case, it remains to be seen what the final product will look like and how it'll be received by those in the hobby when it comes out later this year. Do keep in mind, though, that the similarity between the two sets will only be limited to the base card design as there are different inserts for Panini Optic.

2. Donruss NBA rookie cards

Along with different inserts offerings, the latest Panini Donruss product comes with a Rated Rookie card set that features 50 rookies for the 2022-23 season. These NBA rookie cards cover the hottest names, such as Paolo Banchero, Benedict Mathurin, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith Jr., Walker Kessler, and Shaedon Sharpe, among others.

Along with the base offerings, NBA card collectors can go wild and hunt for those short-printed parallels. As proven in the past, those low-numbered cards of the top picks have a strong chance of maintaining their value in the market, especially if they're encased within a PSA 10 gem-mint slab. Add those signed rookie cards Next Day Autographs to the mix and collectors will have more than enough reason to splurge on Panini's latest product in the market.

1. Hobby boxes and the upcoming release of retail products

At this point in time, Panini has only released the latest Donruss set in a hobby format. It's currently valued at $290 over at eBay and prices are expected to spike up a little as the product is still new. Those in the hobby can look forward to the value of Donruss hobby boxes going down, as well as the prices of these cards, when Panini releases retail products, such as blaster boxes and cello packs.

With this detail in mind, collectors and investors alike need to plan out their buying strategy when it comes to the 2022-23 Panini Donruss set. In any case, always keep an eye out on how the market moves to guide any move you're going to make when purchasing these new NBA cards.