2024-25 Panini Obsidian FOTL Basketball Hobby Box Breakdown: Inserts, Autos, and What’s New
September 4, 2025 marked the release date for 2024-25 Panini Obsidian First Off The Line (FOTL) Basketball card hobby boxes. This is the seventh year in a row that Panini has dropped this set as a standalone product as it continues to be a crowd pleaser among collectors.
For those who are new to Obsidian basketball, the cards carry a very distinct look an feel. Each one features ornate etched designs set against jet-black backgrounds, a look that feels just as sharp and interesting as the name suggests. The general vibe aims to be sleek and futuristic, which helps it stand out from brighter light-colored sets (like Prizm and Mosaic). It looks almost as if the creators of Tron were given the thumbs up to create a contemporary basketball collection.
Each FOTL Hobby box contains a single pack, with 3 autographed cards, 1 memorabilia card, and 3 base/insert parallel cards on average. What makes these boxes unique are the FOTL-Exclusive Autograph cards numbered to 27 or fewer, as well as the FOTL-Exclusive Base Parallel’s numbered to 16 or fewer.
Collectors have the opportunity to pull some exceptional inserts including: Equinox, Hotspot, Orbital, and Supernova. But wait, there’s more! New to this year’s insert lineup is Atomic Initials!
If autograph inserts are what you’re after, Obsidian has a ton to offer, including: Rookie Jersey Ink, Rookie Jersey Autographs, Rookie Eruption Autographs, Matrix Material Autos, Magmatic Signatures, Galaxy Ink, Twilight Signatures, and Volcanic Signatures. This year’s Obsidian also features the debut of Scorched Signatures!
Obsidian also offers an exquisite lineup of Blue Flood parallels that are numbered from 125 down to 1. Plus the addition of new Flood parallels, such as Electric Etch Pink Flood (/49), Electric Edge Blue Floor (/30), Electric Etch Hot Springs (/15), and Electric Etch Caldera!
And for the ultra-lucky collectors there are the extremely rare SSP and collector favorites: Vitreous, Volcanix, and Black Color Blast inserts! The 2024-25 Obsidian Color Blasts marks just the second iteration of this colorful insert but already its becoming a collector favorite.
The big-name rookies to be on the lookout for in these boxes include Alex Sarr, Jaren McCain, Matas Buzelis, Reed Sheppard, Stephon Castle (the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year), Zach Edey, and Zaccharie Risacher.
The FOTL Obsidian hobby boxes do not come cheap! These boxes have been retailing for $800, while the regular boxes are expected to retail for roughly $500 and are set to be released on Friday, September 12, 2025.
Overall, this is a great looking product and the extra autograph and exclusive FOTL insert options help to justify the cost for these boxes. The base card design is beautiful, the inserts are fun and unique (especially those color blast cards), and this year’s rookie class is strong. Collectors will likely come away impressed, as Obsidian continues to deliver a nice mix of style, creativity, and flair that makes each season worth exploring.
Conor is a life long sports card enthusiast who started collecting in the early ’90s, inspired by hometown heroes like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, and David Ortiz. Like many ’90s hoops fans, he also started building (and continues to build) a modest Michael Jordan collection.