Five Key Panini Basketball Cards of 2016
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As Panini's time making licensed NBA cards is coming to an end, it serves as a good time to look back at some of their best work. 2016 Panini basketball gave us some iconic moments and sets. Let's take a closer look at why that year still matters to collectors.
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5. 2016 Panini Donruss LeBron James Optic Preview
The birth of Optic, now one of Panini’s flagship sets, quietly started in 2016 Donruss with a set of limited preview inserts. These cards gave collectors an early look at Donruss branded cards on chromium stock for the first time. The LeBron card above has a PSA 10 population of just four and last sold for $2,250.
4. 2016 Panini Studio Stephen Curry From Downtown
2016 Panini Studio marked the beginning of one of the most popular short printed inserts of the Panini era. This set features a design that helped set the tone for years of Downtown inserts to come. The above Stephen Curry has 68 PSA 10s in circulation, and last sold at auction for $4,616.
3. 2016 Panini Donruss Optic Kyrie Irving Gold Vinyl 1 of 1
The 2016 Panini Donruss Optic Gold Vinyls caught immediate attention from collectors, not just because they're 1 of 1s but also because the Gold Vinyl parallel brought back memories of the iconic Topps Chrome Superfractor. A rookie's Optic Gold Vinyl card is highly collectable and is widely considered one of their most sought-after rookie cards. The Kyrie Irving from this set features an image that calls back to the shot he hit to win the 2016 championship.
2. 2016 Panini Noir Kobe Bryant Spotlight Signatures
The 2016 Panini Noir Kobe Bryant Spotlight Signatures is easily the most iconic card on this list, and is arguably the most iconic Panini Kobe card ever made. This card presents Kobe looking off into the distance, capturing his farewell to basketball. It's signed in gold, is limited to only 125 copies, and often sells for five figures at auction.
:// Generate —> #CardLadder #AllTimeHigh
— Card Ladder (@CardLadder) October 2, 2021
The 2016 Noir Kobe Bryant Spotlight Signatures /125 #6 Raw set an all-time high when it sold for $16,651.00 (Sep 27, 2021) via Auction with eBay. The card sold for $7,999.99 (Jun 09, 2020) a year ago. It's up 108.14% ($8,651.01). pic.twitter.com/ffqGQNZJK0
1. 2016 Panini Eternal LeBron James Black Relic 1 of 1
The 2016 Panini Eternal LeBron James Black Relic is a 1 of 1, and features a game-worn logoman tag from the championship that defined his career. It comes from the 2016 Finals, widely seen as LeBron’s greatest achievement and unquestionably one of the greatest championships in sports history.
Jason is a dedicated basketball card collector who recently transitioned into writing and educating others about the sports card industry. Find him on Instagram @jeancardz