Which Panini Prizm Parallels will matter now
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As collectors prepare to say goodbye to licensed Prizm, a common question has been: Which parallels from this era will truly matter? Most agree that true Gold Prizms /10 and one-of-ones will leave behind a legacy, but is that all? Or are there other parallels with the potential to build long-term popularity and demand? Here are a few worth keeping an eye on.
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1. 2012 Prizm Silver
The first parallel that comes to mind is easily the debut of Silver Prizms. These continue to grow in popularity, with a LeBron James PSA 10 recently selling at auction for just under $25,000. It’s by no means a stretch to say that as the Gold parallels from the first year of Prizm continue to rise out of reach financially for collectors, the Silvers, being the next best thing, will follow suit through the trickle-down effect. Many predict the lasting legacy of the 2012 Prizm Silver will mirror the 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor, and while there are similarities, there are also important differences, including a much smaller print run as well as no greening issues to worry about.
2. 2015 Prizm White Sparkle
Another Prizm parallel with a passionate and growing collector base is the 2015 White Sparkle, which represents the first unnumbered SSP (Super Short Print) Prizm parallel ever made. Simply put, these cards are ghosts, as it's nearly impossible to find one for most star players. When they do surface, they are often off-centered, as seen in the Kobe example above, since centering was a major issue during production. Even with the above Kobe card being wildly off-centered and graded a PSA 8, it still fetched over $3,100 at auction at the beginning of the year and has not sold since.
3. 2013 Prizm Color Match
2013 marks the second year of Prizm, and the parallels from this set have a shine that’s hard to put into words unless you’re holding the cards in hand. The concept of a color match card, where the card’s design matches the player’s jersey, has also continued to grow in popularity. Combine that with Prizm’s reputation for offering a wide array of parallels, a trend that really took off in 2013, and the 2013 color matches become even more special. The Stephen Curry Blue, LeBron Red, and Giannis Green are just a few examples of popular cards from this set that collectors love.
4. 2018 Choice-Prizm Tiger Stripe
This one may be more of a shot in the dark, but the 2018 Tiger Prizms have built a dedicated collector base, even with an estimated print run of up to 75 per player. The intrigue comes from the unique print design, which paved the way for many more gimmicky-looking parallels in Panini’s future sets, and the fact that it was released alongside the iconic Luka Doncic rookie card. When the hobby boomed during COVID and collectors were chasing Luka’s rookie, attention naturally spilled over to the Tiger parallel. Whether the collector base for these will be strong enough to affect the long-term pricing of less desirable players is still unknown. The PSA 10 population on the Luka shown above is 24, with the last sale ending at $18,600 at auction on September 7th.
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