Following years as arguably Panini’s single most important release, Prizm Basketball is no longer on top — or at least the NBA isn’t.
Panini Prizm WNBA Basketball, however, is better than ever.
Even the hobby’s most casual collectors could predict the success of 2024 Prizm WNBA: It’s a product anchored by the most coveted flagship rookie cards for Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and others, after all.
But collectors likely didn’t expect the price delta between the two products that emerged Wednesday with the release of 2024-25 Prizm NBA Basketball.
After years of instant sellouts and extreme popularity on the secondary market for the Prizm brand, hobby boxes of 2024-25 Prizm NBA sat on Panini’s website for hours Wednesday and into Thursday at a $700 price point.
It could be had even cheaper through an online retailer, such as Blowout Cards, for $650.
The entry point for hobby boxes of 2024 Prizm WNBA, which are no longer available directly from Panini, is closer to $1,200.
Though the two products carry the same brand, the same number of total cards (144), and nearly identical product configurations — hobby boxes of Prizm WNBA contain two more Prizm parallels, on average — the level of interest between them couldn’t be more different.
The first flagship Prizm rookie cards for Clark were always going to be among the most important to release in 2025, but an uninspiring NBA rookie class has made the gap between the two products stunning.
While interest in WNBA cards collectively continues to surge, the NBA delivered one of its weakest first-year classes in years, and the sports card market has adjusted accordingly.
According to data tool Market Movers, raw copies of Clark’s 2024 Prizm WNBA Base rookie card are currently trending around $70 over the last seven days. For perspective, that price point easily tops similar Prizm Base rookies of former No. 1 overall picks Victor Wembanyama ($20), Paolo Banchero ($3), Cade Cunningham ($4), Anthony Edwards ($12) and Zion Williamson ($8) over that same time period.
The comparison isn’t exactly apples-to-apples, with interest in Clark’s Prizm rookies possibly never higher just a week removed from the product’s flagship release, but it does show the growth of the WNBA among collectors.
At its peak, Wembanyama’s 2023 Prizm Base Raw mostly trended around high averages of $102 with a peak of $159. Clark’s Prizm Base Raw could conceivably reach that mark when the 2025 WNBA season arrives in May. Clark's current high is about $110.
Secondary-market prices for 2024-25 Prizm NBA could certainly rebound should the rookie class turn out better than expected, but the immediate future doesn’t look kind compared to the WNBA product.
Prior to Wednesday's flagship release, the dutch auction for the more limited 2024-25 Prizm NBA FOTL nearly hit its floor — a rare occurrence for the top basketball products — and is now selling for about $1,000 on the secondary market.
The 2024 Prizm WNBA FOTL release is currently selling for $3,000 through Blowout Cards and Dave and Adam’s Card World.
Interest in WNBA cards has grown in recent years alongside the ticket sales and TV ratings with collectors targeting key rookies for Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson and others, but many likely didn’t expect prices for WNBA products to be this high just as interest in the NBA release dropped this low.
Overall, it’s probably not fair to compare arguably the most important WNBA release ever to a weak NBA class, but the price difference will always be startling when the hobby isn’t that far removed from hobby boxes of low-end NBA sets fetching $1,000 or more and flagship sets selling for $2,000-plus.
Next year’s drafts with Duke's Cooper Flagg and UConn's Paige Bueckers at the respective tops could make the classes more competitive for collectors, but it’s hard to know until then.
What we know now, however, is the landscape for WNBA and NBA cards has drastically changed, even if it’s just for a few moments.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.