Are new PANINI sets BETTER VALUE than TOPPS? 🤔🔥 2025-26 Noir Basketball Hobby Box Case Review
A YouTube reviewer opens a full case of 2025-26 Panini Noir Basketball hobby boxes at $900 per box to evaluate whether the unlicensed product offers good value compared to licensed Topps alternatives. Despite pulling notable hits including an Allen Iverson game-worn sneaker card and autographs from VJ, Olivia Miles, and others, the reviewer rates the product 4.5/10, arguing the $900 price point is too high without licensed imagery to justify the cost.
Summary
The video begins with the reviewer introducing Panini's return to basketball card production after losing their NBA license. They note this is Panini's first high-quality basketball set in their new era, featuring a full case of Noir hobby boxes priced at $900 each. The reviewer outlines the product contents: eight cards per box, one autograph, five autographs per case, two basic inserts or parallels, and detailed information about parallel versions (holographic purple, pink, gold, green, platinum) and numerous insert sets including Vintage Art, Movies, Biopics, RPA cards, and various autograph subsets like Auto Noir, Neon Noir, and Sneaker Spotlight.
Throughout the opening of four boxes, the reviewer pulls several notable hits including a Dr. J autograph card, Olivia Miles holographic purple card (which the reviewer notes is huge in the NIL market), and multiple autographed cards from players like Ray Quinn, John Stockton, and Carmelo Anthony. The reviewer observes that the lack of NBA license is evident in some card imagery where team logos are missing or photos appear sideways, though other cards are better composed.
The reviewer addresses a key concern: whether $900 boxes justify their cost without an NBA license. They note that even pulling cards from established players doesn't necessarily result in return on investment for the case. Throughout the opening, they comment on card quality, noting that Panini has nicely trimmed edges and good card stock, but express disappointment that some hits are unrelated (non-player) content like coaches and commentators.
The final major hit is an Allen Iverson game-worn sneaker sample card with his autograph, which the reviewer considers one of the coolest Panini cards ever pulled, even comparing it favorably to licensed product. However, they emphasize this single hit doesn't justify the $900 box price.
In the final assessment, the reviewer gives the product a 4.5/10 rating, citing the high $900 price point as unjustifiable for unlicensed product, even with strong hits. They argue that licensed versions would command higher prices, and the lack of license makes resale of singles more difficult. The reviewer acknowledges the product has merits—good rookie class, unique autograph options, interesting insert sets—but concludes the cost-to-value ratio doesn't work, especially compared to licensed alternatives.
About this episode
2025-26 Panini Noir Basketball Hobby boxes are the latest set to release, and I am opening a 4-box full sealed case (worth $3,600) of this crazy new high-end unlicensed product for our latest collectible sports trading card pack unboxing/product review! Panini has officially lost the NBA license to Topps and Fanatics, so all their NBA sets going forward will not feature NBA logos or certain players signed to exclusive deals. Many were wondering how Panini would pivot post-license, and today we have our first look at their first high-end Basketball set without the NBA rights! Noir is one of the top sets in the Panini portfolio featuring high-end hits and dark shadow-like theming. Hobby boxes of Noir sell in the $900 range. Every box contains 1 8-card pack (4 box cases). Expect 5 autographs, 1 memorabilia jersey relic, and 2 base/parallel/insert cards per box. There are also FOTL (1st/First Off The Line) boxes that arrived early and contain exclusive bonus parallels. These boxes come with chances at pulling unlicensed rookie and Prospect NIL cards of the top players from the 2025 NBA Draft class, 1/1 Holo Platinum parallels, special cards from top high-end sets in Panini's portfolio (Flawless, National Treasures, One and One, Immaculate), various SP/SSP parallels (Holo Purple, Holo Pink, Holo Gold, Holo Green, Platinum, B&W), prime/super prime game/player-worn memorabilia jersey relic cards (NBA Logoman, Nike Swoosh, brand/team logo, nameplate, jumbo patch, number, sneaker/shoe, laundry tag, ball, special event materials, Jumbo Materials, Screenplay, Sneak Peek Tongue Logo/Laces/Tags, Box Office Memorabilia, New Wave Jerseys, Lights Camera Action, Elegant Décor), various inserts/base subsets (Biopics, Vintage Art, Motion Picture), on-card hard signed and sticker signature cards featuring ink of top talents (Rookie Patch Autograph RPAs Black and White/Color, Quad Patch Autos, Sneaker Swatch Signatures, Autographed Prime, Auto Noir, Spotlight Signatures, Night Light, Emblazoned Ink, Starring Role, Sneaker Spotlight Signatures, Reigning Nights, Showtime, Shadow, Smoke Show, Snapshot, NEONoir, Freeze Frame, Showrunner, Captions, Midnight, Rookie Autos, A-List, Catchphrase, Notable Nicknames, multi-signed Noir Dual Signatures, Lucky Endorsements, base rookie/veteran autos), rare cards of the top rookie/star/legend/prospect/celebrity/coach/personality/HOF athletes of the NBA/NCAA/NIL/WNBA (VJ Edgecombe, Jeremiah Fears, Tre Johnson, Tyran Stokes, Darius Acuff Jr., Carter Bryant, Allen Iverson, Cade Cunningham, Steph Curry, Olivia Miles), and more! You can get a box to break for yourself from your local sports card hobby shops, TnC, and online retailers/sellers. With Topps wax value being a highly debated topic, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the value in Panini’s new high end sets! Despite the no licensing, this premium product still packs a punch! Overall, I would rate this product a 4.5/10 as the price is on the high side given the resale value. Good luck if you try the new 25-26 Panini Noir Basketball for yourself! 🚨➡️ Join our live shows on the Whatnot app for singles auctions, group breaks, and freebies galore! Use this link to sign up and get $15 in free credit (bookmark shows): https://www.whatnot.com/invite/packman 🚨✨➡️ NEW DISNEY/LORCANA/THEME PARK CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@packmagia 🚨OUR WEBSITE (CODE “PACK5” = 5% OFF): https://tracenchase.us/ 🚨🚨🚨GIVEAWAY🚨🚨🚨 ➡️ YT GIVVY: I am giving away a hobby box of Topps Chrome Update BK! To enter, like the video, subscribe to the channel, and leave a comment on any channel videos posted during the giveaway period (8/19-9/19)! 🚨🚨🚨GIVEAWAY🚨🚨🚨 🚨 Check out our other Whatnot pages for breaks: riphamiltonrips: https://www.whatnot.com/s/FAGLCj4V riphamiltonbreaks: https://www.whatnot.com/s/ikvSKTyF tracenchase: https://www.whatnot.com/s/2m0ygUaS 🚨Become a channel member for bonus videos, exclusive perks, & more: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfktPj8y08_k_NW9UdHgYOg/join 🚨Follow me on Instagram for exclusive info & early news: https://www.instagram.com/packmancards https://www.instagram.com/packmanbreaks Stay tuned for many more NBA & NFL box breaks, product reviews, sports card unboxings, and IRL pack openings! I’ll have various football and basketball retail products, free giveaways, random NBA basketball trading card hobby pack openings, episodes of Packs In Paradise, 2026 Bowman NFL/NCAA Football, 2026 Heritage, 2026 Allen & Ginter, 2025-26 Pristine, 2026-27 Flagship NBA, repack reviews, spending challenges at card shows, card shop videos, some big mail day hauls, beginner collector tutorials/how-tos, sports card investors / investing content, and much more in the near future! I buy all my boxes from Panini Direct (their site & app), Topps, my LCS (local card shop), and online retailers/sellers. Like, comment, share, subscribe, and thanks for watching! #sportscards #tradingcards #basketballcards #basketball #nba
Key Insights
- The reviewer argues that Panini's $900 price point for Noir hobby boxes is too high for an unlicensed product, as even pulling notable hits like Olivia Miles and VJ autographs doesn't result in sufficient return on investment to justify the cost
- The lack of NBA license creates visible quality issues where team logos are missing and player photos appear awkwardly positioned or sideways, which the reviewer observes affects the overall appeal of many cards despite good production quality elsewhere
- The reviewer notes that Panini includes non-player hits (coaches, commentators, celebrities) as filler content, which some collectors dislike when these aren't major hits, creating debate about whether bonus non-player autographs add or detract value
- The Allen Iverson game-worn sneaker sample with autograph is identified as one of the coolest Panini cards ever pulled, even surpassing some licensed product quality, because it features an iconic sneaker model with verified game-worn provenance
- The reviewer suggests Panini may have consolidated all their basketball products into the Noir set (combining Flawless, Immaculate, NT, and Origins) rather than creating separate high-end releases, potentially limiting future basketball product diversity
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] We officially have our first high-quality basketball set from Panini. They lost their NBA license last year, but have been making kits for the past few months and they are top notch. A full case of Noir for our review. If you like these videos, you want to see more likes, comments, and subscriptions. Click on the buttons below. It's free . It helps like this. The giveaway ends tomorrow. So, last chance to participate. Hobby box with updated Chrome for basketball. Good luck. Information in the description. Here is Noir. This was one of my favorite sets to open when they had the license. And on paper, it looks pretty cool. So, [0:30] here it is. On the…
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