2025-26 Donruss Basketball Details
Though Topps took over as the exclusive licensed basketball card manufacturer for the 2025-26 season and beyond, Panini has remained on the court. Among its first releases in this new chapter will be the continuation of one of its most popular flagship sets — 2025-26 Donruss Basketball.
The cards are not fully licensed, so they only include player names and team cities instead of full logos and team nicknames, but the product will continue to deliver on many of the collector favorites since Panini brought it on board as an annual release in 2014-15.
Collectors can expect three autographs per hobby box — a big jump from the one autograph guaranteed in year’s past — as well as three dozen parallels or opti-chrome cards and eight inserts.
2025-26 Donruss Basketball Checklist Overview
There are some changes within the product, one of the most notable being the addition of the Panini Premier Logo that will appear on the first cards issued of prospects who have signed an NIL deal with the company.
Some of the leading prospects found in the product are: Darius Acuff Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, Jayden Quaintance, Karim Lopez, Meleek Thomas, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd, Olivia Miles, Lauren Betts, Tyran Stokes, Jordan Smith Jr., Jason Crowe Jr., Babatunde Oladotun, and Christian Collins.
The base set will be comprised of top stars, rookies, legends, and those NIL prospects. The parallel rainbow will likely be expansive, though Panini announced that collectors should “expect a new and exciting feel” to them.
Paper parallels will be numbered from /199 down to 1/1, while opti-chrome Optic parallels are numbered from /175 to 1/1. In total, collectors can expect to find 12 base parallels and 24 Optic base cards or parallels in each 12-pack hobby box.
Autographs come in many forms, including returning favorites and new concepts like Elite Signatures, Fade To Greatness, Dual Autographs, Hardwood Kings, and License To Drive.
Hard-signed signatures can be found in sets like Pen Pals, Art Signatures (Horizontal and Vertical), and Inscriptions.
The autograph lineup includes rookies VJ Edgecombe, Jeremiah Fears, Tre Johnson, Carter Bryant, Hugo Gonzalez, Derik Queen, Cedric Coward, and Hansen Yang, and current standouts and legends like Cade Cunningham, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Chris Webber, Julius Erving, Kevin Garnett, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Steve Nash.
In addition, Panini also will feature signatures from legendary coaches like Jim Calhoun, Dan Hurley, Todd Golden, Jim Boeheim, Bobby Knight, and Roy Williams, and entertainment figures like Ludacris, Spike Lee, and Dick Vitale.
Panini indicated inserts will be numbered to no more than /135, with parallels that drop to 1/1s. Net Marvels, Swish, Unleashed, and Zero Gravity are among the familiar concepts collectors will find.
Elite Series inserts return to the basketball for the first time since 2016-17, bringing the iconic Donruss concept to life on an elegant design that frames players in multiple colors.
And it wouldn’t be a Donruss flagship set without SSP chases, and Panini has continued several collector favorites.
Downtown — a staple of Panini One And One for many years — makes its debut in the flagship Donruss brand this year.
Slammy, an illustrated insert that debuted in 2023-24 Donruss Optic, also makes the jump here.
Night Moves, a regular feature of the Donruss product since 2022-23, is back, bringing another colorful design with it.
2025-26 Donruss Basketball cards at a glance:
Cards per pack: Hobby – 8
Packs per box: Hobby – 12
Boxes per case: Hobby – 16
Set size: TBA
Release date (subject to change): TBA
Shop for past years’ Donruss Basketball boxes on eBay:
What to expect in a hobby box:
- Autographs – 3
- Base Parallels – 12
- Base Optic or Optic Parallels – 24 Total
- Inserts or Insert Parallels – 8 Total
2025-26 Donruss Basketball Checklist
The Donruss Basketball checklist will be posted once made available by the manufacturer. Information is subject to change prior to the release date.
Recent Donruss Basketball releases:
Protect Your Collection With:
- Penny Sleeves — Amazon | eBay | Fanatics
- Top Loaders — Amazon | eBay | Fanatics
- Binders — Amazon | eBay
- 9-Pocket Card Pages — Amazon | eBay
