Onyeka Okongwu featured in new Panini card set

Have you gotten back into the trading card craze of 2020? If you haven’t, here’s what you should know:

You can’t buy cards anywhere! Collectors new and old have spawned up seemingly overnight during the coronavirus pandemic and cards are becoming extremely scarce. It’s like the Wild West out there and gone are the days that your local big-chain stores have plenty of cards to choose from.

Gone are the days that even your local hobby stores have plenty to choose from either!

It’s truly become a craze and the pandemic is absolutely to thank here. Everyone started pilfering through their old cards and also noticing how amazing new cards are these days.

And it’s that latter point that brings me here today with this bit of news:

Former USC Trojans basketball star Onyeka Okongwu is featured in the latest set from Panini, their 2020 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball set.

Some cool looking cards, for sure, but I was wondering where Okongwu was and how he looked, so I found my way to a good friend at Panini and he was able to secure some first-look glimpses of Okongwu’s special cards in this set.

And man, are they beautiful.

You can pick up your boxes at PaniniAmerica.net — if you are so fortunate, that is.

Here’s the full press release as well:

In the extensive product preview that follows, we’ll showcase a must-see bevy of preliminary images from 2020 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball as well as the product’s PIS documents for Hobby, Retail and 1st Off The Line editions.

Release Date: October 21, 2020

Product Configuration: 18 cards per pack, six packs per box, 12 boxes per case.

BOX BREAK: Six autographs, six base parallels, six variation parallels and 30 base variations per hobby box, on average.

Look for on-card autographs from the upcoming NBA rookie class in the highly desirable Prospect Ticket RPS set.

Hunt for autographs from this year’s top international prospects in the fan-favorite International Prospect Ticket set.

In Legacy Ticket Autographs, look for signatures from some of the greatest players to ever lace ‘em up.

Look for six autographs per hobby box, on average.

If you’re an avid collector of USC memorabilia or even just former USC players — this would be a must as it’s certainly set to be one of the more memorable sets of cards for Okongwu if it isn’t his first trading card ever as well.

Fight On!