PANINI AMERICA SIGNS SIX TOP NBA PROSPECTS TO EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENTS

July 28, 2023

Matas Buzelis, Donovan Clingan, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jared McCain, Kwame “KJ” Evans Jr. & Omaha Biliew Introduced as Panini Exclusive Athletes Ahead of 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention

Irving, TX – July 28, 2023 – Panini America, the exclusive trading card partner of the NBA and the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, has announced exclusive, multi-year partnerships with six NBA prospects, all of whom are currently projected to be first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Each player’s agreement includes exclusive trading cards and memorabilia, and all six will join Panini this weekend at the 2023 National Sports Collectors convention in Chicago. The full group of Panini athletes being announced today includes:

Matas Buzelis, G-League Ignite
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor
Jared McCain, Duke
Kwame “KJ” Evans Jr., Oregon
Omaha Biliew, Iowa State

“Today is a big day for Panini America as we welcome six exceptionally talented NBA prospects to the Panini family,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations. “This partnership is the beginning of an exciting chapter for each of these players as they continue their journey toward becoming professional athletes, and we’re proud to support them by commemorating their achievements and highlights for fans along the way through exclusive trading cards and memorabilia.”

The roster of NBA hopefuls features the latest introductions to Panini’s growing roster of NIL athletes, which has recently added University of Texas quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning as well as 2025 NBA prospect Tre Johnson. They will also join the likes of recent NBA Draft Picks Amen and Ausar Thompson, Luka Doncic, Charles Barkley, David Beckham, Christian Pulisic and Kylian Mbappe as Panini exclusive athletes.

About Panini America

Panini America is a subsidiary of The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NFL, NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, NASCAR, FIFA, UFC, WWE, College, Disney and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11 and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.

Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or
http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

# # #

CONTACTS:

Holden Hill, Taylor Strategy

[email protected]