Panini America Signs Top Picks to Exclusive Card Deals in Advance of 2015 NBA Draft
Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company and the exclusive trading card partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced today that it has reached exclusive trading card agreements with five projected first-round picks in advance of tonight’s 2015 NBA Draft: Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky), Emmanuel Mudiay (China), D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) and Jerian Grant (Notre Dame).
The new agreements grant Panini America exclusive rights to produce NBA Rookie Cards, autographed trading cards and collegiate trading cards of these future NBA stars. The first Rookie Cards and autographs of the 2015 Draft class will arrive in the October release of Panini America’s 2015-16 NBA Hoops Basketball product, which carries a $1.99 retail pack price point.
In addition to the five exclusive agreements, Panini America has also signed more than 50 additional NBA Draft prospects to trading card and autograph agreements for the 2015-16 season.
“The NBA Draft is always a key time for us at Panini America because it signifies the official start to a new season – and the grand introduction of the NBA’s next wave of superstars,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. “Many of the players selected Thursday night – including the five newest exclusive members of the Panini America family – will be driving forces for our licensed trading card products for years to come; and that’s just as exciting for fans and collectors as it is for us.”
During tonight’s 2015 NBA Draft, Panini America will be unveiling the first NBA Rookie Cards of this year’s picks in real time on the company’s Twitter and Instagram accounts using the #HoopsRookie hash tag. Be sure to follow along to catch all of the action.