After the lockout put a major damper on the last basketball card season, you can bet NBA licensee Panini America will try to make up for lost time…and money this year. With a new season just weeks away, the company has unveiled plans for a new brand: 2012-13 Panini Prizm Basketball will be released next month, promising two autographs in each 20-pack box with what they say is “familiar, but dramatically 
improved technology that has been missing from the basketball hobby.”
Prizm will include a USA Basketball insert that pays tribute to the gold medal-winning 2012 Olympic basketball team and a Finalists insert incorporating past and present
superstars.
Prizm features a 300-card base set including 100 rookies (remember—no official rookies were issued last season), Prizms and Gold Prizms parallels, four themed insert sets and a 100-card autograph checklist that includes Prizm variations.
Each box will have six cards including two parallels, the two autographs and two more insert cards. Each card will include etching that Panini says “brings a 3D effect to the Prizm printing technology”.
The company released its Prestige Basketball brand last week, while launching a Hall of Fame Holiday trip 
giveaway promotion. The company is tying its upcoming releases into the giveaway program. The first chances come in Prestige and allow collectors the chance to win a trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Each pack produced for the product across both hobby and retail channels will include the chance for one collector and a guest to win the trip Springfield.
Later, Panini will tie in its Cooperstown Baseball product with a Baseball Hall of Fame trip and its 2012 Gridiron Football brand with an all expenses paid vacation in Canton.
They have set up a special Hall of Fame Holiday Website to enter the unique access code found on the Hall of Fame Holiday promo card inserted into every pack. Everyone who enters the sweepstakes will also be entered into a drawing for the grand prize: A dream trip for two to all three Halls of Fame.
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