Joel Embiid was selected as the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, by the Philadelphia 76ers, and his rookie cards were going to be one of the key chases from the various Panini Basketball releases that season.
For me, his best rookie cards are his 2014-15 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card, and his 2014-15 Panini Prizm card, with it’s numbered parallel options.
With over 20 different Joel Embiid rookie cards to choose from across the Panini lineup for 2014-15, the list below takes a look at the best options, covering all budgets.
Table of Contents
Summary: Top 3 Picks
Here’s a quick look at the top 3 Joel Embiid rookie card picks:
The Best Joel Embiid Rookie Cards
2014-15 Panini Prizm Joel Embiid #253
While the base 2014-15 Panini Prizm Joel Embiid rookie card is by no means his most valuable rookie, it’s certainly one of Embiid’s key rookie cards.
Collectors who aren’t working with the budgets that premium rookie cards command often turn to Prizm – It’s a popular set which covers all levels of collectors.
It’s a card that is readily available to buy, but still holds strong value.
2014-15 was the third year of Prizm Basketball, and by then the parallel rainbow was growing; The set offers collectors 17 different parallels, of varying scarcity, which offer a more valuable chase for those with the budget – It’s not the amount of parallels we associate the Prizm sets with today, but still a good amount of choice.
For me, the low-numbered parallel versions are the best Joel Embiid rookies, and they’re also the most valuable.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the Gold Prizms parallel (/10) sold for $42k in 2022.
2014-15 Panini Flawless Joel Embiid #182
Next on the list of the best Joel Embiid rookie cards is this beauty of a card from the 2014-15 Panini Flawless set.
It’s a premium option which is highly limited, at just 20 numbered copies for the base card, and a total of 26 cards with the 2 limited parallels – It’s not easy getting hold of one of these.
The classy card design is supplemented by the embedded diamond gem, to give it even higher appeal.
2014-15 Panini Select Joel Embiid #90
Returning to the mainstream chrome cards, the 2014-15 Panini Select set includes this Joel Embiid rookie card option.
The set has three tiers of base cards, which get progressively rarer: Concourse, the most common, Premier and Courtside, the most rare.
Usually rookies would get cards from at least two of those levels, but for Embiid, it was just the Concourse card, the most common tier.
The card does, however, come with multiple parallels, some are low-numbered, which gives collectors a harder and more valuable chase.
2014-15 Panini Noir Joel Embiid #97 & #197
The 2014-15 Panini Noir rookie cards for Joel Embiid offer something a bit different, with the dark themed design.
All rookies in the 2014-15 Noir set have two different base cards, which both have a print run of 99.
One of the cards features a black and white image of Embiid, while the other has a different image with a bit of color – But both cards follow the same concept of the dark-colored design.
With 198 cards in total, and no parallels, it’s one of the more rare Joel Embiid rookie cards.
2014-15 Donruss Joel Embiid #203
It might have come before the days of the popular Donruss Optic, but the Donruss Joel Embiid rookie card has the appeal of the Rated Rookie line.
The card itself is another mainstream option, but the Donruss name holds weight among collectors, and it’s a popular go-to for rookie cards.
There are an array of different parallels, with the lower-numbered cards offering much more valuable options than the base card, which is entry-level value.
The Best Autographed Joel Embiid Rookie Cards
2014-15 Panini Flawless Rookie Autographs Joel Embiid #4
Another entry from the classy and super-premium Panini Flawless set of 2014-15, and the first autograph card on our list of the best Joel Embiid rookies.
Like the base embedded gem Flawless card, this one is highly limited and valuable, with just 25 numbered copies.
There are 4 different parallels for this one, which takes the total print run up to 56 cards, inclusive of the base cards – It’s another one of the rarest Embiid rookie card options.
2014-15 Panini Gold Standard Autograph Jersey Joel Embiid #204
The 2014-15 Panini Gold Standard Embiid auto patch rookie is a good option for collectors who are in the market for one of his autograph rookies, but haven’t got the budget for the top-tier options.
The gold foil and on-card signature make for an appealing looking card, with the jersey swatch included.
It’s limited and numbered to 199 copies, which is more than his other autograph rookie cards, but still a low enough number to consider it scarce.
The 1-of-1 Tag parallel version sold for $7.8k, back in 2021.
It has a couple of highly-limited parallel cards, as well as separate dual, and triple-swatch versions for collectors to consider as well.
2014-15 Panini Immaculate Collection Joel Embiid Autograph Patch #104
With the combination of the autograph-patch, the print-run of 99, and the Panini Immaculate brand, this makes for one of the most valuable Joel Embiid rookie cards.
While it isn’t quite at the level of the National Treasures RPA card, it has huge appeal and desirability; It’s one of Embiid’s top tier auto rookies.
There are also a couple of parallels – Jersey Number (/21) and the Logoman (1 of 1).
2014-15 Panini National Treasures Joel Embiid Autograph Patch #103
Last on the list of the best Joel Embiid rookie cards, but certainly not the least; It’s one of his best rookie cards, the 2014-15 Panini National Treasures autograph-patch card.
With the hard-signed autograph and large patch, it also holds the National Treasures brand prestige, which gives it the edge over the Immaculate RPA and other similar options.
There are just 99 numbered copies of the base card, and the parallels still only take the total print run up to 140 cards.
A copy of the base version of this one sold for $10.2k in 2023, and a BGS 9.5 graded copy of the Gold parallel version (/25) sold for $24.8k in 2022.
When Was Joel Embiid’s Rookie Season?
Joel Embiid’s rookie season was the 2016-17 NBA season – He was selected as the 3rd overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft, but injuries caused him to miss the entirety of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 NBA seasons.
What Is The Most Expensive Joel Embiid Rookie Card?
Excluding parallels, the most expensive and valuable Joel Embiid rookie card is his 2014-15 Panini National Treasures auto patch card (#103), which is limited to 99 numbered copies.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the card sold for as much as $10.2k before.
The lowest-numbered parallels of his 2014-15 Panini Prizm card are among Embiid’s most expensive rookies.
A Gold Prizms parallel version, which is limited to only 10 copies, has sold for as much as $42k in the past.
What Is The Rarest Joel Embiid Base Rookie Card?
The rarest Joel Embiid base rookie card is the 2014-15 Panini Flawless embedded diamond RC (#182), which is limited to just 20 numbered copies.
Joel Embiid: A Background
Despite injuries causing a slow start to his career in the NBA, Joel Embiid eventually debuted in the 2016-17 season and quickly established himself as one of the NBA’s best all-round players, and the serial All-Star is a huge part of the 76ers.
His impressive performances in the 2022-23 season won him the NBA MVP, beating the likes of Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo to the award.
