In 2013, Panini answered the question: What would the NBA’s top talent look like as comic book characters? That year, the company’s creative director, Brandon Lesley, teamed up with Hungarian illustrator Gyula Nemeth for a new 20-card insert set called Kaboom!. Nemeth illustrated the players in a pop art style, and Panini backed his artwork with eccentric foil patterns and inserted the cards as case hits in the Panini Innovation set.
Kaboom! cards were a smash hit, soon expanding to several other sports and eventually making their way to the football pitch.
In 2025, Kaboom! case hits were one of the primary targets for those opening Panini’s Prizm Club World Cup release. Having evolved from their original hoops release more than a decade ago, parallels are now part of the mix, headlined by 1/1 Green versions.
Combine this with it being Lionel Messi, arguably, the greatest player to ever step on the pitch and you've got a truly iconic card.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 12/03/2025.
