Topps, a leading manufacturer sports and non-sport trading cards as well as Bazooka bubble gum, is back as the NBA’s official licensee of trading cards since the 2009-2010 season. That release included the rookie cards of top draft pick Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan.
Topps have exclusive athletes LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama and rookies Dylan Harper and Cooper Flagg as well as legends Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade. All 30 NBA teams will also have players featured on the release.
An innovation is introduced on players’ uniforms this season. Rookies will have on their jerseys a Debut Patch affixed on the upper right chest. After their debut game, the patch will be removed and authenticated, sent to the player concerned to be signed and will be inserted into a one-of-one Topps Rookie Debut Patch Autographed card in future Topps product release.
Expect this year’s rookie crown jewel Cooper Flagg’s 1-of-1 go for at least a million dollars in after-market sales with the Dylan Harper variation not far behind. Other rookies to watch or for collectors to chase are VJ Edgecomb (PHI), Khaman Maluach (PHX), Ace Bailey (UTA) and Kon Knueppel.
Last season’s league MVP, Rookie of the Year and Defensive player of the Year will have a Gold Logoman patch on the back of their jerseys. We will see for this season Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephon Castle and Evan Mobley as the only three players having the NBA Gold Logoman. The patches will also later be inserted into trading cards in limited print runs.
The NFL and the MLB were first to introduce these innovations, and the NBA copied the trend to capture after-market sales. With Flagg’s 1-of-1 card, the NBA hope to match if not, surpass baseball’s Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates whose Rookie Debut Patch card sold for $1.1 million at auction.
These are nice and interesting ideas and you’ll need a great deal of luck to snag one from a box or perhaps a pack of Topps 2025-2026 basketball, but considering its rarity, only hardcore and affluent memorabilia collectors can chase them.