Topps and NBA are back together - And we have questions
As the calendar turns to October, the card world is preparing for a shake-up.
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Topps NBA on the Horizon
As the calendar turns to October, the card world is preparing for a shake-up.
For the first time in 15 years, Topps will have the NBA license and will be releasing cards with basketball players and NBA logos. Fanatics has the rights to produce NBA cards through its Fanatics Collectible arm with Topps.
Topps cards aren’t going to magically appear on shelves on October 1, but expect to see cards by the end of the month as the 2025-26 NBA season tips off.
The Topps basketball product team has been working on early releases in the background, but it will require some runway to build up hype for this new era.
There are a lot of questions heading into this new era and here are some of the biggest we have – along with a couple of answers.
What is the first product?
The first product is likely Topps flagship, according to sources. I hear the product is set to come out the week of Oct. 20.
Sign up for the pre-release of Topps Basketball
Topps is planning a lot of activities around the release, including possible in-person events, and I am sure we will hear more details soon.
What can we expect from Topps?
If you have been following baseball’s projection, Topps has a playbook for its products, but the difference here is probably going to be in the price of the product.
It’s going to be high coming out of the gate without the steady climb we saw in baseball. When Topps Chrome NBA comes out this winter, it’s likely going to be a $300+ product. And with the hype that we will see around rookie Cooper Flagg and breakers ready to buy pallets of the product, it will probably end up being more on the secondary market.
You’re also going to see Topps Now NBA cards, which will include more limited autographs and relics of milestones from players.
There will be autographed cards of superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry as Topps has shown off some of the star power with the Olympics basketball cards. (P.S. The triple-signed auto still has not surfaced!)
A big push for the NBA cards will be debut patches, milestone moments and access.
How will this affect Panini card values?
It won’t. Good cards are good cards. No one is spending less money on Exquisite basketball cards because Upper Deck doesn’t have the NBA license anymore.
Panini put together 15 years of NBA cards with great releases like Prizm, National Treasures, Select and more. It has made the rookies cards of players like Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brunson. That doesn’t change just because they don’t have the NBA license.
How does this affect the WNBA?
As far as I can tell, the WNBA license is still under Panini America. Panini still has plans to release more cards throughout the year with Donruss, Impeccable and Prizm still on the calendar. But it’s unknown when that contract expires.
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