What’s New
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 18, when the 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball collection hits the shelves, just weeks after the October 23 debut of Topps' flagship Basketball series. This release is significant as it represents Topps' re-entry into the licensed NBA card market for the first time since 2009. The flagship series saw a high demand for cases, boxes, hangers, packs, and singles. The anticipation continues with the upcoming Chrome release, especially following the December 15 launch of the Topps Chrome First Day Issue boxes. Base rookie cards are expected to be particularly popular.
Configuration at a Glance
- Product: 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball
- Release Date: December 18
- Formats: Hobby boxes, retail boxes, hangers, packs, singles
- Key Features: Base rookie cards, Chrome parallels
- Highlight: First licensed Topps NBA product since 2009
- In Demand: Base rookie cards and Chrome parallels
Key Inserts & Parallels
- Both flagship and Chrome parallels are eagerly awaited
- Key inserts in the flagship collection include Comic Court, Sonic Boom, All Kings, and 8-Bit Ballers (not listed in the base rookie card section below)
Autographs & Relics
- The article did not provide details on autographs and memorabilia cards
Bonus Rookie Cards to Watch
- Jeremiah Fears - New Orleans Pelicans (2025-26 Topps #207 RC)
- Card values (EX to Mint): $0.75 to $5
- Cedric Coward - Memphis Grizzlies (2025-26 Topps #211 RC)
- Card values (EX to Mint): $0.75 to $5
- Derik Queen - New Orleans Pelicans (2025-26 Topps #213 RC)
- Card values (EX to Mint): $0.75 to $5
Top 10 Most Valuable 2025-26 Topps Rookie Basketball Cards
- Tre Johnson - Washington Wizards (2025-26 Topps #206 Tre Johnson III RC)
- Position: Shooting Guard
- Season stats: 11.2 points per game, 39.8% 3-point shooting, started 4 of 17 games
- Ace Bailey - Utah Jazz (2025-26 Topps #205 Ace Bailey RC)
- Position: Small Forward
- Drafted: 5th overall in 2025
- Season stats: 10.0 points per game, started 16 of 25 games
- Card values (EX to Mint): $1 to $5
- Dylan Harper - San Antonio Spurs
- Position: Shooting Guard
- Drafted: 2nd overall
- Season stats: 13.1 points per game, 21.9 minutes per game, no starts yet
- Card values (EX to Mint): $1 to $6
- RC and Holiday RC rank seventh and eighth on OPG list
- Kon Knueppel - Charlotte Hornets
- Position: Small Forward
- Drafted: 4th overall
- College: Duke
- Season stats: 19.0 points per game, 40.5% from three
- Recent games: 33 points vs. Chicago, 29 points vs. Cleveland
- Card values (EX to Mint): $1.50 to $10
- VJ Edgecombe - Philadelphia 76ers
- Position: Shooting Guard
- Season stats: 15.2 points per game, started all 22 games
- Card values (EX to Mint): $1.50 to $10
- Topps Holiday #H163 Edgecombe is also highly valued
- Cooper Flagg - Dallas Mavericks (2025-26 Topps #201 RC)
- Position: Small Forward
- Drafted: 1st overall (Duke)
- Season stats: 18.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game
- First career 40-point game: 42 points vs. Utah Jazz on December 12
- Card values (EX to Mint): $2 to $12
- Holiday variations valued similarly
Collector Notes
- The 2025-26 Topps Basketball collection signifies Topps' return to licensed NBA cards after a 16-year break
- Collectors are primarily interested in base rookie cards, with high demand for both flagship and Chrome editions
- Card values reflect the current market activity as of release
- Holiday variations are available for several rookies and are valued similarly to their standard RCs
- Design details and print runs were not provided in the article
- Parallels and inserts like Comic Court, Sonic Boom, All Kings, and 8-Bit Ballers are part of the flagship set but not included in the base rookie card value list
- No specific odds, short prints, or super short prints were mentioned
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