Collector Club
Topps is officially back on the court. For the first time in 16 years, fully licensed Topps NBA trading cards are returning, after Fanatics, regained the NBA trading card licence on at the start of Ocotber.
The comeback ends a run that began after the 2009–10 season, when Panini took exclusive rights, and marks a significant moment for basketball collectors worldwide.
The first flagship release lands on on Wednesday, delivering the first licensed Topps NBA cards since the Steph Curry’s rookie year. Topps also signalled a global approach by launching an initial licensed product in China through a partnership with Kayou, timed with the NBA China Games.
The 2025–26 Topps Basketball debut features a 300-card base set spanning stars, legends and newcomers, with combo cards, autographs, relics and an array of Super Short-Print inserts to chase.
The set introduces Golden Mirror photo variations to basketball for the first time, plus Home Court and Comic Court case hits and Rookie Photoshoot autographs. Collectors can also now hunt fully licensed LeBron James autographs, which Fanatics states are exclusive to this release. The rookie class is headlined by Cooper Flagg, alongside the first Victor Wembanyama autographs in a Spurs jersey.
Debut and Gold NBA Logoman patches to appear in new NBA card sets
Fanatics’ Debut Patch programme, a 1/1 patch worn by a player in their first professional game, makes its NBA bow this season, following the popular introduction of WWE debut patches and UFC debut patches earlier this year.
Fanatics also detailed a new Gold NBA Logoman Patch initiative: throughout the 2025–26 regular season, the jerseys of the 2024–25 Kia MVP, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year will feature the Gold Logoman on the back, with those patches later inserted into trading cards and the programme continuing in future seasons.
Fanatics has spent the past three years consolidating major sports card rights: it already produces all MLB and MLBPA cards under Topps, will add NFL and NFLPA rights in 2026, and now controls exclusive card rights for the English Premier League and Formula 1.
Keep coming back to Collector Club for all the latest sports card news and trading card news, keeping you up-to-date with everything that’s going on in the hobby!