2025-26 Topps Basketball to contain rare Home Court Insert
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The anticipation for 2025-26 Topps Basketball is continuing to build among the hobby. It will be the first licensed Basketball release for Topps since the 2009-10 season, and it was recently announced that a rare insert will be in packs for collectors to chase. The insert is titled Home Court, and it takes inspiration from the popular Baseball insert Home Field Advantage. The Baseball insert has sold well on the open market the past couple of years, especially when a superstar player is the subject of the card, or if it is one of the top rookies in the set. On that note, let's take a look at the insert design so collectors know what they are looking for upon release.
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The Inspiration - Home Field Advantage
The Home Field Advantage insert has been a top of the line SP insert in Topps flagship Baseball for a number of years now, largely for it's eye appeal. The cards vary slighly in design from year to year, but keep the same theme. For example, this year's design features the player, along with numerous aspects of the city that represents the team they play for. It could be the stadium itself, or even an animal, as is the case with the Jacob Wilson card.
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Home Court Insert Design and Odds
The insert capitalizes on the popularity already gathered by the Baseball insert, but keeps things more simplistic when it comes to describing the player and the city. Victor Wembanyama is one of the subjects in the insert set, and the card features him admin a backdrop of the Alamo (key tourist stop in San Antonio) and a UFO, a nod to his nickname "the alien". It also contains a highway sign with the city name and an Interstate sign that has the player's number on it.
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Cooper Flagg also features in the insert set with a similar design, only this time the city of Dallas is featured. Not to mentioned, the coveted rookie card logo appears on Flagg's card in the top right, a reminder of how much in demand Flagg's cards will be once the set releases.
Topps has released odds of pulling the insert, and they vary based on the type of box that a collector is opening. In the case of a hobby box, the odds of pulling the Home Court insert are 1 in 2,400 packs. With a jumbo box, the odds do increase to 1 in 400 packs. In either case, it will be a tough pull for collectors, but many may look past the odds due to the eye appeal of the cards.
2025-26 Topps Basketball continues to build hype among members of the hobby, and the Home Court insert only adds to it. Given the popularity of the Baseball themed Home Field Advantage, one can only wonder if the Home Court design will take on a similar trajectory. Time will tell, but with key names in the checklist such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Cooper Flagg, the future may be bright. 2025-26 Topps Basketball releases nationwide on October 23rd, 2025.
Dylan is a collector based in Central Pennsylvania, and sports fan rooting for the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Pirates, and LA Lakers. He is currently attempting to collect a complete run of Topps flagship sets across football, baseball, and basketball. He is passionate about the history of the hobby including its continual growth and evolution.