Cooper Flagg gets product cover as Topps gets fully licensed
In this story:
As of October 1, 2025, Fanatics fully owns the NBA licenses to produce cards with logos and team names, and rookie Cooper Flagg gets the cover. The announcement was made over their social media channels.
RELATED: Chase DeLauter wears first Rookie Debut Patch in a postseason game
Cooper Flagg is your cover athlete for 2025-26 Topps Basketball!
— Topps (@Topps) October 2, 2025
Arriving 10/23 🏀 pic.twitter.com/59uOgooREY
Pre-orders for the new product begin Friday, October 3, 2025, with the product set for a release on Thursday, October 23, 2025. The box includes one relic card or autographed card.
It will be the first time since the 2009-10 season that Topps will have licensed NBA cards, and Topps is marking the occasion with special events at NBA stores in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as other select locations.
According to Topps, the events will have giveaways, and feature appearances by NBA players including Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart. Late Night host Seth Meyers will be in New York City and Chris Paul will make an appearance in Los Angeles. More details will be released later this month.
Cooper Flagg was drafted No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft this past June by the Dallas Mavericks. It's quite the quick change in the organization after having traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the 2024-25 season.
Starring with the Duke University Blue Devils, earning ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year, becoming just the fourth player to win both awards in the same season. He finished his collegiate career with 27 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a 70-67 loss to Houston in the Final Four.
Arguably his biggest card to-date comes from the 2024 Bowman Chrome U product. His magenta, 1-of-1 autographed with inscription got a PSA GEM MT 10 grade. The card features a sweat-drenched Flagg going up for what looks like a dunk, donning his black Duke uniform, surrounded my a magenta-tinted background.
One of his more interesting cards is his 2024 Topps McDonald's All-American McDonald's Logo Refractor. It's a great card of both American sports and American culture, with the infusion of the iconic golden arches of McDonald's. According to eBay sold listings, this card sold twice for $399.99, once on July 2, 2025 and another on July 9, 2025.
Flagg and the Mavericks open their regular season on October 22, 2025 against Victor Wembenyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz