The Top 20 NBA Prospects To Collect Before the 2026-27 Season
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It's finally October, which means not only is the MLB Postseason in full swing, but it also means that the next NBA season is right around the corner. With tip-off scheduled for the 20th, everyone even remotely interested in basketball has got a lot to be excited about.
The 2026 NBA Draft Class is filled with promising talents and established names from their collegiate careers. We're breaking down the Top 20 on this list of who to collect ASAP, and those that you can still hold out a bit more on.
Disclaimer: Majority of the Top 20 picks will appear on this list, but players not within that group can also show up.
Tier 1 - The Holy Trinity
Everyone knew who the top three picks were going to be way before the 2026 NBA Draft even happened; it was only a matter of order. That being said, the same three players are at the very top of this list in terms of collectability before the season even begins.
Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer are both exceptional athletes, but honestly, their current card markets show that. Peterson's best individual card as of now, a 1/1 Superfractor from 2025 Bowman U, is only worth $15,000. On the other hand, Boozer's 1st Bowman Superfractor Auto only sold for
$14,520 months ago.
Keep in mind that those numbers are highs that, honestly, haven't been touched in the last couple of months. Decent college pickups would range anywhere from $10 to $100 for both those players, and with that amount of money you'd already have some parallels that are way better than a mere base card.
Things are a little different with AJ Dybantsa. His stock's been hot ever since his projection to go #1 was proven true, and now that the Washington Wizards have made serious roster moves, there's even more to look forward to with this hooper.
The card shown above is the most valuable AJ Dybantsa piece in the world at the moment, and it also happened to be the first ever Bowman card he signed. $45,140 was paid for this one-of-a-kind piece, and no other rookie on this list has a sale even remotely close to that.
For the sake of the list, we'll keep them in the order they were drafted.
1. AJ Dybantsa - Washington Wizards
2. Darryn Peterson - Utah Jazz
3. Cameron Boozer - Memphis Grizzlies
Tier 2 - Top Talents on Struggling Teams
The season hasn't even started yet, but don't get your hopes too high for these teams making a serious playoff run (should they reach the postseason at all). That said, the lack of depth on these rosters will let these guys shine even brighter.
Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff Jr., and Brayden Burries are all top-ten picks that landed on teams in the middle of a serious rebuild, a roster identity crisis, or a mix of both. As we've seen so many times in the past, however, individuals can still shine brightly despite everything else around them that's lacking.
This Caleb Wilson piece is a solid metric for everyone else in this group of players. $290 is still a decent amount of money to pay for an unproven athlete; however, it's still less than what you'd be shelling out for a similar card of the guys in Tier 1. Caleb Wilson is on the higher end of this list too, with everyone else's markets being much cheaper overall.
4. Caleb Wilson - Chicago Bulls
5. Keaton Wagler - Los Angeles Clippers
6. Mikel Brown Jr. - Brooklyn Nets
7. Darius Acuff Jr. - Sacramento Kings
8. Brayden Burries - Milwaukee Bucks
Tier 3 - Summer League Standouts
These are the guys who, while still underrated in overall Hobby talk, did enough to get noticed during the Summer League. A couple of highlight reels on social media, along with a dedicated fanbase? That's what this group of young hoopers has going for them.
Yaxel Lendeborg's Summer League run could have very well earned him a spot on the Golden State Warriors' starting lineup. From NCAA National Champion to running the floor alongside Steph Curry, there's a bright future waiting there.
Cameron Carr is another player who balled out during the Summer League, mostly for his scoring contribution to the Los Angeles Lakers. The most expensive card of his that's not a redemption ticket sold for only $450, and realistically, he's only one strong Lakers season away from easily doubling or tripling that amount.
Rounding out this group is 25th overall pick Sergio de Larrea, one of the best dime-dealers throughout the entire Summer League campaign, a lethal skill alongside Cooper Flagg.
9. Yaxel Lendeborg - Golden State Warriors
10. Cameron Carr - Los Angeles Lakers
11. Sergio de Larrea - Dallas Mavericks
Tier 4 - Prospects That Haven't Been Proven Yet
All these players are placed on the list based on where they were drafted, but they also share the same things in common. They all rightfully belong in the league, but the sample size hasn't produced numbers concrete enough to make decisions at the moment.
From a collecting standpoint, these guys' college cards are all cheaper than those in Tier 3, making them low-risk, medium-to-potentially high-reward investments should they blossom in the league. $200 would already get you graded on-card autographs, and honestly, why not take a chance in the first place?
12. Kingston Flemings - Atlanta Hawks
13. Morez Johnson Jr. - Dallas Mavericks
14. Aday Mara - OKC Thunder
15. Nate Ament - Milwaukee Bucks
16. Hannes Steinbach - Charlotte Hornets
17. Dailyn Swain - Chicago Bulls
18. Bennett Stirtz - OKC Thunder
19. Ebuka Okorie - Detroit Pistons
20. Christian Anderson Jr. - Charlotte Hornets
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Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.