Topps Flagship Basketball just dropped, and with it a whole new rookie class.
But wax today is expensive. Hobby boxes of the new Flagship carry a $169.99 MSRP, and dealers are listing them for around $250.
Collectors need to pick and choose where to put their money. So why not put it towards the product that has the most longevity?
Luckily for us, the hobby doesn’t look at every release equally. Some are way more valuable to collect than others.
The best way to find the ones that last is to look back.
We’re going to look at the last five full seasons’ worth of product. We’ll pick one of the biggest rookies from each year, average their PSA 10 base card sales over the last month in every release, and see which release is getting the most hobby dollars. Then, we’ll do it again with raw prices for base autos.
We’re leaving ultra high-end releases out of this one. They’d clean house when it comes to most valuable, but more importantly, they aren’t something the average collector can afford to get their hands on. 2026-27 cards get left out too since that release cycle is just getting started.
Last month, we covered baseball. This time, it’s basketball. We’ve got our hunches about which releases come out on top, and we’d bet you’ve got a few of your own. Hang onto them. We’ll find out together whose guesses hold up as we work through the comps.
Let’s rip in.
