A few weeks into the rollout of 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Debut Patches, the market has already started to take shape. The biggest names still haven’t surfaced, and one of them may not show up any time soon, but that hasn’t stopped some eye-opening prices from landing for players who aren’t exactly household names.
At the top of the list is Nolan Traore, whose card was the first Debut Patch Auto to sell and, for now, the one that set the pace for everyone else. His $26,100 sale remains the standard.
Traore was the 19th pick in the Draft, the highest selection among the five cards here and the only first-rounder. His rookie season with the Nets was uneven, but he still managed to start 31 games and post 8.9 points and 3.8 assists per game.
Ryan Kalkbrenner sits just behind him, and his number is no small thing either. The former Creighton standout and 34th pick in the NBA Draft was a steady presence in the middle for the Hornets as a rookie, averaging 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks.
His Debut Patch brought $20,000, easily clearing the rest of his card market for now. Before that, his high-water mark was a 2025-26 Topps Flagship Foilfractor auto in a PSA 8 that sold for $6,000.
Will Richard comes in at No. 2 on the sales list, which is a bit of a surprise given where he was drafted. Taken 56th overall in 2025, Richard still found a real role for the Warriors in 2025-26, appearing in 69 games and starting 21. His previous top sale was a 2025-26 Topps Chrome Certified Issue Superfractor Auto that fetched $4,128.
Kam Jones also made the cut after a strong college run at Marquette helped push him to No. 38 in the 2025 Draft. He played 37 games for the Pacers in 2026, starting seven, and finished the season well enough off the bench and in spot starts while Indiana struggled.
Jones was traded to the Bulls and waived on draft night, then picked up by the Bucks. His Debut Patch sale reached $12,000, a number that blows past his previous best, a 2025-26 Topps Chrome Superfractor that sold for $1,600 in December.
Johni Broome rounds out the group. After transferring from Morehead State to Auburn, he built himself into a 2nd-round pick and went 35th overall to the Sixers.
He appeared in 13 games, including two in the Playoffs, before being traded to the Clippers in July. His Debut Patch sold for $12,000 as well, and that figure already looks like the ceiling for his market.
It was also four times higher than his next-best card sale, a 2025-26 Topps Chrome Superfractor auto.
As more of these NBA Debut Patch Autos hit the Card Ladder Index, the leaderboard figures to keep moving. For now, though, these five sales give the early market a clear shape.
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