The sports card market just posted a monster week, with five sales combining to more than $15 million and a list packed with heavyweight names from the NBA, baseball, and hobby history.
The biggest headline belongs to Cooper Flagg. His Topps Chrome Update NBA Debut Patch Auto 1-of-1 brought in $8,040,000 on September 25, 2026 through Fanatic Premier Auction, making it one of the biggest sports card sales ever. According to Card Ladder, the card now ranks No. 5 on the all-time list of most expensive sports card sales.
That sale also closes the book on one of the biggest pulls the modern hobby has seen.
The rest of the top end was no small thing, either. Dylan Harper’s NBA Debut Patch Auto card checked in at No. 2 on the list, selling for $2,880,000 on September 25th, 2026 through Fanatics Premier Auction. The Spurs rookie is pictured in a black jersey with a blue autograph beneath his image, and the NBA debut patch sits on the right side of the card.
Kon Knueppel’s Debut Patch Auto 1/1 came in at $2,340,000 on September 25, 2026 through Fanatics Premier auction, giving the list another elite rookie hit and kicking off the run of major NBA card sales that fills much of the rest of the countdown.
Shohei Ohtani also made the list twice. One of his cards sold for $810,000 on September 25, 2026 through Fanatics Premier auction.
Another Ohtani card, featuring a Gold MLB Logoman and noting his 2025 NL MVP award in gold on the card, sold for $2,848,700 on September 26, 2026 through Goldin Auctions. Topps says the Gold MLB patch is reserved for players who have earned top awards such as Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, or MVP honors.
Rounding out the group was a Babe Ruth relic card from Sport Kings, with Ruth’s signature on the piece. That card sold for $999,000 on September 25, 2026 through Fanatics Premier auction. The source notes that 93 years later, the brand, player choice, and presentation still land like a home run.
All told, it was an enormous week for the hobby - one driven by the chase for NBA Debut Patches, plus a pair of big Ohtani sales and a Ruth card that still carries serious weight.
In Other News...
Spurs Have A Big Question As Their Guard Trio Takes On More
Mitch Johnson is pushing the Spurs toward a bigger role for their young guard trio, with Dylan Harper, DeAaron Fox and Stephon Castle expected to share the floor more often than they did a year ago. The idea is built on what the group flashed in limited stretches last season, and San Antonio wants to see those promising moments turn into something more stable as the minutes start to rise.
For that to work, the fit has to be cleaner away from the ball. Johnson has pointed to the need for the guards to sharpen the little things that make an overloaded backcourt function, especially spacing the floor and cutting hard to the rim. It is the kind of adjustment that could unlock the lineup, and also the part of the experiment that will decide whether the Spurs can keep leaning into it. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama May Need One New Weapon To Protect His Future
Victor Wembanyama already stands out as one of the leagues most difficult scorers to game-plan for, thanks to a skill set that stretches defenses in almost every direction. But as the Spurs continue managing his development, there is a growing basketball case for adding another layer to his attack, one that could make him even harder to defend while also helping preserve the kind of body that has to carry a massive workload.
The idea is pretty simple: if Wembanyama can become more dependable from the middle of the floor, he may not have to absorb so much contact at the rim or rely as heavily on the same high-impact possessions every night. His current touch from that area leaves room for growth, and for a player with his long-term importance in San Antonio, the payoff would not just be about scoring. It would be about building a path that keeps his game efficient, sustainable and a little easier on his future. [Read more 🡒]
Tobias Harris Just Changed A Tough Spurs Decision
Tobias Harris arrived in San Antonio as one of the more interesting offseason additions, and the fit already feels like a live roster question for the Spurs. At media day, Harris made it clear he is focused on winning and is prepared to handle whatever role the team asks of him, which is exactly the kind of flexibility a young team wants from a veteran forward.
The complication is obvious enough: Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are the current starting forwards, and Harris gives the Spurs another proven option in that same mix. His place in the rotation will come down to what the team needs and how everyone performs, making this less about a simple signing and more about an early-season decision that could shape the way the Spurs line up. [Read more 🡒]