Collectors won’t have to wait much longer for the next 2025-26 Topps Basketball release to hit the hobby conversation. Topps Chrome Black Basketball is set to go up for pre-order on Tuesday, July 28th at 12 PM EST on the Topps website, and it already has the kind of buzz that tends to follow this brand every year.
Pricing has not been announced yet, though collectors should be ready for the possibility that boxes land in the hundreds of dollars. That uncertainty hasn’t slowed the chatter, especially with attention centered on the autographs in the product and the fact that this will be the first time the release has a licensed version.
The checklist has not been fully revealed, but there should be plenty for collectors to chase once it arrives. Chrome products usually bring a strong mix of parallels, and this one is expected to follow that pattern. A full parallel list should become clearer when the checklist is released.
The set also brings a pair of rookie cards that will draw plenty of interest: Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg. Beyond the rookies, the inserts are shaping up to be a major part of the appeal.
Carbon Flare stands out from the preview material, with the player placed in the middle of a card that looks like it’s surrounded by fire and sparks. It’s the kind of design that jumps off the page.
Home Court is back as well, but with the Topps Chrome Black treatment. The layout stays familiar, while the background goes black instead of the look used in prior versions. The insert was popular when it first appeared in Flagship Basketball, and it has a chance to catch on again here.
On the autograph side, the biggest name confirmed in preview images is Victor Wembanyama. He has already built a huge reputation in the NBA for excelling at numerous parts of the game, and his NBA Finals run this past season only added to his standing in both the league and the hobby. A rare on-card autograph from the product featuring Wembanyama is also shown in preview material.
For collectors looking ahead to the next wave of basketball releases, Topps Chrome Black is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing stops. The mix of eye-catching inserts, rookie cards, and autograph headliners gives the product plenty of pull before pre-orders even open.
In Other News...
Karl-Anthony Towns Had A Blunt Take On Why Knicks Won
The Spurs run to the 2026 NBA Finals already carried the usual questions about how a young group would handle the biggest stage, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a pretty direct read on why the New York side came out on top. He pointed to the difference between a roster built around experience and one still learning how to navigate the pressure of a Finals series, framing the matchup less as a talent gap than a test of poise.
Towns broader point was that San Antonio looked like a team trying to protect what it had instead of forcing the issue, while the Knicks played with the confidence of a group that knew how to win the moment. For a Spurs team that had already shown it could get to the end, that kind of critique lands hard because it goes beyond one bad stretch and gets at the identity of a contender still figuring out how to finish. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama May Have Started A Spurs Trend That Changes Everything
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The real intrigue is whether that mindset can spread inside the locker room. If other key players were willing to follow Wembanyamas lead, the Spurs could create the kind of breathing room that helps teams avoid the NBAs second salary cap apron and keep a deeper, more expensive roster intact. It is the same kind of hard-choice territory that has forced contenders elsewhere to make painful moves, and San Antonio now has a chance to see whether a rare bit of self-sacrifice can become part of its identity. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyamas Finals Edge Has Spurs Fans Facing An Uncomfortable Question
The Finals gave Victor Wembanyama the kind of stage that can sharpen a superstars reputation in a hurry, and not all of it was flattering. The 22-year-old Spurs center spent much of the series in the middle of the action, mixing dominant stretches with a physical edge that had Knicks fans and the national audience talking as much about his temperament as his talent. For a San Antonio team building around him, it was a reminder that the line between intimidation and controversy can get thin when the games get bigger.
What made it feel especially uncomfortable for Spurs followers was how quickly the conversation hardened around him. One sequence after another pushed the same storyline, with Wembanyama drawing scrutiny for the way he handled Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and the broader image of him as a villain starting to take hold by the end of the series. For a franchise that wants him to be the face of its next era, the question now is whether that edge is part of what makes him special, or the first real test of how he wants to be seen. [Read more 🡒]