In a move foreseen by many yet no less thrilling, Cooper Flagg has taken the NBA stage by storm as the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft. The Dallas Mavericks, having made waves earlier by trading Luka Doncic, have boldly embraced this new era, selecting Flagg, a prospect as dynamic and promising as any in recent memory. This pivotal moment isn’t just a victory for Dallas but also ignites euphoria among basketball enthusiasts and collectors alike, marked notably by the release of Flagg’s debut Topps NOW card.
The anticipation surrounding Cooper Flagg wasn’t solely confined to the court. The Mavericks, reeling from the massive shadow cast by the Doncic trade, needed a transformative figure, and in Flagg, they found their beacon. As Dallas prepares for this new journey, collectors are left ecstatic, with Flagg’s entry into the professional world of trading cards providing a fresh buzz that the hobby hasn’t experienced in quite some time.
Topps NOW capitalized on this event by unveiling a limited-time release card showcasing Flagg donning his new Mavericks jersey—an image fans have eagerly awaited and will want to immortalize. Known for their agile response to sports milestones with print-to-order offerings, Topps NOW cards often achieve a kind of iconic status within collector circles due to their ephemeral nature.
Perhaps the crown jewel of this release is the exclusive 1/1 autographed card, boasting a “1st Overall Pick” inscription, which has potential investors and aficionados scrambling for a chance to own this seminal piece. The card’s uniqueness is further emphasized by its structured release, featuring redemption-autographed versions available in escalating scarcity: /25, /10, /5, and of course, the prestigious 1-of-1. Two particularly poignant editions of the /10 autos include the inscription “My First Pro Auto,” creating an intimate connection between Flagg and those lucky enough to secure a piece of his fledgling legacy.
As is customary with such high-profile releases, collectors are also on the hunt for a series of foil parallels, which add layers of rarity and desirability, tagged with numbers /99, /75, /50, /25, /10, /5, culminating in the extremely coveted 1/1 FoilFractor.
Even before setting foot in the NBA, Flagg was no stranger to hype within the card community. His pre-NBA Bowman cards, combined with the Topps Basketball McDonald’s All American series, already saw spirited trading and escalating prices, laying the foundation for his further ascent in the world of collectible cards. His strategic partnership with Topps and Fanatics preceding his professional debut sealed his role as a central figure in the future of sports cards collecting—an arena that pivotally intertwines the worlds of sports and collectibles with a shared love for both numbers and nostalgia.
The Topps NOW card serves not only as a milestone commemorating Flagg’s entry onto the NBA hardwood but as a sentinel marking his formal initiation into a broader arena—the high-intensity, ever-evolving hobby of sports card collecting. For collectors, this card isn’t just another acquisition; it’s the commencement of Flagg’s storied journey that they’ll follow and bet on, his career accomplishments reflected with every trade, every game-changing play encapsulated in cardboard.
Available only until June 29 at 8:10 PM EST, Flagg’s inaugural professional card stands poised to become a hallmark of this year’s draft class—a collectible imbued with the promise of a story just unfolding. For those quick enough to secure a piece, it’s not just a nod to the historical precedent set by this draft night—it’s a call to the future of basketball, played card by card, as new chapters are written in games not yet played and moments yet to be immortalized on glossy, timeless paper.
