Ranking the Top 10 Topps Basketball sets of all time (6-10)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Our countdown of the top Topps Basketball sets of all time starts with sets 6-10. Our ranking of the top five sets (1-5) will be published on Oct. 22.)
Topps has produced some amazing, history-changing basketball card sets over the years.
From the first release in 1957-58 to the memorable 2009-10 set, Topps has banked on consistency and innovation.
The 2025-26 Topps Basketball product marks the first time in 16 years the company is making NBA-licensed cards. Panini took over the exclusive license in 2010 and didn’t let go until this year.
“Topps is synonymous for a lot of people with trading cards, and I think for people to come into the hobby and see now that Topps is offering basketball cards again, I think it just brings them back to the nostalgic roots of where Topps used to be,” REA President Brian Dwyer said.
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To commemorate Topps being back in the game, SCD ranks the top 10 Topps Basketball Flagship and Chrome sets of all time. We start with sets 6-10, and to tease you even more, we present them in reverse order.
Enjoy our countdown of the best Topps Basketball sets and some of the most iconic Topps cards of all time.
10. 1968 Topps Basketball
After its 1957 release, Topps did not officially release its next basketball set until 1969. However, a test set was produced in 1968. The rumor is the cards were never supposed to leave the Topps facility, but some did. They are extremely rare to find. PSA has graded just over 200 examples.
Topps printed a test run of 22 cards with 15 players going on to Hall of Fame careers. Bill Russell is the top card in the set with Wilt Chamberlain close behind. There have been 11 Russell and 14 Chamberlain copies graded by PSA. A PSA 8 is the highest grade for each card.
Also included in the set are Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and John Havlicek with his last name spelled incorrectly.
9. 1972-73 Topps Basketball
The 1972-73 Topps Basketball set screams vintage with its splashy, retro colors and bold, large team nicknames.
Julius Erving’s rookie is the staple of this release. Decked out in his Virginia Squires uniform of the American Basketball Association (ABA), Dr. J is sporting his patented afro haircut. Erving captivated crowds before moving to the NBA and having a Hall of Fame career.
The set also contains Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s fourth-year card, Phil Jackson’s rookie, one of Wilt Chamberlain’s final playing-days cards and Pete Maravich’s third-year card.
“I love the design of the ’72 set,” PSA President Ryan Hoge said. “It’s the retro with the font that gets smaller to bigger on the bottom, I love that. The [Pete] Maravich is like an orange background, it’s just awesome. It’s a really cool looking card for the time period.”
8. 1992-93 Topps Basketball
The 1992-93 Topps Basketball release was the company’s first product in 11 years. Topps added a new wrinkle in that year’s set with Gold parallels. The Gold cards were available for all 362 cards in the set.
Shaquille O’Neal’s rookie is the cream of the crop in this issue. His Gold in a PSA 10, which has a population of just over 900, can fetch a few thousand dollars.
O’Neal—the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and future Hall of Famer—curiously was not in Series 1 of the release. Goldin, who was running the card company Score Board Inc. at the time, knows why Topps had to wait to include Shaq in its second series.
“I’m the reason that Shaq wasn’t in Series 1. I’m the reason that Upper Deck had to do the trade card, the redemption card, because I’m the one who signed Shaq exclusively for Classic and blocked him out of all NBA licensed sets,” Goldin said. “Besides that, it’s a crying shame that Shaq was a rookie at the absolute height of the junk wax era. None of his rookie cards are worth what they should be as a result.”
Michael Jordan has four cards in this set, his base, 50 Point Club, All-Star and Highlight.
The rookie of Alonzo Mourning, the second overall selection in the previous draft, is also one of the top cards in the product.
7. 2008-09 Topps Chrome
Usually, rookie cards drive trading card products, but that wasn’t the case in Topps’ release of 2008-09 Chrome Basketball. This set features amazing base cards of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, and its Refractor parallels are an important aspect of the release.
James’ card shows him conducting his pregame trademark chalk toss, while Bryant’s card is an epic shot of him being closely guarded by James.
“Those are two of my very favorite cards of all time,” Wilson said. “I own both those cards. I own the Topps Chrome Gold Refractor numbered to 50 of both of those cards in PSA 10 condition. Both have a total population of less than 10.”
Besides the beautiful photography, the 2008-09 Topps Chrome Basketball set has a unique design. Every player’s team nickname is in block letters at the top of the card with team color-matched circles where the letters are placed.
The Refractor parallels from this set, especially for the big-name players, are in high demand. They come in the base Refractor, Orange (/499), X-Fractor (/288), Gold (/50), Red (/5), Superfractor (1/1), and Printing Plates (1/1).
The top rookies in the product include Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Kevin Love; the rookies have Refractor autograph cards.
6. 2009-10 Topps Chrome
Topps went out with a splash in its last licensed set until this year. The 2009-10 Topps Basketball product was rather unassuming when it was released.
One player really emerged as a superstar from the 2009 NBA Draft, the seventh overall selection, Stephen Curry. It didn’t take long for the Golden State Warriors guard to prove his dominance as a shooter. Curry’s rookie card shows an unassuming baby-faced player. It’s easily one of the best basketball cards produced in the last two decades.
The second most recognizable card in the set is the rookie of James Harden. Rookies of DeMar DeRozan, Blake Griffin and Jrue Holiday are also sought after from this set.
“It was a set that was not produced as much,” Wilson said. “From what I understand, Topps was losing the license and they didn’t have time to get a full Topps Chrome release out, so they put Topps Chrome packs inside regular Topps basketball. So, the cards in general are more rare, especially the Topps Chrome from that year. They didn’t make as much of it; it’s hard to find. That doubling down with Steph Curry’s rookie just makes 2009 a very important set.”
Since Topps did not issue a separate Chrome release that year, its Chrome cards were more limited. The set contains base Chrome cards (/999), Chrome Refractor (/500), Gold Refractor (/50) and a Superfractor (1/1) of every player. After 16 years on the market, Curry’s ultimate card—his Superfractor—has never surfaced.
Goldin recalls when the 2009-10 Topps Basketball product came out during a rough time period for the economy.
“Basketball was in decline. The card market was in decline. It was the Great Recession,” Goldin said. “They didn’t even put out a separate Chrome series, they just mixed in with the regular. The boxes go for crazy amounts because people think they’re going to get the Curry Superfractor, but nobody is. I do not believe it exists today in any shape or form, not even in some kid’s collection.”