Revisiting the 2009-10 Topps Basketball Set

Goodbyes Aren’t Forever

Date: Oct 27, 2025

Author: Ryan Cracknell

Topics: basketball, Cards and Culture, NBA

Length: 702 Words

Reading Time: ~4 Minutes

2009-10 Topps Basketball marked the end of an era. The release ended a 17-year run for the hoops line dating back to 1992-93, and it would be another 16 years before it returned.

With a stellar rookie class, another monster brand appearing within the checklist, and some stellar memorabilia cards typically reserved for only ultra-premium releases, this set turned out to be a basketball card classic, and it’s one well worth returning to.

2009-10 Topps Basketball Base Set Basics

The base set of 2009-10 Topps Basketball features 330 total cards. As one would expect, superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant are all featured prominently. There are also some familiar names in unfamiliar uniforms, like Shaquille O’Neal on the Phoenix Suns and Allen Iverson on the Detroit Pistons.

The final 13 cards are all rookies. Led by Stephen Curry, other standouts include James Harden, Blake Griffin, and DeMar DeRozan. With Curry going down as one of the greats, he’d be enough to make 2009-10 Topps a memorable sendoff by himself. However, the surrounding draft class is strong as well, taking it a step further.

Due to timing around the expiration of the NBA license, rookies aren’t shown in their full pro uniforms, leading to a unique collection of cards.

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While not nearly the rainbow that collectors are used to today, the full base set has three levels of numbered parallels: Gold to /2009, Black to /50, and four different 1/1 Printing Plates.

Chrome Classics

Ever since its introduction in 1996-97, Topps Chrome® has been among the most popular basketball card lines. While there isn’t a full 2009-10 Topps Chrome Basketball release like previous years, a good chunk of the base set still gets the Chrome treatment.

A total of 110 cards have Chrome versions, including all of the rookies. Landing approximately two per Hobby Box, each is numbered to /999. Parallels for these are /500 Refractors, /50 Gold Refractors, 1/1 Printing Plates, and 1/1 SuperFractors.

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When it comes to Steph Curry’s rookies, his Topps Chrome cards and the ensuing Refractors are considered to be some of his most iconic.

This isn’t the first time that Topps and Topps Chrome appeared together in the same product. 2001 Topps Traded and Rookies Baseball not only had them on the same checklist like here, but a mix of both were included in all packs. By the time 2009-10 Topps Basketball arrived, Bowman Baseball had been taking this approach for several years as well.

Outside of Topps Chrome, the only other standard inserts are 50 Draft Snapshot cards, landing 1:6 packs.

The Hits that Keep on Coming

2009-10 Topps Basketball has several sets dedicated to autographs, memorabilia or both. In fact, all of the NBA-themed signatures have uniform pieces. These include Autograph Relics and Rookie Rewind Jumbo Jersey Autographs.

All-Rookie Rewind Team Letterman Autographs have letter patches taken from the backs of photo shoot jerseys. Franchise Fabrics Autographs use manufactured patches. Shaquille O’Neal, Vince Carter, Russell Westbrook, and Derrick Rose top the list of signers.

McDonald’s All-American Game Day Autographs pulled out old signatures from the vault. These were signed at past McDonald’s All-American events and held until the players made the leap to the pros, with James Harden being the big signer.

Topping the 2009-10 Topps Basketball memorabilia cards are a couple of mammoth one-of-one sets. The checklist includes nearly 100 Logoman patches and laundry tags. Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, David Robinson, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, and Karl Malone are among those with Logoman cards. Some of the tags go further back in time to feature Julius Erving, Jerry West, Pete Maravich, and Elgin Baylor.

Instead of standard jerseys, All-Star Relics Dual (/199) and Quad (/100) cards use pieces taken from All-Star Weekend gear. Championship Materials and Roundball Remnants round out the relics. Both of these game-worn sets have companion patch parallels with 50 copies each.

At the time, 2009-10 Topps Basketball may have seemed like a farewell of sorts. But like a lot of goodbyes, it wasn’t forever. The NBA license ultimately returned to Topps, with a new era beginning in 2025-26 Topps Basketball.