The Best Basketball Cards for Collectors
After a long hiatus, Topps has returned to the world of licensed NBA cards. While recent years have been filled with exciting basketball products like 2024/25 Topps Chrome® Basketball, this is the first time since the 2009-10 NBA season — the rookie debut of stars like Steph Curry and James Harden — that collectors can chase officially licensed NBA Topps cards of their favorite players.
Prior to that extended break, the Topps line manufactured some of the best basketball cards of all time. To commemorate the return of the license, we’re counting down the top 20 Topps and Bowman basketball cards ever made.
Honorable mentions go out to the following stellar options: 1974 Topps Basketball George Gervin (#196), 1975 Topps Basketball Moses Malone (#254), 1969 Topps Basketball Walt Frazier (#98), 2007 Topps Chrome Basketball Kevin Durant (#131), and 1995 Topps Finest Basketball Kevin Garnett (#115).
With those out of the way, let’s get to the full list.
The Top 20 Topps Basketball Cards Ever
20. 1968 Topps Test Basketball #4 Bill Russell
In 1968, Topps did not release a regular card set. Instead, it printed a test run of 22 cards, with 15 of the subjects ending up as Hall of Famers. It’s widely thought that these test cards were never supposed to be distributed to the public.
Boston Celtics great Bill Russell, who won a record 11 NBA championships, is one of the top cards in the set. This is Russell’s second Topps card after his 1957 rookie card.
19. 1968 Topps Test Basketball #1 Wilt Chamberlain
The first card in the 1968 test set features Philadelphia 76ers big man Wilt Chamberlain. This is one of the rarest Chamberlain cards in existence. All the test cards are extremely hard to find, with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) having graded a little over 200 total cards from the set.
There have been just 14 Chamberlain and 11 Russell cards slabbed by PSA. The highest grades for both cards are PSA 8.
18. 1969 Topps Basketball #20 John Havlicek RC
This is the rookie card of one of the top Boston Celtics and NBA players of all time. The card captures Havlicek in a portrait pose ready to shoot the ball.
Aptly, Havlicek is one of the top 20 scorers in league history. His first professional card comes from the famous “Tall Boy” set in which Topps made its cards more vertical in length for the 1969-70 release.
17. 1992 Topps Stadium Club Basketball Beam Team #1 Michael Jordan
Topps released its first Stadium Club cards in 1992. With stunning photography, Stadium Club was an instant hit with collectors. The set featured a number of flashy inserts, with Beam Team quickly becoming a favorite.
The most iconic card in the set is of MJ himself throwing down a dunk. This Jordan card is arguably one of the best cards of the 1990s.
16. 1992 Topps Gold Basketball #362 Shaquille O’Neal RC
In its first licensed basketball product in years, Topps put out a full two-series set in 1992-93, introducing Gold parallels. Shaq’s rookie card proved to be the golden ticket. The No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft is shown posting up in the paint on the classic card.
For 19 seasons, the Hall of Famer dominated inside, but his early years in Orlando are particularly special for ’90s hoops fans.
15. 2008 Topps Chrome® Basketball #23 LeBron James
Perhaps the sharpest-looking Topps basketball set of all time, the 2008-09 Topps Chrome Basketball release is legendary. What’s also legendary is LeBron James’ chalk toss card.
James’ famous pregame ritual of throwing chalk powder into the air is captured here, on a card that bears the same number in the set as LeBron’s #23 jersey. With is arms stretched out wide while staring into the rafters, King James is the center of attention in this perfect photo.
14. 2008 Topps Chrome® Basketball #24 Kobe Bryant
This epic card pits two of the greatest basketball players of all time against one another. In the image, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant gets ready to make a move while being closely guarded by a young LeBron James during his first stint in Cleveland.
The ’08-09 set directly preceded Kobe’s last two championships, and James’ move to Miami for his first two, making this card a great predecessor to the torch passing between them.
13. 1969 Topps Basketball #1 Wilt Chamberlain
This is Chamberlain’s first mainstream Topps card, his “Tall Boy” from the 1969-70 season. The image shows Chamberlain posing in his Lakers warmup gear.
In his second season with the team, Chamberlain averaged 27.3 points and 18.4 rebounds per game. For his career, The Big Digger scored 30.1 points and pulled down 22.9 rebounds a night.
12. 1970 Topps Basketball #123 Pete Maravich RC
“Pistol Pete” was just getting his stellar Hall of Fame career underway during his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks, coming off of a spectacular tenure in college. Maravich averaged 23.2 points and 4.4 assists in his first year.
With his iconic bushy hair prominently featured on the card and history baked into the cardboard, this RC is highly sought after by basketball collectors.
11. 2003 Topps Basketball #221 LeBron James RC
Just 18 years old when he was drafted No. 1 in 2003, James is shown here on draft night holding up his new Cleveland Cavaliers jersey.
Few players have had anywhere near the level of hype that LeBron had going into his rookie year, and the incredible career he’s built since draft night only makes this beloved RC more significant for basketball collectors.
10. 1993 Topps Finest Basketball #1 Michael Jordan Refractor
The 1993 Finest set brought Refractors to the Hardwood Hobby for the first time, making the whole run particularly beloved. The colors on the Refractor make this beautiful Jordan card pop, showing him in Bulls red securing a rebound.
The original Topps Finest Basketball Refractors can be difficult to obtain in a high grade. In total, PSA has slabbed just 41 Jordan cards from the set that have earned a Gem-Mint 10.
9. 1957 Topps Basketball #17 Bob Cousy RC
One of the elite point guards in NBA history, Cousy played seven seasons before getting his rookie card in the 1957-58 Topps set. The early NBA star was coming off a spectacular 1956-57 season in which he won league MVP, averaging 20.6 points and 7.5 assists per game.
In true Cousy fashion, his 1957-58 Topps card shows him dribbling and looking for an open teammate.
8. 1972 Topps Basketball #195 Julius Erving RC
Erving first made his mark in the American Basketball Association (ABA), becoming the best player in the league. Dr. J’s rookie card is iconic, showing him in the jersey of Norfolk’s Virginia Squires.
When the ABA merged with the NBA, Erving became one of the NBA’s top players, winning MVP in 1981 and helping the Philadelphia 76ers win the 1983 NBA championship.
7. 1996 Topps Chrome® Basketball #138 Kobe Bryant RC
Arguably the top basketball card produced in the 1990s, Bryant’s rookie is a must-have for any serious collector. Just 17 years old when he was drafted, Bryant was promptly traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The rest, as they say, is history. During his 20-year NBA career, Bryant helped the Lakers win five NBA titles, becoming a legend in the process, and it all started here.
6. 2009 Topps Chrome® Basketball #321 Stephen Curry RC
Topps captured some great cards in the 2009-10 Chrome Basketball product, which was its final licensed NBA release until 2025. The cream of the crop by far is Steph Curry’s rookie. This card has stood the test of time as Curry’s top offering, with both the base and Chrome versions being highly collectible.
It didn’t take long for the Baby-Faced Assassin to cement his own legacy, revolutionizing the entire sport and becoming the greatest shooter the league has ever seen.
5. 1969 Topps Basketball #25 Lew Alcindor RC
In his second season in the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar changed his name to the one we all know him by today, but his Topps rookie still features his birth name. Cementing himself as one of the best players ever, Kareem’s RC is a staple in The Hobby.
Part of the “Tall Boy” set in 1969-70, this card shows the young center starting his fantastic tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s the perfect collector’s item showcasing one of the sport’s all-time greats.
4. 2003 Topps Chrome® Basketball #111 LeBron James RC
Coming off the release of the 2003-04 Topps Basketball set and LeBron’s first NBA card, the Chrome product version is James’ best Topps card of all time.
Showing him putting up a jump shot during his rookie season, this card includes high-end, numbered Refractors that have driven a lot of collector interest over the years. When James’ career is over, his cards will remain to tell the story.
3. 1957 Topps Basketball #77 Bill Russell RC
This wouldn’t be a list of the top basketball cards ever without Bill Russell’s RC. The legendary Celtic and 11-time NBA champion dominated the league in his 14 seasons.
Known as a defensive stalwart, Russell is pictured here playing hard on that end of the court, as he always did. His rookie is easily the premiere card of basketball in the 1950s. PSA has never graded a Russell in a 10, and only three 9s currently exist.
2. 1980 Topps Basketball Scoring Leaders Larry Bird / Julius Erving / Magic Johnson
For Topps’ 1980-81 Basketball set, the company introduced trifold panels on its cards. These panels can be detached or kept intact. Topps had the foresight to include Magic Johnson and Larry Bird on the same rookie card, alongside scoring leader Dr. J.
All three are all-time greats, with the rivalry between Bird and Magic throughout the ’80s making this card particularly desirable.
1. 1948 Bowman Basketball #69 George Mikan RC
Mikan was the first real big man to play in the NBA. He dominated in the paint and helped the Minneapolis Lakers win five championships in a six-year stretch. Mikan’s rookie in the 1948 Bowman Basketball release is the original face of basketball cards, period.
The 1948 Bowman product was the first set to be nationally distributed, marking the start of basketball cards as we know them today.
