The air was thick with anticipation as the Dallas Mavericks made the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, selecting the electrifying phenom, Cooper Flagg. In an offseason marked by seismic shifts—most notably the Mavericks’ headline-grabbing decision to part ways with Luka Doncic—Dallas seems to have kept up its headline stewardship, this time with their promising new acquisition. But the excitement extends beyond the basketball court, as it often does in the age of sports cards and media spectacle.
Enter Topps NOW, a company adept at capturing fleeting, yet momentous sports instances—and making them even more resonant through collectibility. Seizing the moment, Topps NOW unveiled Flagg’s first professional basketball card, turning the draft’s triumph into a physical memento. It’s a marriage of sports history and hobby culture, stitched together by cardstock and sentiment.
For the Mavericks, Flagg represents more than just an infusion of youthful vigor; he symbolizes a fresh start. After jettisoning their former star in what many deemed a definitive, if precarious, rebuild strategy, Dallas needed a miracle. And they got one in Flagg, whose potential transcends mere stats and athletic prowess. His arrival signals a new era, not just for the Mavericks, but also for collectors eager to invest in the promise of potential greatness.
The Topps NOW release gives Flagg’s admirers something tangible to cling to—a keepsake that marks the dawn of his pro career. With this release, Topps NOW launches a print-to-order masterpiece, with Flagg sporting his new Mavericks threads. Such on-demand creations are defined by their scarcity, a quality that collectors covet as much as the hopeful narratives they embody.
Vying for acquisition with the enthusiasm of a courtside fan, the collector’s checklist includes a singular spectacle: a 1/1 autographed card punctuated with the “1st Overall Pick” inscription. These autographs, available through redemption, are further partitioned into tiers—/25, /10, /5, and the singular 1-of-1 variety. In a nod to inaugural milestones, two of the /10 autos boast the poignant inscription “My First Pro Auto,” providing an almost tender touchstone for those investing with an eye towards the horizon.
The base card isn’t left out of the chase; it’s graced with the availability of foil parallels. These gleaming variants, numbered /99, /75, /50, /25, /10, /5, and the dazzling 1/1 FoilFractor, not only serve to tantalize but also to magnify Flagg’s nascent legend in refracted gleams.
Long before Flagg’s name echoed through the corridors of the draft arena, his buzz had germinated within the card-collecting community. His stardom was already carving out a niche with earlier releases—Bowman cards and Topps Basketball McDonald’s All-American motifs, to name a few. Yet, nothing stamps marked anticipation like an exclusive Tilt with Topps and Fanatics, a collaboration that only solidified his place within the vaunted emerald kingdom of sports cards.
As Flagg’s Topps NOW debut lands him on the professional landscape, he becomes much more than a rookie sensation; he is the sinew attaching collectors to the prospect of far-reaching legacies. Whether you seek a personal relic or forge investments betting on his ascent, Flagg’s card carries with it the gravitational pull of beginnings—it is both an anchor and a launch pad.
Available until June 29 at 8:10 PM EST, Flagg’s first professional card isn’t just a piece of cardboard; it’s a tangible slice of sports history, made all the more delicious by its temporal limits and impending scarcity. Savvy collectors who heed the call to ‘get it while it lasts’ are not just participants—they are shareholders in Flagg’s unfolding journey.
As Cooper Flagg stands ready to take on the basketball world, his fans and collectors find themselves anointed as witnesses to his promise. Whether Halcyon days or legendary nights await remains a tale for the ages—and a story still brilliantly in the making.
