No, Topps doesn’t have a license to produce cards of current NBA players. Not yet, anyway. However, the Fanatics-owned company is making good on an announcement they made earlier this year: they are putting out a Finest Basketball product for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when they did have a license with the NBA and its players.
Say what?
2021-22 Topps Finest Basketball is mostly about the retired guys. The company cobbled together a group of several dozen former pros in street clothes and made some autograph deals to produce a checklist that includes some big names and some guys you only remember if you were a pretty serious NBA fan 15 or 20 years ago. It’s a group heavy on guys who were active in the 1990s and 2000s.
The product isn’t available to distributors or hobby shops. It’s being sold as an online exclusive for $129.99 per box and a limit of three boxes per customer via this page on Topps’ website. The sale opened to Montgomery Club members on Tuesday and to the general public on Wednesday morning.
Each box contains 18 packs of four cards and with a 60-player base set checklist, you’ll have a fair shot at owning a complete set with a single box. There are parallels, but Topps hasn’t indicated how many. Each box contains one autographed card done on Chrome stock.
Not having a league license, Topps had to get creative with photos. There’s Dirk Nowitzki in a suit.
Isiah Thomas in a fur coat.
Shaq in street clothes.
Kevin Garnett, Dominique Wilkins, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman, Grant Hill and Allen Iverson are among the big names, but guys like Adonal Foyle and Earl Boykins are here too. There’s also a card of Mikey Williams, a high school standout.
A total of 55 players signed for Finest.
2021-22 Topps Finest Basketball Checklist
BASE CARDS
1 Cole Anthony
2 Allen Iverson
3 Greg Anthony
4 Joe Dumars
5 Kevin Garnett
6 Larry Johnson
7 Latrell Sprewell
8 Larry Nance Sr.
9 Joe Smith
10 Dennis Rodman
11 Isiah Thomas
12 Vlade Divac
13 Randy Brown
14 Ron Harper
15 Allan Houston
16 Jerome Lane
17 Kenny Anderson
18 Corie Blount
19 Anfernee Hardaway
20 Gary Payton
21 Dominique Wilkins
22 Kurt Rambis
23 Larry Hughes
24 Mike Bibby
25 Steve Kerr
26 Isaiah Rider
27 Toni Kukoc
28 Glen Rice
29 Dennis Hopson
30 Dell Curry
31 Hersey Hawkins
32 Jason Kidd
33 Grant Hill
34 Shaquille O’Neal
35 Robert Horry
36 Brad Sellers
37 Juwan Howard
38 Steve Nash
39 Detlef Schrempf
40 Shawn Kemp
41 Dirk Nowitzki
42 James Worthy
43 Danny Manning
44 Horace Grant
45 Willie Anderson
46 Jason Richardson
47 B.J. Armstrong
48 Vinny Del Negro
49 Scott Burrell
50 Tim Hardaway
51 Steve Smith
52 John Starks
53 Dan Majerle
54 Earl Boykins
55 Dikembe Mutombo
56 Gheorghe Mureșan
57 Damon Stoudamire
58 Vince Carter
59 Jeff Hornacek
62 Adonal Foyle
AUTOGRAPH CARDS
FA-AF Adonal Foyle
FA-AH Allan Houston
FA-AI Allen Iverson
FA-BA B.J. Armstrong
FA-BS Brad Sellers
FA-CB Corie Blount
FA-DCR Dell Curry
FA-DH Dennis Hopson
FA-DM Dikembe Mutombo
FA-DMJ Dan Majerle
FA-DN Dirk Nowitzki
FA-DR Dennis Rodman
FA-DS Detlef Schrempf
FA-DST Damon Stoudamire
FA-DW Dominique Wilkins
FA-EB Earl Boykins
FA-GH Grant Hill
FA-GM Gheorghe Muresan
FA-GP Gary Payton
FA-GR Glen Rice
FA-HG Horace Grant
FA-HH Hersey Hawkins
FA-IT Isiah Thomas
FA-JB Jud Buechler
FA-JD Joe Dumars
FA-JH Jeff Hornacek
FA-JHW Juwan Howard
FA-JK Jason Kidd
FA-JL Jerome Lane
FA-JRC Jason Richardson
FA-JS John Starks
FA-JW James Worthy
FA-KA Kenny Anderson
FA-KG Kevin Garnett
FA-KR Kurt Rambis
FA-LJ Larry Johnson
FA-LN Larry Nance Sr.
FA-LS Latrell Sprewell
FA-MB Mike Bibby
FA-MW Mikey Williams
FA-PH Anfernee Hardaway
FA-RB Randy Brown
FA-RH Ron Harper
FA-SB Scott Burrell
FA-SK Shawn Kemp
FA-SKR Steve Kerr
FA-SN Steve Nash
FA-SO Shaquille O’Neal
FA-SS Steve Smith
FA-TH Tim Hardaway
FA-TK Toni Kukož
FA-VC Vince Carter
FA-VD Vlade Divac
FA-VDN Vinny Del Negro
FA-WA Willie Anderson
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