Topps Chrome Basketball is officially out, and the early hobby conversation is already snapping back to one name: San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. With the 2025-26 product now on sale, collectors are diving into a fresh Chrome release that includes Wembanyama autographs, parallels, and multiple chase-style inserts.
The reason the release matters isn’t complicated: Wembanyama’s card market is already one of the biggest in the sport, and new supply tends to create immediate waves, especially when the checklist is loaded with top rookies, current stars, and legends.
Topps Chrome Basketball Is Out And Wembanyama Is in the Middle of the Chase
Topps is marketing 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball around a 299-card base set and a “rainbow” of parallels, plus new inserts and autograph chases that include Wembanyama alongside names like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
For collectors trying to keep it simple: retail formats are built around quick rips and parallel hunting. On the Topps product page for the Value Box, the company lists 4 cards per pack and 7 packs per box, and calls out exclusive red, white and blue parallels as a key chase.
Locally in San Antonio, the release timing has already been framed as part of a broader Spurs-driven hobby surge, with one shop telling the San Antonio Express-News that Wembanyama still has a major presence in the new Chrome series (including multiple card designs).
Why Wembanyama’s Card Market Is Already Different
Even before this Chrome drop, Wembanyama’s footprint in the grading ecosystem was massive. The San Antonio Express-News cited more than 560,000 Wembanyama cards graded, referencing GemRate, as a marker of just how deep the market is for the Spurs star.
And the high-end ceiling is very real. In February 2025, KSAT reported a 2023-24 Panini Prizm Nebula Choice 1/1 Wembanyama rookie card sold for $860,100 at auction—at the time a record public sale for a Wembanyama card.
That doesn’t mean every new Chrome Wemby is going to “go crazy.” But it does explain why release week tends to be loud: new Chrome autos and serial-numbered parallels create instant chase behavior, while the market scrambles to establish “first comps” for the biggest hits.
Wembanyama is a chase because he’s the rare “unicorn” who actually produces like one. He’s 7-foot-4 and, through 131 career games has him at 22.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.7 blocks per game, the kind of all-around stat profile that turns every new parallel or autograph into a must-see pull.
And it’s not just empty volume: even coming off a calf issue on a minutes limit, he was putting up 15 points, 8 boards and 4 blocks in 17 minutes in his return, which is exactly why collectors keep treating fresh Topps Chrome Wemby hits like instant centerpiece cards.
Topps Adds a New Twist: The Chrome MVP Buyback Program
One of the more interesting mechanics attached to this drop is Topps’ Chrome MVP Buyback program.
Topps says participating hobby shops will offer store credit for eligible 2025 Topps Chrome Basketball base and base parallels of the eventual 2025-26 Kia MVP, once the award is announced.
Topps also spells out the credit tiers on its site: $20 for base cards, $40 for Refractors, $100 for numbered parallels greater than /100, and $200 for numbered parallels less than /100.
Timeline-wise, Topps says the program will begin shortly after the MVP is announced in Spring 2026 and run for roughly three months.
In other words: beyond the Wembanyama chase, this release comes with a built-in reason for collectors to pay attention to MVP-level stars all season.
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