Cooper Flagg’s One-Of-One Rookie Debut Patch Autograph Card Pulled In Rhode Island

DALLAS — The most chased basketball card of the year is off the board. Topps announced Monday that the one-of-one Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card was found in Rhode Island, crediting the pull to RhodyBreakers, the break division of Baseball Cards of Rhode Island. The card came out of a live break on YouTube.

The card carries the patch from the jersey Flagg wore in his NBA debut on Oct. 22, 2025, along with his signature. It went into packs of 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball as a redemption, and the product reached hobby shops and retail shelves Thursday.

How the Card Reached Packs

Flagg signed the card in July at Fanatics Fest in New York, with ESPN’s Dan Hajducky first reporting the signing. Mike Mahan, the CEO of Fanatics Collectibles, told ESPN it was the most significant item ever signed at the event.

During the 2025-26 season, 99 players wore an NBA debut patch, and Topps put every one of those patches into the set. Autographs went on 93 of them. Six went into packs unsigned, because those players hold exclusive autograph agreements with other card manufacturers. V.J. Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the six.

Flagg said in July that he would consider buying the card himself once a collector pulled it. Flagg said any run at it would probably have to wait until his second contract.

“I was a little nervous,” Flagg said. “I’ve signed a lot of cards, but that one was a little nerve-wracking.”

The Bounties Waiting on the Other Side

Whoever holds the card now has an offer from the Dallas Mavericks sitting in front of them. The franchise announced a proposed trade Thursday under the title “1 of 1 for 32,” listing seven items on the collector’s side of the sheet: two lower-level season tickets for 32 years, a signed Flagg game-worn jersey, a postgame photo with Flagg, a private photo shoot with Flagg and the Larry O’Brien Trophy, a VIP tour of the Mavericks’ practice facility, a VIP tour of American Airlines Center, and a VIP road trip to the Mavericks’ game in Boston that covers airfare, hotel, and tickets.

It remains to be seen if the owner of the card will entertain the offer.

Auction house founder Ken Goldin made a different kind of offer before the card surfaced. Goldin said he would pay whoever pulled it a $1.5 million cash advance. His company would then take the card to auction on the owner’s behalf. Goldin said the target range there is $3 million to $5 million.

Sports Cards Investor founder Geoff Wilson put his original estimate on the card at roughly $1.5 million. Wilson told ESPN he had raised that figure to $5 million by the time Flagg signed at Fanatics Fest.

The benchmark for the format comes from baseball. Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes had his one-of-one MLB Rookie Debut Patch Autograph pulled by an 11-year-old collector in Los Angeles, and the card sold for $1.11 million at auction in March 2025. Pittsburgh made a team offer for that card as well, and the collector went to auction instead.

Before Monday, the highest price paid for any Flagg card was $366,000 in a March auction. The jersey he wore in the first half of his debut, the same jersey the patch was cut from, has already sold for $1 million.

Cooper Flagg’s Rookie Season

At the 2025 NBA Draft, Dallas used the first overall pick on Flagg. He appeared in 70 games as a rookie and started all 70. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 33.5 minutes per game. He shot 46.8% from the field, 29.5% from three-point range, and 82.7% from the free-throw line.

Against the Orlando Magic on April 4, Flagg scored 51 points, a career high. Voters named him Rookie of the Year, and he also made the All-Rookie team. Flagg holds the NBA record for the most 40-point games by a teenager.

Flagg turns 20 in December. He earned $13,825,920 in 2026 under his rookie-scale contract, which includes a $15.21 million team option for 2027-28.

The 2026-27 NBA regular season begins in October.