NBA fans and collectors turned to Rhode Island Monday night. That’s an odd sentence since there’s no team located in the country’s smallest state, but a local card shop in Rhode Island pulled star rookie Cooper Flagg’s best card in existence for one of its customers.
The sports-card world, affectionately known as “the hobby,” coveted Flagg’s one-of-one rookie debut patch autograph hidden within the Topps Chrome Update Basketball set which released on Thursday. The card includes the “NBA debut” patch that Flagg wore on his jersey during his first game on Oct. 22, 2025. Flagg signed the card at Fanatics Fest last month and even admitted he was “a little nervous” to do so.
BREAKING: The 1-of-1 Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card has just been found in Rhode Island.
— Topps (@Topps) August 11, 2026
📸: RhodyBreakers pic.twitter.com/2WuB4xn8zq
Cooper Flagg just signed his 1-of-1 NBA Debut Patch Autograph card: "I'm a little nervous" 😅 pic.twitter.com/afhIElO2B7
— Topps (@Topps) July 17, 2026
NBA debut patch autographs are the chase of the Topps Chrome Update set and Flagg is the crown jewel as last year’s top pick and Rookie of the Year winner who’s already begun an ascent into superstardom. RhodyBreakers, who operates within Baseball Cards of Rhode Island in North Kingstown, R.I., ran a card break that included three hobby boxes of Topps Chrome Update. One of which included Flagg’s debut.
A card break consists of numerous customers pooling together to buy portions of a set number of boxes to be opened, which can be more affordable than buying a box of the product outright. Especially if you are a fan of a specific team or player. In this case, buyers picked and paid for their chosen teams and would subsequently receive all cards from the team(s) pulled from the boxes.
The Mavericks’ spot is the most pricey because it includes Flagg, this year’s top rookie, and the buyer paid $515 for the spot that ultimately led to the top card in the entire product. On RhodyBreakers’ YouTube stream, the breakers said that the buyer plans to fly to their shop on Tuesday to pick up the card in person. Before the card was pulled, bounties were lined up for the person who eventually found it.
The Mavericks put forth an offer for the card which included numerous perks and Ken Goldin offered a huge cash advance to the eventual owner to auction the card at Goldin.
Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut patch autograph card changed one collector’s life
Simply put, this Flagg card is so coveted and worth a life-changing sum because it’s his best card in existence. The card includes the NBA debut patch that was on his jersey during his first game, his autograph and it’s the only one in the universe. Flagg was the clear top prospect in the 2025 NBA draft and he went on to average 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and earned Rookie of the Year honors over his rookie season with the Mavs.
Since it’s the superstar’s best card and he’s the top rookie, the Mavs prepared a significant offer centered around team perks. The team’s offer included two premium lower-level season tickets for 32 years (akin to Flagg’s jersey number), a signed game-worn jersey, a postgame photo with Flagg, among other perks at American Airlines Center.
WANTED: THE ONE OF ONE.
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) August 6, 2026
The Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph Card is officially out there.
If you have it, we want it. Claim the bounty. Good luck! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/5CFPTQSyfc
The Pirates prepared a similar offer for star pitcher Paul Skenes’s debut patch autograph, which the owner turned down and sold the card at auction for $1.11 million. Since cards of this nature hold an extreme monetary value, plenty of serious collectors and auction houses put out bounties of their own for the coveted Flagg card.
Goldin offered a $1.5 million cash advance to the owner to auction the card, hoping to net the buyer somewhere between $3 and $5 million. The 2025–26 Topps Chrome Update set includes the first-ever NBA rookie debut patch autographs, which makes the eventual value of Flagg’s unknown. Sports Card Investor founder Geoff Wilson told ESPN at Fanatics Fest that he believes the card could be worth up to $5 million.
“When Paul Skenes' sold for $1.11 million last year, that really opened collectors up to the potential of rookie debut patch autograph cards,” Wilson said. “I said, when Flagg has one and it sells, it'll exceed that, maybe $1.5 million.
“Now? Five million. It's definitively his best card.”
On the RhodyBreakers YouTube stream, the card breakers said there was a vetted and legitimate offer presented after the pull which offered $3.5 million for the Flagg card. Not a bad return on a $515 purchase. However, since there’s only one Flagg debut within endless boxes and packs, it was a generational hit for the lucky collector.
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
MORE NBA FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
- NBA’s Opening Night Schedule Includes One Big, Unnecessary Change That Makes No Sense
- Ben Simmons Angling for NBA Comeback: How Real Is It and Which Teams Could Be Interested?
- The Late Don Nelson Changed the NBA Forever With Four Landmark Innovations
- Why the Nuggets Should Keep Peyton Watson Amid Financial Constraints, Sign-and-Trade Rumors
