Few cards have captivated the hobby like the Topps NOW triple autograph 1/1 featuring LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
The card has yet to surface publicly, and the hobby has had plenty of questions about the future of it once it does.
Here’s everything you need to know about the card and the chase so far.
What is Topps NOW?
Topps NOW is a print-to-demand program that attempts to capture important moments as they happen across a number of sporting events. While traditional card releases often come out long after the moments they show, Topps NOW cards are designed and put up for sale shortly after an event happens.
Collectors can purchase Topps NOW cards during a limited release window, and Topps prints the exact number of cards that were purchased after the release window closes. In addition to the original base card that is purchased, parallels and other chases are sometimes included with select orders.
What is the viral Topps NOW 1/1 card?
The card that has captured the attention of the collecting community is 2024 Olympic Games Topps NOW Card 26, which depicts LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant on a card to celebrate Team USA’s victory over France in the men’s basketball gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics.
The base card could be purchased for $11.99 with discounts available on bulk orders.
Why is it so popular?
While the base card would likely be popular on its own, this particular Topps NOW release features a tremendous chase card — a 1/1 triple autograph featuring James, Curry and Durant. The 1/1 triple autograph, like other parallels, will be included with one random order.
Interest in the base card exploded when Topps announced the sweepstakes for the triple autograph, and collectors purchased a Topps NOW-record 588,035 base cards chasing it.
In addition to being James’ first autograph under the Topps brand — he had previously signed exclusively for Upper Deck — the 1/1 triple autograph is the first to feature autographs for James and Curry on the same card.
Has the triple autograph been pulled yet?
No, though an image variation Gold 1/1 was pulled by a father and his 8-year-old son.
Will the triple autograph be delivered with the winning order?
Yes, but also no. The physical triple autograph itself won’t be delivered with the winning order. Instead, a redemption for the card will be included, and the winner will turn that redemption into Topps to receive the card at a later date.
This has become a common practice for Topps in an attempt to protect the cards by avoiding including them with the regular population. These high-dollar cards can be delivered more securely when shipped alone than when packaged alongside other cards.
This also gives Topps additional time to secure all three autographs.
How much is the triple autograph worth?
If sold at auction, it’s hard to know. What has made the chase for the 1/1 triple autograph particularly interesting, however, is the number of bounty offers that have been placed on the card.
The run of bounties started with Sports Card Investor founder Geoff Wilson, who offered $100,000 and a “VIP experience” for the card.
Goldin founder and CEO Ken Goldin topped that bounty just three days later with an offer of $150,000 as a non-refundable cash advance while placing the card in Lot No. 1 of Goldin’s next Elite Auction. Goldin also offered the chance to be included in his Netflix show, “King of Collectibles,” if the seller desired.
Wilson later bumped his offer as part of a deal with Fanatics Collect and Sotheby’s that would place the card in the upcoming “Holy Grails” auction. Wilson would place a $250,000 irrevocable bid on the card, guaranteeing it would sell for at least that much, but had the chance to go higher.
Hobby shop Grand Slam Collectibles followed Wilson and Goldin by offering $500,000 for the card, as long as all three signatures secured perfect grades from PSA or BGS.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo even made an initial offer of $150,000 for the card, but later said he’d double the highest bounty offer. Antetokounmpo’s latest offer, which would be for $1 million, is currently the highest.
What other parallels are available?
In addition to the base card, there are a number of parallels that can be included with each order. Every collector will receive the base cards originally purchased, while image variations and parallels will be included randomly with select orders.
Image variations of the original card are considered short prints, while parallels include Pearl /199, Black /99, Blue /49, Stars & Stripes /24, Red /10, Orange /5 and Gold /1.
The 1/1 triple autograph is considered one of the parallels.
What are the Topps NOW packs, and why are they selling for so much?
In addition to the base card, some orders have received sealed packs that contain parallels, variations and possibly the 1/1 triple autograph. These packs have exploded in price on the secondary market, with some selling for more than $3,000.
What should collectors do with the base card?
While only one lucky collector will come away with the 1/1 triple autograph, thousands will be new owners of the base card or one of its parallels. But what should you do with it? That’s truly up to you and your personal goals.
If you only purchased the card as a lottery ticket for the triple autograph, consider selling it. Outside of a numbered parallel, it will be difficult to recoup the initial $11.99, but something is better than nothing.
Topps NOW cards typically aren’t as popular as pack-pulled cards from traditional releases, but there are some that have sold well on the secondary market. Though they have much lower print runs, PSA 10 examples for cards featuring Shohei Ohtani regularly sell for $100 or more.
A Victor Wembanyama Topps NOW card, with a print run of nearly 49,000, has also recently sold for $75 as a PSA 10. This isn’t to say that you should grade the base cards, but there’s a precedent that Topps NOW cards can sell for a solid return if they secure a high grade.
It’s also fine to just keep the base card as-is, as it represents a specific moment in sports history that you might want to remember.
No, you didn’t pull the 1/1 triple autograph, but the chase for it could be something you think fondly of years from now.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.