Knowing the best basketball rookie cards to get from each NBA season gives you a leg up on having an awesome collection of basketball cards! Something we like to do here is go through sports history to find out who is most collectable in each sport.
Many basketball card collectors have only come into the hobby in the past decade, or even in the past few years, interested in picking up older cards. Unfortunately, they don’t always know who to pick up. That’s where these articles come in!
I’ve gone through the vintage sets, dating back to the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. (There are surprisingly very few basketball card sets from those decades!) I tracked all the Fleer sets, including the landmark 1986 Fleer basketball set. I’ve searched through all the Topps years, starting in 1969 and ending in the 2009-2010 NBA season. I did the same for Upper Deck basketball cards, which ran from 1991 to 2009 also, which is when Panini got an exclusive license to produce NBA cards. I’ve examined each year to find the best basketball rookie cards to get from each NBA season going forward.
I used PSA’s card values, along with the listings on both CardboardConnection.com and DACardWorld.com to find the best rookie basketball cards worth owning.
Another reason I write these articles and do videos based around finding all the best rookie cards is because I like to buy older packs and older blasters, but I’m not always sure which rookies I should be hunting from which sets! Backfilling your collection is a common thing these days as so many people have returned to collecting after 20 or so years off. Buying singles is fun, but ripping older wax is ever more fun!
I will update this article frequently, as some player’s ascend in value and some decline. The most recent seasons will have a higher number of rookies to collect because we’re still waiting to see if they will fulfill their promise. As the seasons wear on, I’ll remove the rookies that have fallen by the wayside.
This only includes flagship sets, like Topps, Fleer, Prizm and Upper Deck. However, there are some sets not among that trio that hold specific rookie cards the others don’t have, and they deserve mentioning. For instance, David Robinson’s rookie card from the 1989 NBA Hoops set is certainly one worth collecting. But I won’t be referring to Topps Chrome, Finest, Fleer Ultra, Mosaic or any series like that. (Prizm became the flagship of Panini in 2012, so there are a few years when they weren’t the top set in basketball, despite Panini owning the license.)
Bolded Player Names indicate a top-three rookie card in that set. Most card images provided by BuySportsCards.com.
Most of the sports card links on this page will take you to eBay. That means I will get a commission on the sales from this page. If you end up buying from these links, I personally thank you for supporting my website! Even if you don’t buy anything, thank you for reading my article! Enjoy!
Or you can just scroll through the entire list below until you see something jump out at you!
Card images provided by BuySportsCards.com.
George Mikan (HOF) No. 69 – View on eBay! – To be fair, any rookie card – or any card at all – from the 1948 Bowman set is worth owning, but the most notable rookie card to get is George Mikan’s.
There were no notable sports card manufacturers making basketball cards between 1948 and 1957. Some smaller companies made some, which are certainly valuable, but not as ubiquitous as the cards from Topps, Fleer and other card companies.
Still a very new professional league, NBA cards took some time and some restarts before it took hold.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
George Yardley No. 2 – View on eBay!
Neil Johnson No. 3 – View on eBay!
Bill Sharman No. 5 – View on eBay!
Paul Arizin No. 10 – View on eBay!
Slater Martin No. 12 – View on eBay!
Dolph Schayes No. 13 – View on eBay!
Frank Ramsey No. 15 – View on eBay!
Dick McGuire No. 16 – View on eBay!
Bob Cousy No. 17 – View on eBay!
Tom Heinsohn (ROY) No. 19 – View on eBay!
Bob Pettit (ROY) No. 24 – View on eBay!
Ed Macauley No. 27 – View on eBay!
Vern Mikkelsen No. 28 – View on eBay!
Cliff Hagan No. 37 – View on eBay!
Tom Gola No. 44 – View on eBay!
Harry Gallatin No. 62 – View on eBay!
Jack Twyman No. 71 – View on eBay!
Bill Russell No. 77 – View on eBay!
Clyde Lovellette No. 78 – View on eBay!
Some major basketball stars all had their rookie cards come out in 1961 and 1969 because of all the years there were no cards.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Al Attles No. 1 – View on eBay!
Elgin Baylor (No. Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 3 – View on eBay!
Walt Bellamy (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 4 – View on eBay!
Wilt Chamberlain (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 8 – View on eBay!
Hal Greer No. 16 – View on eBay!
Richie Guerin No. 17 – View on eBay!
Bailey Howell No. 20 – View on eBay!
K.C. Jones No. 22 – View on eBay!
Sam Jones No. 23 – View on eBay!
Oscar Robertson (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 36 – View on eBay!
Guy Rodgers No. 37 – View on eBay!
Jerry West No. 43 – View on eBay!
Len Wilkens No. 44 – View on eBay!
These cards are considered “Tall Boys” because they are taller than the average Topps basketball cards.
Gail Goodrich (HOF) No. 2 – View on eBay!
Nate Thurmond (HOF) No. 10 – View on eBay!
Connie Hawkins (HOF) No. 15 – View on eBay!
John Havlicek (HOF) No. 20 – View on eBay!
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabar) (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 25 – View on eBay!
Billy Cunningham (HOF) No. 40 – View on eBay!
Bill Bradley (HOF) No. 43 – View on eBay!
Jerry Lucas (ROY, HOF) No. 45 – View on eBay!
Dave Bing (ROY, HOF) No. 55 – View on eBay!
Wes Unseld (ROY, HOF) No. 56 – View on eBay!
Willis Reed (ROY, HOF) No. 60 – View on eBay!
Lou Hudson (HOF) No. 65 – View on eBay!
Tom Sanders (HOF) No. 72 – View on eBay!
Elvin Hayes (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 75 – View on eBay!
Earl Monroe (ROY, HOF) No. 80 – View on eBay!
Don Nelson (HOF) No. 82 – View on eBay!
Hal Greer (HOF) No. 84 – View on eBay!
Dave DeBusschere (HOF) No. 85 – View on eBay!
Walt Frazier (HOF) No. 98 – View on eBay!
In an era where the ABA was competing with the NBA, the star power wasn’t quite as great as it could’ve been because of a diluted product.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
These cards are considered “Tall Boys” because they are taller than the average Topps basketball cards.
Pat Riley (HOF) No. 13 – View on eBay!
Don Chaney (HOF) No. 47 – View on eBay!
Pete Maravich (HOF) No. 123 – View on eBay!
Calvin Murphy (HOF) No. 137 – View on eBay!
Jo Jo White (HOF) No. 143 – View on eBay!
Jerry Sloan (HOF) No. 148 – View on eBay!
Spencer Haywood (HOF) No. 20 – View on eBay!
Nate Archibald (HOF) No. 29 – View on eBay!
Dave Cowens (ROY, HOF) No. 47 – View on eBay!
Bob Lanier (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 63 – View on eBay!
Rudy Tomjanovich (HOF) No. 91 – View on eBay!
Larry Brown No. 152 – View on eBay!
Rick Barry (HOF) No. 170 – View on eBay!
Charlie Scott (HOF) No. 190 – View on eBay!
Mel Daniels (HOF) No. 195 – View on eBay!
Dan Issel (HOF) No. 200 – View on eBay!
Louie Dampier (HOF) No. 224 – View on eBay!
Roger Brown (HOF) No. 225 – View on eBay!
This set is one of my all-time favorite sports card sets ever. From the beautiful and colorful design to the deep, deep checklist of Hall-of-Fame rookie cards, this set has something for everyone. I wrote up a more detailed review on the great 1972 Topps Basketball Card set here, if you’re interested in the rookie cards and the non-rookie cards that make this set stellar.
Phil Jackson (HOF) No. 32 – View on eBay!
Artis Gilmore (HOF) No. 180 – View on eBay!
George McGinnis (HOF) No. 183 – View on eBay!
Julius Erving (HOF) No. 195 – View on eBay!
Julius Erving All-Stars (HOF) No. 255 – View on eBay!
Paul Westphal (HOF) No. 126 – View on eBay!
Bob McAdoo (No. 1 Pick ABA, ROY, HOF) No. 135 – View on eBay!
Bill Walton (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 39 – View on eBay!
Doug Collins (No. 1 Pick) No. 129 – View on eBay!
George Gervin (HOF) No. 196 – View on eBay!
Spurs Team Leaders (Gervin) No. 227 – View on eBay!
George Karl (HOF) No. 257 – View on eBay!
Keith/Jamal Wilkes (ROY, HOF) No. 50 – View on eBay!
Moses Malone (HOF) No. 254 – View on eBay!
Bobby Jones (HOF) No. 298 – View on eBay!
These cards are considered “Tall Boys” because they are taller than the average Topps basketball cards.
David Thompson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 110 – View on eBay!
Adrian Dantley (ROY, HOF) No. 56 – View on eBay!
Robert Parish (HOF) No. 111 – View on eBay!
Daryl Dawkins No. 132 – View on eBay!
Bernard King (HOF) No. 75 – View on eBay!
Dennis Johnson (HOF) No. 78 – View on eBay!
Jack Sikma (HOF) No. 117 – View on eBay!
Alex English (HOF) No. 31 – View on eBay!
Now we’re getting into the era where we find rookie cards of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team stars.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
This set was unique in that it had three mini-cards on one regular-sized card. So three panels of three players make up just one card, which is cool and frustrating all at once. Much like PSA, I just list the best rookie cards from 1980 Topps by the player and not the card number (since each single card has three different card numbers on it.)
Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) / Cartwright / Drew – View on eBay!
Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) / Julius Erving / Magic Johnson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) – View on eBay!
Bridgeman / Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) / Brewer – View on eBay!
Brown / Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) / Brewer – View on eBay!
Maurice Cheeks (HOF) / Magic Johnson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) / Boone – View on eBay!
Maurice Cheeks (HOF) / Gervin AS / Chones – View on eBay!
Marques Johnson / Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) Leader / Sikma – View on eBay!
Long / Magic Johnson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) Leader / Boone – View on eBay!
May / Bird (ROY, HOF) Leader / Sikma – View on eBay!
Sidney Moncrief (HOF) / Abdul-Jabbar / Gale – View on eBay!
Van Breda Kolff / Erving / Magic Johnson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) – View on eBay!
The important takeaway here is that the players with rookie cards you want to target in this set are Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Maurice Cheeks and Sidney Moncrief.
Larry Bird (ROY, HOF) No. 4 – First Solo Card – View on eBay!
Magic Johnson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 21 – First Solo Card – View on eBay!
Bill Laimbeer No. 74 – View on eBay!
Kevin McHale (HOF) No. 75 – View on eBay!
Once again, we come to a landmark basketball card set that has a great design and an abundance of great rookie cards. I did a more detailed review on this 1986 Fleer Basketball card set here, and this set is considered the first real set of basketball cards produced by a major manufacturer in five years. (Star Cards did create some sets in between, but I chose not to include them for this exercise because they weren’t in regular packs — they came in team packs.) That means there are five years of NBA rookies who get their first card in this set – including, of course, Michael Jordan.
Considering six members of the 1992 NBA Dream Team, the greatest team ever assembled, have their rookie cards in this set, then you get a better understanding of its importance in the hobby.
Mark Aguirre (No. 1 Pick) No. 2 – View on eBay!
Danny Ainge No. 4 – View on eBay!
Charles Barkley (HOF) No. 7 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Manute Bol No. 12 – View on eBay!
Clyde Drexler (HOF) No. 26 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Joe Dumars (HOF) No. 27 – View on eBay!
Patrick Ewing (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 32 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Michael Jordan (HOF) No. 57 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Karl Malone (HOF) No. 68 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Chris Mullin (HOF) No. 77 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Akeem Olajuwon (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 82 – (Hakeem spelled his name this way back then, apparently.) – View on eBay!
Kurt Rambis No. 89 – View on eBay!
Ralph Sampson (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 97 – View on eBay!
Byron Scott No. 99 – View on eBay!
Isiah Thomas (HOF) No. 109 – View on eBay!
Spud Webb No. 120 – View on eBay!
Dominique Wilkins (HOF) No. 121 – View on eBay!
Kevin Willis No. 126 – View on eBay!
James Worthy (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 131 – View on eBay!
Many card collectors attempt to collect this entire 1986 Fleer Basketball set, so if that’s something you are considering, join the 1986 Fleer Basketball Facebook Group – it’s pretty awesome.
Detlef Schrempf No. 97 – View on eBay!
Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues No. 13 – View on eBay!
Dell Curry No. 14 – View on eBay!
Horace Grant No. 16 – View on eBay!
Scottie Pippen (HOF) No. 20 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Mark Price No. 25 – View on eBay!
Dennis Rodman (HOF) No. 43 – View on eBay!
John Salley No. 44 – View on eBay!
Reggie Miller (HOF) No. 57 – View on eBay!
Dwayne Washington No. 71 – View on eBay!
Mark Jackson (ROY) No. 82 – View on eBay!
Kenny Smith No. 100 – View on eBay!
John Stockton (HOF) No. 115 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
John Stockton All-Star (HOF) No. 127 – View on eBay!
I switched to NBA Hoops for this season because the major rookie of note is David Robinson, and this is where his rookie card resides.
David Robinson (No. 1 Pick 1987, ROY, HOF) No. 138 – DREAM TEAM – View on eBay!
Mitch Richmond (ROY, HOF) No. 260 – View on eBay!
Steve Kerr No. 351 – View on eBay!
The Junk Wax era brought many card manufacturers, just one decade after no one was making cards between 1982 and 1985.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Tim Hardaway (HOF) No. 63 – View on eBay!
Shawn Kemp No. 178 – View on eBay!
1990 Fleer Update:
Derrick Coleman (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. U-60 – View on eBay!
Dennis Scott No. U-68 – View on eBay!
Drazen Petrovic No. U-81 – View on eBay!
Gary Payton (HOF) No. U-92 – View on eBay!
I switched to Upper Deck for this season because the 1991 Fleer Basketball design is one of the worst ever. Also of note, you can buy the Michael Jordan rookie baseball SP1 card from the 1991 Upper Deck baseball product.
Larry Johnson (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. 2 – View on eBay!
Dikembe Mutombo No. 3 – View on eBay!
This is the first basketball card set from Topps since 1981, which is why we were mostly listing Fleer before this. Also, Topps came out with Topps Gold in 1992, which were unnumbered parallel cards back then.
Shaquille O’Neal (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 362 – View on eBay!
Alonzo Mourning No. 393 – View on eBay!
Chris Webber (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 224 – View on eBay!
Anfernee Hardaway No. 334 – View on eBay!
Tony Kukoc No. 316 – View on eBay!
An interesting set Topps came out with to go with this standard set was 1993 Topps Archives “The Rookies” 1981-1991. This was a set of cards that had would-be rookie cards from major NBA players from the years Topps didn’t produce basketball cards, in the design of the baseball cards from that year. So the would-be rookie card of Michael Jordan is done in the 1984 Topps Baseball design – and it’s pretty awesome. (You can buy a wax box of 1993 Topps Archives “The Rookies” on eBay for under $150.)
Jason Kidd (co-ROY, HOF) No. 37 – View on eBay!
Grant Hill (co-ROY, HOF) No. 211 – View on eBay!
Jalen Rose No. 378 – View on eBay!
Kevin Garnett (HOF) No. 237 – View on eBay!
Arvydas Sabonis (HOF) (drafted in 1986) – not available in Topps, but his 1995 Upper Deck RC is Card No. 267 – View on eBay!
Kobe Bryant (HOF) No. 138 – View on eBay!
Steve Nash No. 182 – View on eBay!
Allen Iverson (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 171 – View on eBay!
Ray Allen No. 217 – View on eBay!
Tim Duncan (No. 1 Pick, ROY, HOF) No. 115 – View on eBay!
Tracy McGrady No. 125 – View on eBay!
Paul Pierce No. 135 – View on eBay!
Dirk Nowitzki No. 154 – View on eBay!
Vince Carter (ROY) No. 199 – View on eBay!
Ron Artest No. 113 – View on eBay!
Elton Brand (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. 115 – View on eBay!
The impact of international players really started to affect both the NBA and basketball card collecting in the 2000s.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Kenyon Martin (No. 1 Pick) No. 125 – View on eBay!
Mike Miller (ROY) No. 129 – View on eBay!
Jamal Crawford No. 132 – View on eBay!
Pau Gasol (ROY, HOF) No. 223 – View on eBay!
Shane Battier No. 226 – View on eBay!
Richard Jefferson No. 233 – View on eBay!
Zach Randolph No. 239 – View on eBay!
Tony Parker No. 247 – View on eBay!
Gilbert Arenas No. 249 – View on eBay!
Yao Ming (No. 1 Pick) No. 185 – View on eBay!
Jay Williams No. 186 – View on eBay!
Amare Stoudemire (ROY) No. 193 – View on eBay!
Caron Butler No. 194 – View on eBay!
Carlos Boozer No. 217 – View on eBay!
Manu Ginobili – Topps Chrome No. 124 – View on eBay!
LeBron James (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. 221 – View on eBay!
Carmelo Anthony No. 223 – View on eBay!
Chris Bosh No. 224 – View on eBay!
Dwyane Wade No. 225 – View on eBay!
Kendrick Perkins No. 247 – View on eBay!
Dwight Howard (No. 1 Pick) No. 221 – View on eBay!
Andre Iguodala No. 229 – View on eBay!
Chris Paul (ROY) No. 224 – View on eBay!
Kyle Lowry No. 226 – View on eBay!
J.J. Redick No. 240 – View on eBay!
LaMarcus Aldridge No. 241 – View on eBay!
Rajon Rondo No. 251 – View on eBay!
Kevin Durant (ROY) No. 112 – View on eBay!
Derrick Rose (No. 1 Pick, ROY) – No. 196 – View on eBay!
Russell Westbrook – No. 199 – View on eBay!
Blake Griffin (No. 1 Pick in 2009, ROY) No. 316 – View on eBay!
James Harden No. 319 – View on eBay!
DeMar DeRozan No. 320 – View on eBay!
Stephen Curry No. 321 – View on eBay!
Panini takes the reigns from Topps and Upper Deck to become the sole manufacturer of NBA cards.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Topps lost their license to produce NBA cards after the 2009-10 NBA season, so we’ll refer to Panini products for the next decade or so.
John Wall (No. 1 Pick) No. 228 – View on eBay!
DeMarcus Cousins No. 232 – View on eBay!
Gordon Hayward No. 236 – View on eBay!
Paul George No. 237 – View on eBay!
As a result of the lockout during the 2011-12 season, Klay Thompson’s official rookie cards were not released until 2012-13 products. The same goes for Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Vucevic. So, we’re listing the top rookie cards from the 2011 Upper Deck SP Basketball set, but understand that these cards have the players in their college jerseys.
Kawhi Leonard No. 27 – View on eBay!
Klay Thompson No. 23 – View on eBay!
Nikola Vucevic No. 24 – View on eBay!
Panini Prizm began in 2012, and it’s now considered the flagship product of Panini’s suite of sets. Since this was the first Panini Prizm set, many players’ rookie cards are in this set, in spite of being drafted in previous years.
Kyrie Irving (ROY & No. 1 Pick for 2011) No. 201 – View on eBay!
Klay Thompson No. 203 – First in pro jersey – View on eBay!
Jimmy Butler No. 205 – View on eBay!
Kawhi Leonard No. 209 – First in pro jersey – View on eBay!
Kemba Walker No. 225 – View on eBay!
Anthony Davis (No. 1 Pick) No. 236 – View on eBay!
Bradley Beal No. 238 – View on eBay!
Damian Lillard (ROY) No. 245 – View on eBay!
Nikola Vucevic No. 267 — First in pro jersey – View on eBay!
Draymond Green No. 282 – View on eBay!
Rudy Gobert No. 41 – View on eBay!
C.J. McCollum No. 293 – View on eBay!
Giannis Antetokounmpo No. 290 – View on eBay!
Andrew Wiggins (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. 251 – View on eBay!
Joel Embiid No. 253 – View on eBay!
Aaron Gordon No. 254 – View on eBay!
Marcus Smart No. 256 – View on eBay!
Julius Randle No. 257 – View on eBay!
Zach Lavine No. 262 – View on eBay!
Devin Booker No. 308 – View on eBay!
D’Angelo Russell No. 322 – View on eBay!
Karl-Anthony Towns (ROY, No. 1 Pick) No. 328 – View on eBay!
Nikola Jokic No. 335 – View on eBay!
Myles Turner No. 340 – View on eBay!
Kristaps Porzingis No. 348 – View on eBay!
Ben Simmons (No. 1 Pick) (2017 ROY) No. 1 – View on eBay!
Malcolm Brogdon (ROY) No. 17 – View on eBay!
Jaylen Brown No. 44 – View on eBay!
Brandon Ingram No. 131 – View on eBay!
Jamal Murray No. 175 – View on eBay!
Pascal Siakam No. 220 – View on eBay!
Dejounte Murray No. 236 – View on eBay!
Damontas Sabonis No. 255 – View on eBay!
Markelle Fultz (No. 1 Pick) No. 1 – View on eBay!
Jayson Tatum No. 16 – View on eBay!
De’Aaron Fox No. 24 – View on eBay!
Bam Adebayo No. 51 – View on eBay!
John Collins No. 109 – View on eBay!
Donovan Mitchell No. 117 – View on eBay!
Lauri Markkanen No. 247 – View on eBay!
Kyle Kuzma No. 283 – View on eBay!
Lonzo Ball No. 289 – View on eBay!
Michael Porter Jr. No. 32 – View on eBay!
Anfernee Simons No. 61 – View on eBay!
Jaren Jackson Jr. No. 66 – View on eBay!
Trae Young No. 78 – View on eBay!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No. 184 – View on eBay!
DeAndre Ayton (No. 1 Pick) No. 279 – View on eBay!
Luka Doncic (ROY) No. 280 – View on eBay!
Zion Williamson (No. 1 Pick) No. 248 – View on eBay!
Ja Morant (ROY) No. 249 – View on eBay!
R.J. Barrett No. 250 – View on eBay!
Coby White No. 253 – View on eBay!
Tyler Herro No. 259 – View on eBay!
Brandon Clarke No. 266 – View on eBay!
Jordan Poole No. 272 – View on eBay!
Keldon Johnson No. 273 – View on eBay!
Darius Garland No. 288 – View on eBay!
Nic Claxton No. 292 – View on eBay!
As the legends slow down, we start to see yet another new group of superstars begin to develop — just in time for Topps to regain the NBA card licenses.
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Devin Vassell No. 252 – View on eBay!
Tyrese Maxey No. 256 – View on eBay!
Anthony Edwards (No. 1 Pick) No. 258 – View on eBay!
Tyrese Haliburton No. 262 – View on eBay!
LaMelo Ball (ROY) No. 278 – View on eBay!
Obi Toppin No. 280 – View on eBay!
Saddiq Bey No. 284 – View on eBay!
Patrick Williams No. 288 – View on eBay!
Cole Anthony No. 292 – View on eBay!
Immanuel Quickley No. 296 – View on eBay!
Desmond Bane No. 297 – View on eBay!
Austin Reaves No. 165 – View on eBay!
Cade Cunningham (No. 1 Pick) No. 282 – View on eBay!
Quentin Grimes No. 285 – View on eBay!
Cam Thomas No. 297 – View on eBay!
Josh Giddey No. 301 – View on eBay!
Jalen Green No. 306 – View on eBay!
Jonathan Kuminga No. 307 – View on eBay!
Franz Wagner No. 310 – View on eBay!
Jalen Suggs No. 314 – View on eBay!
Alperen Sengun No. 318 – View on eBay!
Scottie Barnes (ROY) No. 320 – View on eBay!
Evan Mobley No. 325 – View on eBay!
Herbert Jones No. 330 – View on eBay!
Andrew Nembhard No. 227 – View on eBay!
Jabari Smith Jr. No. 228 – View on eBay!
Walker Kessler No. 234 – View on eBay!
Jalen Duren No. 239 – View on eBay!
Keegan Murray No. 245 – View on eBay!
Jalen Williams No. 246 – View on eBay!
Paolo Banchero (No. 1 Pick, ROY) No. 249 – View on eBay!
Shaedon Sharpe No. 250 – View on eBay!
Benedict Mathurin No. 254 – View on eBay!
Jaden Ivey No. 256 – View on eBay!
Jeremy Sochan No. 263 – View on eBay!
Chet Holmgren No. 266 – View on eBay!
Also, I posted a more thorough breakdown of Victor Wembanyama rookie cards here!
Victor Wembanyama (No. 1 Pick) No. 136 – View on eBay!
Brandin Podziemski No. 147 – View on eBay! (Thanks to Anthony G for catching that I missed Podz!)
Brandon Miller No. 152 – View on eBay!
Scoot Henderson No. 141 – View on eBay!
Amen Thompson No. 150 – View on eBay!
Ausar Thompson No. 178 – View on eBay!
Anthony Black No. 170 – View on eBay!
Bilal Coulibaly No. 153 – View on eBay!
Jarace Walker No. 168 – View on eBay!
Taylor Hendricks No. 161 – View on eBay!
Dereck Lively No. 163 – View on eBay!
Gradey Dick No. 134 – View on eBay!
Jaime Jaquez Jr. No. 137 – View on eBay!
Cam Whitmore No. 129 – View on eBay!
Jared McCain No. 222 – View on eBay!
Nikola Topic No. 230 – View on eBay!
Devin Carter No. 231 – View on eBay!
Stephon Castle (ROY) No. 234 – View on eBay!
Dalton Knecht No. 238 – View on eBay!
Jaylen Wells No. 239 – View on eBay!
Bronny James Jr. No. 243 – View on eBay!
Bub Carrington No. 244 – View on eBay!
Zach Edey No. 249 – View on eBay!
Rob Dillingham No. 250 – View on eBay!
Matas Buzelis No. 252 – View on eBay!
Tristan da Silva No. 256 – View on eBay!
Alex Sarr No. 264 – View on eBay!
Zaccharie Risacher (No. 1 Pick) No. 265 – View on eBay!
Reed Sheppard No. 268 – View on eBay!
Ron Holland II No. 269 – View on eBay!
Fanatics and Topps finally got the full licensing back for basketball cards in October of 2025, and this set came out on Opening Night!
Quick Links: 1957 | 1961-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-09 | 2010-19 | 2020-
Best Baseball Rookie Cards | Best Football Rookie Cards | Best Hockey Rookie Cards
This is a living document, which means I will be adding and removing rookie cards from this list of the Best Basketball Rookie Cards as the seasons progress. My hope is you readers will also help me fill in holes I might have, like who I am missing, or who you think is worthy of being listed! Email me at gonoscards@gmail.com and let me know!
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