2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball Has One Big Thing Going For It

Many people have mixed feelings about the return of basketball to Topps after years with Panini. But the fun part is seeing some classic releases return to the sport after years of absence.

While Chrome was quickly the most anticipated, Topps Finest Basketball is also close to the top of the list. Unfortunately, the product is currently unlicensed by the NBA. However, Topps has the Players Association license, which helps make it more legit.

Topps has also gained exclusive access to some of the most enormous autos, which means some will consider buying these before the Panini license expires. Is that a good idea? Find out in our 2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball review.

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History of Topps Finest Basketball

The breakup of Topps’s monopoly and the emergence of several competitors challenged its dominance in the 1980s. However, Topps remained the most important company and generally the highest quality.

That changed in 1989 when Upper Deck released higher-quality cards on fantastic stock and with beautiful photographs. That meant that Topps had to up their game.

The inaugural release of Topps Finest in 1993 was one of the steps the company took to regain its advantage. It was their second premium release after Stadium Club (which was very similar to Upper Deck releases) had not entirely met expectations.

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In 1993-94, the set was first released for basketball after doing well in their initial baseball release. The cards were shiny and metallic and like nothing Topps had released before.

This was a limited release of 4,000 cases, and each pack cost $25, which was a fortune at the time. It was a success. The presence of refractors in the product was part of the secret of its popularity.

Is Finest past its peak

However, over time, the Finest advantage faded. Other chrome releases emerged, and other products introduced refractors. It went from being Topps’s most high-end release in its roster to one that is firmly mid-tier. The loss of basketball and football for Topps in 2009 was a further blow to the relevance of the release.

Somehow, Topps Finest looked right for basketball and didn’t quite have the same effect for baseball. These things are hard to explain but are true nonetheless. Topps Finest soldiered on for baseball and continued to have its adherents throughout.

The 2021-22 Topps Finest Basketball, released in a limited and veterans-only edition, brought this product back. But it was a dry run for the real thing. The 2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball has rookies and is a more complete release, though it is not fully licensed yet.

2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball release date

The release date for the product was January 23, 2024. That is well before the All-Star game and at the height of the season. This is a great time to release a mid-tier release like Topps Finest. Just kidding.

This 2023-24 release is coming out almost in 2025. The only excuse for it is that they want to get a Wemby auto into it. That will make people open it. However,

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2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball release format

So far, this is a hobby box-only release. There is no indication that it will be released in other formats this time. But we will keep an eye out in case that changes.  

Hobby Box

• 10 cards per pack
• 6 packs per box
• Look for 2 autograph cards, 6 uncommon base cards, 2 rare base cards, 2 base refractor parallel cards, 10 base card parallels, and 10 insert cards per box on average.  
• A box sells for $239.95

2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball pros

The release has the most important thing in its favor: Wemby autos. So far, the Spurs center is living up to all the hype and then some. Fanatics have managed to hurt Panini by depriving him of his autos with an exclusive contract. So this release is one of the opportunities to get his auto.

Having said that, these may not be the best option. The Chrome autos will probably be the gold standard when all is said and done.

Many of the classic inserts and designs have been revived for this launch. For example, the beloved Masters insert is back and looks a lot like it did in the good old days. Although some skeptics say it does not quite have the same charm.

Finally, the price is pretty good. Sure, it’s unlicensed, but that didn’t stop Topps from charging way more for a box of Chrome or Mercury. Considering that this product has on-card autos, we are surprised that it was released at $210 and has not increased that much.

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2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball cons

It is hard to get past the date when we look at the cons. If you were going to get a 2023-24 release out to capitalize on Wemby, there is really no reason it could not have come earlier.

Time is a lot more sensitive for this kind of thing than for the problematic 2023-24 Topps Mercury: Victor Wembanyama release. That was, and I don’t think anyone will disagree a fairly blatant cash grab.

While Finest was once a favorite, basketball fans have long forgotten it. They do not know the brand or have experience with it unless they are true veterans of the hobby. That means that the value of the cards is unlikely to be particularly high. Chrome will be king for Topps and Prizm for Panini, with Finest lagging far behind for both. The late date will not help much with that either.

I think the design is fairly mediocre, but the reception to it from most observers has been even less charitable.

One Blowout Forums user wrote, “Wow, somehow that base design is even worse than the TC crap,” to which another replied, “I agree with most that these cards are straight-up ugly. It’s like a cartoon/saved-by-the-bell version of what used to be a great set. These boxes should drop quick once the fast pump and dump from breakers/distributors is finished.”

Another problem is that the new release does not respect the heritage of the original Finest release. It does not include the tiers and many of the best classic inserts. That has made it difficult for Topps to rely on the old hands for this.

2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball checklist

The Topps Finest checklist is a large one with 300 cards. They are divided into the following categories:

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• Common – #1-100
• Uncommon – #101-200 (1:1 hobby packs)
• Rare – #201-300 (1:3 hobby packs)

The parallels

It comes with a good number of parallels. However, none of them are numbered.

• Checkerboard Refractors – (1:2 hobby)
• Refractors – (1:6 hobby, 1:2 breaker)
• Blue Refractors – (1:45 hobby, 1:2 breaker)
• Blue Checkerboard Refractors – (1:68 hobby, 1:3 breaker)
• Purple Checkerboard Refractors – (1:54 hobby, 1:3 breaker)
• Die-Cut Refractors – (1:90 hobby, 1:4 breaker)
• Gold Refractors – (1:133 hobby, 1:6 breaker)
• Gold Geometric Refractors – (1:4 breaker)
• Black Refractors – (1:266 hobby, 1:11 breaker)
• Black Geometric Refractors – (1:7 breaker)
• Red/Black Geometric Refractors – (1:8 breaker)
• Red/Black Vapor Refractors – (1:664 hobby, 1:26 breaker)
• Red Refractors – (1:1,328 hobby, 1:52 breaker)
• Red Geometric Refractors – (1:16 breaker)
• Superfractors – (1:6,495 hobby, 1:260 breaker)

Review of the 2023-24 Topps Finest rookie class

The rookie class is, of course, a very strong one. It contains the most significant NBA rookie since LeBron. The chances of him becoming a bust are getting increasingly narrow with each dominant game.

Even if he does end up flopping somehow, his prices remain strong well into his second year. Those who follow the card market know that is difficult to accomplish. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller has turned into a legit star with 21 points per game.

He is probably a couple of years away from making a more significant jump to center stage. People had high hopes for Jaime Jaquez Jr., but he has not developed the way we would like. Others like Derek Lively II show promise but aren’t there yet. It is fair to say that the draft class is top-heavy but does not have enough depth.

Review of the autos in Topps Finest Basketball 2023-24

The highlight of this release is the Wemby autos. Therefore, all eyes are on that. But there isn’t much in the way of selecting signed cards. We have Finest Autographs, Rookie Finest Autographs, Masters Autographs, and Flashback Autographs to choose from. Wemby features in the Rookie Finest and the Flashback Autographs.

There may not be that much variety. But the good news is that their autographs are on-card and beautiful.

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Review of the inserts

The common inserts in this product include Arrivals, Debut, Showstoppers, and Finishers. The first of these showcases the Rookies and is quite attractive.

There are numbered versions as well. They appeared in the older releases and are generally not worth much. Debut is another rookie insert with a more modern look. They are less attractive but are worth a bit more. Showstoppers will be remembered by anyone who collected Finest back in the day.

But the new versions simply lack the charm of their classic predecessors. Meanwhile, Finishers are the least impressive and valuable of the lot. However, there were some great Michael Jordan versions in the 1990s.

2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball value

Finest is traditionally a mid-end release. However, the current price point is surprisingly low, especially since it has on-card Wemby autos. That means that the chances for good value on this are high. But it’s hard to tell because the product has only recently been revived.

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Therefore, we have little to compare it to. Still, we will do our best with the limited information we have.

Wax

Let’s examine the performance of the two recent releases of Finest (which are very different) and see if we can learn anything from them.

The two unlicensed basketball releases perform very poorly. Much lower than I expected in both cases. However, despite being unlicensed, the 2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball release will perform closer to the baseball releases. It has on-card Wemby auto cards. So, the price of the hobby box will go over $300.

Singles

The 2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball product has already been released at the time of writing. That means we have a frame of reference and cards to look at. However, this is very preliminary. The new release has yet to find its place in the marketplace. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

The Wemby and LeBron autos somewhat underperform. In general, the singles here are not doing great. There is a sense that the market does not know what to make of these cards. These prices are lower than they should be and will go up.

Final word of the 2023-24 Topps Finest Basketball review

This new release has not been received with all that much enthusiasm in the hobby so far. A lot depends on how seriously Topps is planning to take this release.

Finest has much potential in basketball. It will never be the top release, but it could be among the leading ones if Topps keeps the number of products manageable and invests in better designs. Those are big ifs.

However, Finest has enough pedigree and upside to be an essential staple, especially if they keep the on-card autos, which work beautifully in the designs for this product.

Considering that this release has Wemby rookie autos, the current price of $240 seems like a bargain. This is a rare occasion for a fanatic release that is underhyped. Sure, the designs aren’t great, and it is not licensed, but that is why it doesn’t cost twice as much.

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