Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson and every other player from the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks suiting up for the NBA Finals will sport a special patch on their jersey to commemorate the United States’ 250th birthday.
Fanatics-owned Topps announced Monday that those patches will be removed after each game of the series, and a selection of them will be inserted into a limited number of basketball cards to be featured in a future set.
It’s become a staple for Topps and a variety of major sports leagues to collaborate on unique, game-used patch trading cards to mark special moments. For the NBA, that began this season with Topps acquiring the exclusive license to create the league’s trading cards in October 2025.
BREAKING: Every player in the 2026 NBA Finals will wear a USA 250 patch on their jersey. The patches will be removed after each game, with select game-worn patches later featured inside ultra-rare trading cards 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xLwC4YAhe6
— Topps (@Topps) June 1, 2026
In addition to the USA 250 patch, last season’s NBA award winners have been wearing gold NBA Logoman patches on their jerseys throughout this season, with some of the patches being included in cards in the 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball set. The redemption card for the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander one-of-a-kind autographed gold NBA Logoman MVP card is up for auction at Goldin, with bidding currently at nearly $415,000, including the buyer’s premium. This season’s rookies also wore Debut Patches in their first regular-season appearance, which will go into a future set.
With Wembanyama cards skyrocketing in value amidst the Spurs’ current playoff run, most notably with the record $5.11 million sale of his one-of-one 2023 Panini Prizm Black rookie card last week, this will add another high-value card of his into the mix for collectors. A card containing a game-worn patch from his first Finals appearance could command another seven-figure price.
The USA 250 patches were previously announced in January, with plans for participants in other sports within the Fanatics licensing sphere to wear patches on jerseys. It began during Super Bowl LX with players from the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The program will continue during specific events throughout the summer, like the MLB All-Star Game in July.
In an image posted on social media by Topps, the USA 250 patch was shown to be placed above the Nike Swoosh on the front of the jersey. The NBA Finals patch will once again be on the back of players’ jerseys.
The NBA Finals USA 250 patches are the first ones to be announced that will be attached to trading cards.
“Sports have always played an important role in America’s rich history, uniting communities and shaping culture,” Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said in a statement in January when the creation of the patches was first announced. “We’re honored to help bring commemorative USA 250 patches and fan apparel to life across many of the biggest sports moments this year.”
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
.webp?ssl=1 "Funniest moment, best radio message and much more – F1’s 2025 alternative awards")
