The 2025–26 NBA Top Shot Roadmap: The New Era Starts Now

NBA Top Shot is stepping into a new era. This season will be built on scarcity and a renewed commitment to the collectors who have believed in this product from the start. This roadmap is more than just a plan; it’s a statement of intent.

This roadmap puts collectors first through scarcity, transparent communication, and new releases that make collecting more fun than ever before.
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This season, scarcity is at the foundation for NBA Top Shot. It drives the chase, the thrill of the pull, and collecting the things you love. Every mint, across every tier, has been tightened to bring real weight back to collecting. The goal is simple: make every Moment matter. Every Common, Rare, and Legendary Set will see reduced mint counts across the board. Let’s start with the rookies.

Rookie Scarcity

Rookies matter in sports collecting. They’re the pulls you hope for, the players you back early, and the collectibles that define your collection.

• Common Rookies: can only appear in:
  
  • Rookie Debut: /1000, with /99 and /50 parallels.
    
    • Total Possible Commons: 1149 (down from 4000)
• Rare Rookies: will appear in just three regular season sets, with each edition minted to /129 with /25 and /10 parallels.
  
  • Freshman Gems
  • Origins
  • Metallic Gold LE
    
    • Total Possible Rares: 492 (down from 897)
      
      
• Legendary Rookies: Each Rookie will receive just 1 Legendary edition this regular season, contained within:
  
  • Rookie Revelation: /29 with /5 and /1 parallels (down from /75)
    
    • Total Possible Regular Season Legendaries: 35 (down from 125)
      
      

Ultimate Rookies: Ultimate 1-of-1’s make their return, featuring full game reels of NBA debuts. For select rookie partners (more on those below), we’ll also have exclusive Signature Series 1-of-1s with custom inscribed messages.

Fandom Rookies: Rookies will not appear in the Fandom tier this regular season.

Example: Cooper Flagg

To show the impact of these changes, here is the maximum number of Moments any single rookie (like Cooper Flagg) will receive in the 2025-26 regular season:

The Rookie Upgrade Ladder

The path from Common to Rare and Rare to Legendary is back to reward stacking and engagement:

• Common to Rare: Trade-In Rookie Debuts to earn Rare Rookie Moments from each of the three Rare Sets Rookies can appear in. 
• Rare to Legendary: Rookie Moments from 2025-26 in Freshman Gems, MGLE, and Origins will be eligible to upgrade into Legendary Rookie Revelation Moments. 

Signature Season: Autographs are Here

Autographs are coming to NBA Rookie Moments.

NBA Top Shot has partnered with 25+ rookies in the class working on custom collaborations fans will love.

Rookie Signature Series

Four top Rookies have partnered to create the first-ever set of custom inscribed 1-of-1 Rookie Moments.

• Cooper Flagg: Signature Series
• VJ Edgecombe: Signature Series
• Yang Hansen: Signature Series
• Kon Knueppel: Signature Series

These sets will feature unique 1-of-1 Moments, each equipped with a custom unique inscription. Each of the four players above will have five unique 1-of-1s in their set, including the top fan of each player at the end of the season receiving an exclusively inscribed “My top fan” 1-of-1 Moment from this set. 

A portion of these 1-of-1s will be used to support Trade-in Auctions or other scarcity-centric campaigns throughout the season. In the hypothetical event that any of our other rookie partners has a big season (Rising Star, All-Rookie team, etc), they too may be eligible for a Signature Series collaboration. 

Non-Rookie Scarcity

Veterans, All-Stars, and MVP candidates will also see tighter supply than ever before; with each tier recalibrating to bring lasting value and clear collecting purpose.

Common (Non-Rookies):

• Base Set: /4000, plus a /99 parallel (down from /8,000)
• All other Common Sets: capped at /1000, plus /99 and /50 parallels for the regular season.

Rare (Non-Rookies):

• Rare Sets capped at /284 (parallels included) or less for the regular season

Fandom (Non-Rookies):

• The Introduction of NBA Top Shot This, our set for viral instant Moments, all minted to demand.  

Legendary (Non-Rookies):

• No Legendary mint count will exceed /50 (parallels included) for the regular season.

Ultimate (Non-Rookies):

• Two new Ultimate-tier sets debut this season:
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  • Skyline: 1-of-1
  • Kingmaker: 1-of-1

A complete list of Sets for the upcoming season is outlined below. 

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From the Court to Your Collection ASAP

For viral, internet-breaking plays, collectors can expect those Moments to go from the court to their collections as fast as possible, capturing the emotional thrill of being a fan while keeping overall supply scarce. The “Top Shot This" set is your Fandom home for the types of plays that have you jumping out of your seat and spamming the group chat.

These Moments will be shock dropped throughout the season as open edition Moments with scarce parallels at /5, /25, and /99.

Additionally, 100 of each Top Shot This edition will be minted and set aside for Leaderboard airdrops.

In addition to the Fandom shock drops, we plan to drop premium Moments from other sets instantly, as well.

BURNING, AND LOTS OF IT

This is going to be the season of burning across the board. With the return of Trade-In Auctions for premium Moments and serials and the return of Trade Tickets, there’ll be consistent reasons to burn both premium and Common Moments often. 

The party starts today. All Common Moments minted past /9999 that are sitting in our inventory will be burned today.

On top of that, to celebrate the season opener, collectors can trade in Rare and Legendary Moments for Top Shot Credit for a limited time.

All collectors have an opportunity to trade in Moments from their collections in exchange for Top Shot credit. Collectors can burn up to $500 in Average Sale Price (ASP) from their collections and receive that amount in Top Shot credit in return.

Here’s how it’ll work:

1. Starting at 4 PM ET today, collectors can submit Rare or Legendary NBA Moments from their collections into the Trade-In Auction
2. Collectors can earn up to $500 (based on the Average Sale Price of the Moments submitted)
3. If you submit $600 in ASP, you will receive $500 in credit. If you submit $450 in ASP, you will receive $450 in credit. 
4. This Trade-In for Credit will remain open until $50,000 of ASP has been burned.

This opportunity is open for a limited time, so don’t miss your chance to participate. All Moments traded in during this activation will be burned. Again, the event begins at 4 PM ET. Submit your entry today.

Rarity Reimagined: The Parallel Philosophy

This season, parallels offer collectors a whole new way to collect. When parallels originally launched on NBA Top Shot, they left something to be desired and have been used sparingly ever since. The team has spent significant time researching, talking to trading card collectors, and designing clear areas for improvement. This season features a completely redesigned parallel system focused on consistency, scarcity, and incredible artwork. 

Parallel Tiers and Mint Counts

Across parallels, the video and set art will stay the same within a set. The Player Panel and the Mint Counts themselves will vary and become more visually striking as they become scarcer.

The Club Collection Exception: The Base Set will be the only Common tier that only features one parallel, called the Club Collection. This makes it the premier chase for team collectors within the Common tier.

Your Moments, Forever

Earlier today, the NBA, NBPA, and Dapper Labs announced every Top Shot collectible comes with on-chain permanence.

This ensures that every dunk, assist, and buzzer-beater will be independently retrievable and verifiable, setting a new benchmark for digital sports collectibles.

“This season we’re taking the next step -- delivering autographs and interactive collectibles from the NBA’s next generation of stars while securing the highlights themselves on chain,” said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs.

Read more here. 

The Return of the Can’t Miss Drop Event

This season, drops will return to being momentous events.

Our first three drops of the season will come on:

1. November 5, 2025
2. December 3, 2025
3. January 14, 2026

In addition, we’ll provide more connection points to help you digest and discuss everything happening on NBA Top Shot.

This regular season has been mapped so you can collect with confidence, knowing what to expect along the way.

Readily Available Pack Rips

Collectors throughout the season will continue to have pack offerings readily available. These packs, often accompanied with a buyback, are designed to stay on the shelves and will be consistently replenished when big hits are pulled, so you can rip and chase big grails whenever you want!

One of the biggest innovations for the upcoming season will come in the form of how drops are packaged. Boxes and cases will change how collectors approach drops and how collectors engage on the pack marketplace.

Boxes will contain multiple packs and feature at least one guaranteed insert. Cases will contain even more packs, and will feature additional guaranteed inserts. 

Demand figures to be strong, and Top Shot Score will play a role in distribution. In addition to boxes and cases, the new season will see the return of packs available for Trade Tickets on a consistent basis. Additionally, a portion of premium Moments from major drops will be earmarked for Trade-In Auctions to further align business and collector incentives.

• Shopping Tools: To make market data clearer and to make market actions faster and easier, the lead engineer of Own The Moment has joined the team. In case you missed it, LAVA was built into the Top Shot Marketplace to help collectors identify the thinnest floors on Moments. Offers were also overhauled so collectors can shop in the marketplace more confidently.
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• More Data. More Strategy: Massive upgrades are on the way so collectors can expect to see more historical data throughout the experience. Also coming soon: steady improvements to the pack marketplace for a more enjoyable pack hunting experience.
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• Organize your collection like never before: Starting today, VIP collectors have access to a new tool that allows you to group and organize Moments by collector-led conditions. Want all of your Spurs Rookie Moments to be grouped together instantly? Look no further. This organization tool not only lets you group your previously collected Moments, but also creates groups that will automatically organize any new Moments added to your collection. Want early access? Reply here.

• Instant Set Completion Rewards: Immediate packs and boxes that trigger the moment you finish a 2025-26 set.

Team Fandom & Collector Engagement

Your fandom matters more this season than ever before. Revamped Leaderboards will highlight more collectors and reward more engaged fans with meaningful ways to compete and earn. Whether you’re climbing a Leaderboard for your favorite team or player, you’ll see exactly how your fandom sizes up against the field. Here’s how it will work:

All-Time Team Leaderboards 

Throughout the season (at least three times), we’ll be setting aside Rare and Legendary Moments from all 30 teams to be used as rewards for Team Leaderboards. 

When these airdrops happen, we’ll be rewarding 10 collectors on the Team Leaderboards using All-Time Top Shot Score.

The top five of each Team Leaderboard will receive a guaranteed Rare or Legendary Moment from that team. There will also be a weighted airdrops for others lower on the board, where five more Rare or Legendary Moments will be distributed.

Seasonal Favorite Team Leaderboards

Here’s where it gets more interesting. Favorite Team Leaderboards are expected to roll out in December. These Leaderboards will be exclusively available to collectors who set that team as their favorite (and don’t change their favorite team during the season). Only Moments from the 2025-26 season will be counted toward your score on these boards. 

Similar to the airdrop cadence above, throughout the season (at least three times), packs containing guaranteed Rare or Legendary Moments will be airdropped to collectors on these seasonal Favorite Team Boards.

The top five on each Seasonal Favorite Team Leaderboard at the time of the snapshot will be guaranteed a Rare or Legendary Moment, and five more collectors on the board will also be eligible for weighted airdrops featuring more Rare or Legendary Moments from the corresponding team.

This allows top all-time collectors to continue earning rewards while also creating a new seasonal competition that promotes engagement, movement, and jockeying, all while allowing top fans of a specific team to have a better chance of earning rewards they’re excited about.

Player Leaderboards

Rookies

The collector atop the Leaderboard at the end of the season for our featured Rookies partners will receive custom “My Top Fan” 1-of-1 Moments from the player. The four locks for this treatment are Cooper Flagg, Yang Hansen, VJ Edgecombe, and Kon Knueppel. There is a possibility if any of the other rookie partners hit it big this season (Rising Stars, All-Rookie) that this list of players may expand slightly, with the same reward structure in place.

Additionally, when new Rare and Legendary Rookie Moments are released throughout the season, a snapshot will be taken and the collector sitting atop the Rookie's Leaderboard will receive an airdrop of that new edition's special serial.

All-Stars

In February, the top collectors on every All-Star’s All-Time Player Leaderboard will receive a Rare Constellations Moment from that player. Additional Rare Constellations Moments from each All-Star will be distributed via a weighted airdrop to more collectors on that Player's Leaderboard.

NBA Top Shot This

Collectors ranking atop the Leaderboards for the players who go viral and earn NBA Top Shot This Fandom Moments will also earn airdrops from the set.

Set Rewards

Challenge and Set Rewards This Season

Set Rewards will be handled slightly differently this season in an effort to boost completionism and avoid wrinkles in the game design. This season, when you collect a set, your reward will come in the form of an exclusive pack or box. This will allow collectors to collect what they love without worrying about set bottlenecks, collecting Moments from players they don't love to earn rewards from players they do love, and more. As Challenge Rewards will no longer be specific players' Moments within the set, collectors can continue to expect rewards for completing and locking sets, as the packs and boxes that will be set aside will contain the chance at huge hits.

Set Rewards for Previous Seasons

This season, every NBA set from Series 1 through Series 24-25 will receive at least one set-locking reward. 

Ahead of the first drop on November 5, we’ll share the full list of rewards along with the locking schedule, so collectors can plan with confidence. Note, as the seasons progress and mint counts become scarcer, airdropping for every set from the past becomes increasingly difficult. As a result, we will assess set rewards from previous seasons annually. Outstanding set rewards from the 2024-25 season will be distributed before the end of October.

Community

The Community Grants Program is open for all collectors to apply. Entering its second season, this program is designed to directly empower any and all collectors to propose and organize community-benefitting initiatives. From group breaks online to card show appearances and Hobby Shop takeovers, the opportunities are expansive and provide a proven system for Top Shot to align incentives with the most passionate members of the community. Interested in getting involved? APPLY HERE! 

NBA Top Shot Partners

If you’re passionate about NBA Top Shot and want to help grow the community, now’s your chance. Our new referral program rewards collectors and creators for bringing new fans into the game -- with real benefits and commission for those who help expand the world of digital basketball collectibles. Read more about it here.

VIP Program

The new and improved VIP Program offers top collectors the opportunity for monthly rebates and rewards based on their activity. VIPs also gain first access to new features and tools as they're released and tested. Additionally, stay on the lookout for limited time promotions and exclusive VIP events throughout the season.

Nine Lives Lounge

This season, fans with locked Cool Cats sets will also gain early access to new features and tools as they're released and tested. Additionally, members of the Nine Lives Lounge will be invited to join an exclusive virtual meet & greet with a first round pick from the 2025-26 rookie class!

Fast Break continues to be a fan favorite in the community.

The start of the 2025-26 season brings important upgrades to improve the game and better align it with the collector experience on the platform. 

Updated Fatigue: Value-Based Utility

• We're switching fatigue from tier-based to Average Sale Price (ASP) based. That Series 1 LeBron Throwdown you've been holding? It just went from two plays per run to four. Your Victor Wembanyama Rookie Debut? It's going from one play to three plays. Say goodbye to valuable Common Moments languishing on the bench. The system now unlocks the full potential of your collection as your high-value Commons, Fandoms, and Rares are no longer restricted by fixed limits. Their utility now reflects their market worth, unlocking their full potential from your collection.

Note:  We expect this model to evolve over time to ensure fair competition and improved collector experience.

Captain Clutch

You can now pick one player in your lineup to be your “captain” on a nightly basis. The captain’s score will have a 1.5x points multiplier toward your Fast Break lineup’s requirements that night. This adds a critical layer where your ability to read a scouting report will be put to the test as you fill out your lineup.

No More Tiebreakers

If you and another collector finish with the same score that would qualify you for a prize, you will split the prize pool evenly. No more serial number tiebreakers deciding winners. 

Historic Fast Break Returns

Throughout the season, you'll be able to run lineups from NBA history alongside the current slate. Same rules, but with even more action.

Tap to Watch

Top Shot has partnered with the NBA to help launch their exciting Tap To Watch initiative, which allows fans to access live game streams across the various broadcast partners with more ease than ever before. Simply tap the NBA scoreboard within Fast Break to access the broadcast you want to watch.

This year's roadmap has two major themes: scarcity and consistency. Whether it’s Opening Night or a random Tuesday in March, you should be able to make collecting decisions with complete confidence. 

This roadmap represents our full 2025–26 set plan -- with the only possible additions coming down the road via special collaborations with players or partners that bring even more excitement to collecting and open the door for potential growth opportunities.

This roadmap is our promise to deliver the most transparent, and collector-driven season in history. The new era is here. Let’s make this the best season yet on NBA Top Shot.