There has been a lot of buzz in the sports card world in the last 30 to 60 days. When Fanatics signed its baseball contract it set the pace for major changes in sports cards in the coming years. It turns out that Topps was not alone in losing their deal. Maybe nothing lasts forever, and maybe at least some good things can happen after bad news. Be sure to look at the details here because this might not be a full-blown return to large basketball sets.

On September 23, an announcement was made that Overtime Elite has signed an exclusive deal for the return of Topps basketball cards. The OTE exclusive partnership also showed the release of the first four basketball player cards that launched on this same day. The cards were $9.99 each, or $29.99 for a 4-pack of each one together.

The Topps NOW cards were for players named Jalen Lewis, Bryce Griggs, T.J. Clark, and Izan Almansa. The in-action photos appear to be set on a practice court with each player alone on the card. If anyone wants a guess about which basketball player cards, the OTE site shows a full list of players and which annual draft class they are in from this basketball and learning academy.

While the Topps NOW cards may not be the most explosive looking cards, the release did say to look for surprise parallel cards in the issue. Topps had a note showing that Base Card Parallels are randomly inserted into every print run. They have said to look for foils numbered: /49, /25, /10, /5, and the prized /1. The parallels will replace the base card in each Topps NOW order if they are selected.

Some modern collectors stay away from these frequent issue cards. Some collect them specifically. One issue any buyer should consider is that it is unknown whether any of the athletes will become household names in the years ahead.

According to the announcement that the companies sent out on Thursday:

Overtime Elite is a transformative new sports league that offers the world’s most talented young basketball players a better pathway to becoming professional athletes. The league offers a year-round development program combining world-class coaching, cutting-edge sports science and performance technologies, top-notch facilities, and a rigorous, highly personalized academic program that energizes and enhances each athlete’s journey from proficiency to pro for the next generation of athlete empowerment. Topps is honored to have partnered with Overtime Elite to showcase and celebrate some of the top basketball prospects from around the world.

The Topps NOW releases have been fast and furious in their main baseball category. As of September 23, 2021 the MLB Topps NOW cards issued this season was already up to 846 base cards. There are also team sets for each team that will be available in two weeks, as well as other autograph cards.

This may not be an outright return to full sets of basketball cards for Topps, but at least it is something.