Dallas Mavericks guard and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg made his much-anticipated NBA debut Wednesday in an opening night loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
As expected, Flagg took the floor with a Rookie Debut Patch secured to the right shoulder of his jersey directly above the Nike logo. That patch will be inserted into a Topps trading card and signed by Flagg to create the No. 1 overall pick’s Rookie Debut Patch Autograph 1/1.
Then he wore another. And another.
Topps confirmed to cllct that Flagg wore three separate debut patches against the Spurs on Wednesday, and the company plans to use the first patch worn to create the RDPA.
The two additional patches have been destroyed.
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It’s currently unclear why Flagg wore additional patches. One possible explanation is the patches were used as Flagg swapped to a new jersey during the game. A review by cllct found distinct differences between jerseys worn in the first and second half of the game, suggesting at least two were worn, which aligns with common practices for debut jerseys worn in recent years.
It’s not uncommon for players to wear multiple jerseys during debuts or games featuring major milestones, and the additional patches may have been used to keep continuity throughout the game.
Past examples suggest at least one jersey will be sold at auction. Sotheby’s became the official game-worn partner of the NBA in November 2023, and has since sold NBA debut jerseys for the previous two No. 1 selections, Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and Zaccharie Risacher in 2024, and a number of other lottery picks since its deal with the NBA went into effect.
Sotheby’s confirmed to cllct it will sell one of Flagg's debut jerseys in an upcoming auction. An attempt to reach the Dallas Mavericks to confirm how many jerseys were worn by Flagg or why multiple patches were used during the game was unsuccessful.
FIRST LOOK: Cooper Flagg's official jersey for his NBA Debut tonight.
— Topps (@Topps) October 22, 2025
After the game, this NBA Debut patch will be removed from his jersey and placed into a 1-of-1 autographed trading card. pic.twitter.com/HjUGbmwuTz
The Rookie Debut Patch program made its own debut with the NBA Tuesday following Topps’ 15-year hiatus from the league. Held by Panini America since 2009, exclusive rights to make trading cards for the NBA transitioned to Topps and parent company Fanatics on Oct. 1.
First launched as part of 2023 Topps Chrome Update Baseball, the debut patch program was designed in an attempt to create the ultimate rookie card, with each patch created for and worn only during a player’s debut. The program has largely appeared to have achieved that goal, with RDPAs now often holding the public sales records for each player featured when they sell on the secondary market.
The record price to date for any RDPA is the $1.11 million paid for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes’ card earlier this year.
Prior to launching in the NBA, the debut patch program has included MLB, MLS, UFC and select WWE, Smackdown and RAW events.
In September, the debut patch for Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle detached from his sleeve while he was warming up prior to his debut. Topps confirmed to cllct the patch was recovered and the card would reflect the patch was worn during warmups and not during the game.
Patches are typically worn on player jerseys for MLB, MLS and NBA debuts, on walkout jerseys prior to UFC fights and on boots or sneakers for wrestling events. Topps told cllct in September it was working with MLB to better prevent additional malfunctions.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.