Kon Knueppel's 1-of-1 Debut Patch Is Found: Three of the Top Five Picks Are Now Off the Board
The redemption for Kon Knueppel's autographed NBA Debut Patch surfaced Saturday in a Backyard Breaks rip, joining the Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper pulls. Only VJ Edgecombe and Ace Bailey remain among the top five.
Three of the Top Five Are Now Off the Board
The redemption card for Kon Knueppel's autographed 1-of-1 NBA Debut Patch was pulled Saturday during a break conducted by Backyard Breaks, making him the third top-five pick from the 2025 draft class whose Debut Patch has surfaced from 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball.
Knueppel, the fourth overall pick, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind his former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg. That one-two finish makes the Knueppel patch one of the most desirable cards in the product outside of the Flagg itself.
The Debut Patch Scoreboard
- Cooper Flagg (1st overall): Pulled earlier this month from a box purchased in a break run by a Rhode Island hobby shop. Owner Jason Williams, a machine shop owner from South Carolina, has fielded multi-million dollar offers but says he is in no hurry to sell.
- Dylan Harper (2nd overall): Won August 14 by collector Robert Johnson, who spent $380 on a San Antonio Spurs break spot via Fanatics Live and then drove 400 miles to pick up the redemption in person.
- Kon Knueppel (4th overall): Pulled Saturday by Backyard Breaks.
- Still out there: Third overall pick VJ Edgecombe and fifth pick Ace Bailey have Debut Patch cards that have yet to surface.
How the Program Works
The Debut Patch program puts 93 Debut Patch Autographs into the wild, each a 1-of-1 featuring an autograph and a patch worn during the player's actual NBA debut, plus six non-autograph Debut Patch 1-of-1s. More than 40 have reportedly been found so far, with several selling in the $10,000 to $25,000 range for mid-tier players. The star cards operate in a different universe entirely, as the offers on the Flagg card demonstrate.
Why This Matters for the Chase
Every pull changes the math on what remains. With Flagg, Harper, and Knueppel accounted for, the Edgecombe and Bailey patches become the biggest known targets left in Chrome Update, and box prices tend to reflect the shrinking pool of top hits. If you are breaking or buying sealed Chrome Update hoping for a Debut Patch, understand that the crown jewels of the checklist are increasingly spoken for.
The story also underlines how much of the modern hobby now runs through breaks. All three top pulls came out of break formats, two of them streamed live, which is exactly where Topps designed this chase to live.
Want to join a break or rip Chrome Update in person? Find a card shop near you with The Card Shop Finder and ask about their break schedule.