1996-97 Topps Finest Basketball Hobby Box: Series 1 vs Series 2, Odds and Prices

Read the box before anything else

Topps issued 1996-97 Finest as Series 1 and Series 2, sold in separate boxes. Both use the same configuration: 24 packs of six cards. Most eBay listings name the series. If one does not, ask, because the two do not trade at the same price.

• Series 1 carries Kobe Bryant's #74, a Bronze card in the Apprentices subset.
• Series 2 carries Kobe's #269, a Gold card from the Heirs subset, which is much scarcer.

Other rookies in the set include Allen Iverson, Steve Nash and Ray Allen.

Bronze, Silver, Gold: how the tiers fall

Finest used border colors to signal rarity rather than numbering. A box is mostly Bronze, with Silver and Gold mixed in at fixed odds and a Refractor version of each tier on top.

That table explains most of the market. The #269 Kobe is a Gold, so a Series 2 box gives you roughly one Gold card, and with 1:288 odds a Gold Refractor Kobe is a long shot even across a full case. The #74 Bronze Kobe is far more common, but its Refractor at 1:12 packs is the most realistic five-figure pull in either box.

The coating, and why it matters to buyers of singles

1996-97 Finest cards came with a protective film over the front. Graders note whether it is still on ("with coating"), and collectors pay more for cards that kept it. If you open a box to keep the cards, leave the film on. Peeling it can scratch the chrome surface the film was there to protect.

What sealed boxes ask now

These are fixed-price asks from a handful of sellers, not completed sales, and boxes this old trade rarely. Series 1 asks higher, which fits buyers chasing the #74 and its 1:12 Refractor. The rarer #269 Gold falls about once per box at best, so it seems to do less for the price of Series 2.

Checking an old Finest box

At these prices, authentication is part of the purchase, not an extra. Boxes sealed and certified by an independent authenticator such as BBCE carry a premium, and that premium is cheaper than the risk without it. For an unauthenticated box, look at four things:

• shrink that is thin and tight, not glossy and loose;
• a straight, centered seam;
• corners without crushing or re-folding;
• no adhesive residue on the flaps.

Small, light 1990s boxes like Finest are easy to open and re-wrap, so a seller who will not photograph all six sides is a reason to walk away.

Finest against the other 1996-97 boxes

Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash and Ray Allen have rookie cards in several 1996-97 products, and Finest is the most expensive way to chase them sealed. On the same day, a 1996-97 Upper Deck hobby box was listed from $749.99 and a retail box from $637.95. Those boxes hold the same rookie class, but without Finest's chromium stock or its tiered Refractors, which are what turn a Kobe pull into a five-figure card. Choose Finest if the Refractor is the point. Choose Upper Deck for the cheapest sealed route to the class. The 1996-97 Finest retail box is on our catalogue too, but no seller had one listed when we checked.

Other Finest boxes on this site

If four or five figures is more than you want to spend on one box, the 1994-95 Finest single packs offer the same Refractor gamble for far less. The 2003-04 hobby box is the LeBron James rookie season and trades in the same high bracket. Modern 2025-26 Finest is the licensed return of the brand under Topps. For in-person buying, card shows are where dealers bring vintage boxes. Our card show calendar lists shows near you. On eBay, use:

• 1996-97 Topps Finest Series 1 Basketball Hobby Box BBCE
• 1996-97 Topps Finest Series 2 Basketball Hobby Box sealed