Topps, the Fanatics-owned trading card company, hopped into the NBA newsbreaking business Friday morning. It announced that LeBron James would be signing with the Philadelphia 76ers via a social media post displaying James’ first autographed trading card in a 76ers uniform.Timestamps on the posts from James, Topps’ X account post and ESPN’s Shams Charania all popped at 11:30 a.m. ET. But users received Topps’ post notification first, indicating Topps sent its post seconds before the others. It’s particularly of note because parts of the Sixers organization were apparently surprised by James’ decision, with a team source close to the process telling The Athletic that they did not learn of his choice to accept their offer until minutes before the social media alerts.
BREAKING: LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers for his historic 24th NBA season.
LeBron makes it official by signing his first ever 76ers trading card.
One collector who purchases the base edition will receive this 1-of-1 autograph. pic.twitter.com/x9aBBFjVwX
— Topps (@Topps) July 24, 2026According to the company, this marks the first time a player move has ever been announced via trading card.The Topps Now card was available for purchase 90 minutes before James’ No. 23 jerseys became available through the Fanatics website and the team’s official online shop (which is operated by Fanatics). Topps Now cards are sold individually and only available for purchase from the company’s website for three days before they are distributed. One randomly selected customer who purchases the base card will get a one-of-one version of the card autographed by James instead.
