The much-anticipated discovery of the Cooper Flagg NBA Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card, which is expected to sell for millions if it reaches public auction, featured the full range of emotions from everyone involved when it was pulled on Monday.
Chris Card of Rhody Breakers, who had just found the one-of-a-kind Flagg Debut Patch redemption card in a box break streaming live on YouTube, was calm and collected, all things considered.
“Oh my god,” Card said. “Welp, there it is. Rhody did it.”
Chris Louth, who was sitting next to Card, didn’t muster a word while sliding his chair back from the table, hands behind his head.
About 800 miles away, the ultimate Flagg rookie card’s new owner was in tears.
“Took me about five seconds to realize what I was looking at and then I went straight to the fetal position, crying like a baby,” Jason Williams told The Athletic. “I don’t even know where the emotions came from but they just took over. It was insane.”
A Clover, SC, native, Williams is now the owner of one of the most valuable basketball cards in existence, but he has a collecting journey not unlike many hobbyists. Williams, 50, started collecting when he was 12 but took breaks in his teens and 20s as life happened. Now a father of five who works at a local machine shop with his oldest son, Williams got back into the hobby heavily in his mid-30s.
With his nearest card shop about 45 minutes away, Williams regularly participates in online box breaks, which allow customers to purchase the rights to specific teams or players in a set number of packs or boxes being opened. Williams has been a long-time customer of Rhode Island-based Rhody Breakers since discovering the company during Covid, and purchased the rights to the Dallas Mavericks in a three-hobby-box break of 2025-26 Topps Chrome Updates Basketball.
Williams largely collects players from the Atlanta Braves, Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets, but will aim for big hits in breaks. He paid $515 that night, hoping for something special.
“The way I break, I like to go big or go home,” Williams said. “The term that’s thrown around loosely is ‘scared money don’t make money.’ It’s all about the big spots.”
He got exactly what he wanted, though the immediate aftermath was overwhelming. Williams briefly spoke with Card on the phone shortly after the big pull but doesn’t remember much else.
“I said, ‘What’s up buddy?’ and he didn’t say hello,” Card told The Athletic on Tuesday. “He just goes, ‘That’s what we do, brother.’ … It was an incredible phone call. And his opening line, it was just something that you can’t write, you can’t script.”
Williams couldn’t sleep and ended up going into work to keep himself busy. He later flew to Rhode Island to pick up the redemption card, which serves as a placeholder in the pack to protect the real card from being damaged. Williams smiled and held the redemption, which is in its own holder, up to the camera when asked if it was still in his possession.
“That thing has been in my pocket since I left, what are you talking about?” Williams said with a laugh.
The wider sports card world’s focus now turns to the card’s future. Debut Patch cards, which were first created by Topps and parent company Fanatics in 2023, often end up at public auction due to their secondary-market value. Flagg’s Debut Patch is considered the best from the program to date, across any of the sports in which it has been adopted, and has already received a slew of offers.
A number of cash bounties have been placed on the card, ranging from $1.5 million up to $4 million, that may or may not be real. Flagg’s own team, the Dallas Mavericks were among the first and most prominent bounties, offering up a package that includes a pair of premium lower-level season tickets for 32 years, an autographed, game-used Flagg rookie jersey and a number of other experiences in exchange for the card. The Mavs’ bounty is similar to what the Pittsburgh Pirates once offered for pitcher Paul Skenes’ Debut Patch card. That card ended up at public auction instead, where it sold for $1.1 million to Dick’s Sporting Goods after being pulled by an 11-year-old boy on Christmas.
Goldin Auctions founder and CEO Ken Goldin has offered a $1.5 million cash advance if the card is consigned to his marketplace. Trading card platform Alt took the controversial step of opening a “Debut Bounty Auction,” where it is accepting binding bids for the card despite it not being consigned to the company. Bids, which exceeded $3 million as of Saturday morning, will be carried over if the card is consigned and cancelled in any other scenario.
Williams has seen those bounties but said he hasn’t decided what to do with the card yet. He also hasn’t decided if he’ll get the card graded.
“Right now, I’m just chilling,” Williams said. “I’m going to let it ride for a minute. I want to soak it all in.”
“I’ve seen (the bounties) and like I’ve told everyone, the money to me right now is not the important thing,” Williams added. “It’s the experience that I think my kids are going to get to see that they’ll never see again in their life and the things in the hobby that I’ll get to experience that most people don’t. That’s important.”
Though the card hasn’t been consigned or sold privately yet, Williams hasn’t completely ignored what could be possible. He’s been working on a run of Hank Aaron cards but hasn’t committed to the 1954 Topps rookie yet. A collection that includes the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie and a Tom Brady rookie could be possible, too.
Williams could also end up going to the National Sports Collectors Convention for the first time.
“I’ve never been to the National. I almost went this year because it’s always on my birthday,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘I want to go, I’m 50 this year,’ but I talked myself out of it. And now I’m like, ‘I’ve got to go now.’ I think it just feels right to be there next year.”
In the meantime, Williams seems content to enjoy the experience with his friends and family. A decision on the card will happen when it happens.
“I’ve got this smile that I’ll probably never get rid of,” Williams said.
Searching for cards of the GOAT at The National
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