Shortly before midnight on Aug. 10, one of the biggest basketball cards of the year was pulled during a livestream break by RhodyBreakers of North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The one-of-one Topps Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Auto had barely surfaced before auction houses, marketplaces, collectors, and bounty offers began competing for the attention of its owner.
For Lenane, VP of Marketplace at Fanatics, an email wasn’t going to be enough. After identifying the shop during the livestream, Lenane called and asked how he could contact the collector. He was told to send an email because so many people were already calling.
BREAKING: The 1-of-1 Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card has just been found in Rhode Island.
📸: RhodyBreakers pic.twitter.com/2WuB4xn8zq
— Topps (@Topps) August 11, 2026
As news of the epic pull spread, Lenane watched million-dollar bounties—and even offers from Flagg’s team, the Dallas Mavericks—pile up and increase. He tried the shop again. Busy signal.
“I haven’t heard a busy signal in a long time,” Lenane joked.
So he decided to head to Rhode Island.
A Ferry, a Red-Eye and a Landline
For added support, Lenane called Fanatics Collect colleague Clay Thomas in Los Angeles and asked him to get to Rhode Island. Clay hopped on a red-eye to Providence.
Lenane took the 6 a.m. ferry from Port Jefferson, N.Y., to Bridgeport, Conn., then an 110-mile Uber ride to Rhode Island, arriving around 9 a.m. There was just one problem: he still didn’t have a meeting with the collector.
The owner initially wasn’t willing to share his contact information, so Lenane ended up speaking with him from a back room of Baseball Cards of Rhode Island over the same landline he had been trying to reach hours earlier.
The following day, collector Jason Williams arrived at the shop and spent hours talking with the Fanatics team about marketing, valuation, the auction process, and what the company could offer.
Ultimately, Williams chose Fanatics Collect. For more on the collector behind the historic pull, check out this great interview with Jason by Collectibles on SIcolleague Brendan Darr.
The Flagg card will headline the Fanatics Collect September Premier Auction, running Sept. 10-24.
Why Showing Up Mattered
Lenane said virtually every major auction house and marketplace tried to reach the shop after the card surfaced. Fanatics’ strategy was to be there in person.
“The only way to do that was to be there physically,” Lenane said.
With real offers, questionable offers, and public bounties all competing for Williams’ attention, Lenane believes showing up helped Fanatics stand out.
The company’s pitch, he said, also isn’t primarily about fees. At the high end of the market, attention and storytelling can matter more.
“You want to make sure that everyone that might be interested in buying your card knows about it,” Lenane said.
He pointed to Fanatics’ relationships throughout sports and a Fanatics Collect team made up of serious collectors who understand the cards and how to market them.
Fanatics Collect has also grown rapidly. “We’re more than 10 times the size we were two years ago,” Lenane said, pointing to the experience of the team and its focus on telling the stories behind major collectibles.
Flagg, Knueppel and Harper Debut Patches Headline the Auction
Flagg won’t be the only major Rookie Debut Patch Auto attracting attention in September.
The auction will also feature one-of-one Rookie Debut Patch Autos from Rookie of the Year runner-up Kon Knueppel and Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, bringing three of the rookie class’s biggest cards together in one sale.
Lenane described Harper and Knueppel as essentially “1A and 1B” among the other cards to watch.
Harper’s market has risen considerably in recent months, while Lenane sees Knueppel as a potential value play for collectors heading into the upcoming NBA season.
“I would say probably the value pick of the three,” Lenane said of Knueppel. “His market has softened a bit. I think that’s going to change here.”
And good news for anyone with the funds to join what could be a multi-million-dollar bidding war: Flagg’s card earned a PSA 10 with a 10 autograph, a rare feat for thick patch autos. Harper earned a PSA 9 with a 10 autograph, while Knueppel had not yet been graded.
Doing What’s Right for the Collector
Lenane described Williams as a passionate collector rather than an investor, with a collection that includes Dale Murphy, Ernie Banks and vintage baseball cards.
“You can tell right away that this guy—he knows his stuff,” Lenane said.
That also shapes how Lenane says Fanatics approach collectors who suddenly find themselves holding a potentially life-changing card.
Fanatics tries to be conservative with estimates rather than win a consignment by promising a price it may not deliver. And sometimes, Lenane said, doing right by the collector means recommending another path.
“If I don’t believe that we’re going to be the best outcome, I’ll let it go,” Lenane said. “There’s been a few times where there’s, ‘Oh, there’s like a big offer,’ and I’m like, ‘You should probably take that. I don’t know if we can get you there.’”
For Lenane, it’s about building a relationship beyond one consignment.
“We want to make sure we’re not doing anything just to win that card,” he said.
In Williams’ case, Fanatics believed it could add real value—and Williams ultimately agreed. And getting on a ferry before sunrise probably didn’t hurt.
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Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most.
