With the larger set size, there are a lot more rookies than could fit in the past several years' worth of sets. The Bird and Johnson rookie appear on other panels, but they're not valued anywhere near as high as the two players together. The key card to the set features the rookie cards of both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, with the Julius Erving Team Leader card in the center. All-Stars appear on cards #1-18, and they feature checklist backs. There are also Slam Dunk cards that run from card #253-264. Team Leaders in several different categories are scattered throughout the set. Given the number of cards doubled from the previous year, subsets return to the series, each with different back designs. Cards are printed on white stock, which makes them a lot easier to read. Off to the right is a small blue box with a cartoon inside about a highlight from the player's career. A very short write-up is found, and then the stats for the 1979/80 season and a line of career totals. The backs are fairly basic since there is so little space: a black line across the top includes the player's name and a card number, with vital stats below it. Below the team name is the player's name and position. A player photo is surrounded by a solid-colored line that appears to spell out the name of his team in a cursive style at the bottom of the card (it's the same font that was used in the 1978 Topps baseball set). That might seem confusing to a collector starting on the set, and it has certainly impacted the set's collectability over the years.Įach individual card is 1 1/6 inches by 2 ½ inches. As a result, a complete panel set includes 176 different cards, which actually holds two complete sets. However, Topps used two printing sheets and changed the players around. There are 264 numbered cards in the 1980-81 Topps basketball checklist, which breaks down into 88 perforated panels of three cards each. On the other hand, it created one of the more iconic cards of its era by combining two legendary rookies and one of the game's biggest stars. Featuring three cards had been done in insert sets, but never as part of a base set. On one hand, this was a set that offered something Topps had never tried before. The clear standout card pairs the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rookie with all-time great Julius Erving. So a 10 comes along about as often as… a Larry Bird or Magic Johnson do, which is hardly ever.1980-81 Topps Basketball brought mini cards and NBA trios to collectors en masse. It spikes further at PSA 8 with nearly 2,800 copies. But not here.īy comparison, over 600 have been graded PSA 9. It is proven to be quite elusive in high-grades due to centering issues or the occasional bothersome print dot that sometimes shows up. Not only is it a “must have” in any serious card collection, currently, this superb example is one of just (24) copies as of this writing with the scarce and important Gem Mint PSA 10 grade. But this particular card is even more of a unicorn for collectors, one of the most sought after cards in the hobby. However, these individual cards are worth a tiny fraction of full three-panel cards.Īll three players featured here were “unicorns” due to their unique styles, winning ways and overall contributions to the national and global popularity of game, too many to list here. The Topps 1980-81 set is distinct for its perforated design, so the card can be separated into three individual cards, which some collectors did. Yes, as if Bird and Magic aren’t enough, the legendary “Dr. It is only fitting these two basketball icons are also connected in their rookie card, the special 1980-81 Topps Scoring Leaders gem, which features the pairing of Bird and Johnson flanked Julius Erving. For the next decade they competed for championships, MVP awards and in debates about the game’s greatest all-around player. As Larry and Magic moved on to the NBA the next season their rivalry continued with Bird in east coast Boston Celtics green and Johnson in west coast Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold. Thankfully the basketball gods were not done. When these two stars met that historic Monday night in the NCAA Finals it was a seismic event in basketball history, and to this day remains the highest rated televised game in college basketball history. Magic and Michigan State spoiled Larry’s Indiana State team’s perfect season, handing the Sycamores their only loss. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson famously met first in the 1979 NCAA Final Four championship game in Salt Lake City.
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