Top 100 Cards of My Collection #10 80-81 Topps Larry Bird/Julius Erving/Magic Johnson

[Chris P]

Basketball is my favorite sport so I tend to favor my basketball cards over the other major sports. That's why a rookie card of Reggie Jackson or Walter Payton might not mean just as must as a key basketball rookie card of similar stature. To me this has to be one of the coolest rookie cards ever created. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson will always be intertwined in basketball history. From college to the pros and the teams they represented (Celtics-Lakers), those two will be forever linked. So it's very fitting that they should also be linked on their rookie card, and Topps made sure that happened in it's 80-81 set. Topps decision to make 3 "mini-cards" into 1 card, created this legendary combination. The Bird/Erving/Magic is the most popular and definitive card of the set and despite Bird and Magic both appearing on other different combination cards, this is the one considered the true rookie card. I also think it's fitting that Dr. J is part of this card, kind of like a "oh yeah, we'll just add more hall of fame power by putting Dr. J in between these two". The result is one of the most iconic basketball rookie cards ever made. It's a card that as a basketball fan I just had to own, and I'm very proud to showcase this card here. Without a shadow of a doubt, one of my top ten favorite cards of all time.

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