1980-1981 Topps Basketball Larry Bird/Julius Erving/Magic Johnson Rookie PSA GEM MINT 10

Graded GEM MINT 10 by PSA. Of the 16,229 examples of the 1980-1981 Topps Bird/Magic rookie card submitted to PSA, only 24 have been assigned this top grade of GEM MINT. The 1980-1981 Topps basketball issue will always be remembered for its unique three-panel perforated strips. While that design resulted in some confusion to collectors looking to assemble a complete set, it was also responsible for the production of what is one of the most significant basketball cards in the hobby: the Larry Bird/Julius Erving/Magic Johnson card featuring the rookie cards for both Bird and Johnson. This is an ultimate high-grade rookie card featuring these two legendary Hall of Famers! This card is essentially perfect in all respects. The centering is superb. All four corners are sharp. The corners exhibit no wear, even under extreme magnification. The gloss and print quality are outstanding. The reverse is clean and boldly printed. The Bird/Magic rookie card is part of PSA's Top 250 Sportscards in the Hobby set, based on the book Collecting Sports Legends: The Ultimate Hobby Guide, by Joe Orlando, which selects the most significant cards from different sports. Examples of premier rookie cards, such as this, in extremely high grades have realized exceptionally strong prices recently. This is a spectacular ultra-high-grade example of Bird's and Johnson's rookie card, which is the key card from the set, and one of the more significant basketball cards in the hobby.