1980 Topps Basketball Larry Bird & Magic Johnson ROOKIE PSA 9 MINT

Nobody knew the 1987 Finals would be the last time Bird and Magic met on the biggest of stages. And while Laker fans poured onto the court to celebrate on a Sunday afternoon, basketball fans took note of the end of an era. While the Lakers had secured homecourt advantage by tallying the best regular record in the NBA, the Celtics arrived with injured versions of Parrish and McHale. The Lakers took care of Games 1 and 2 In Inglewood, and the Celtics won Game 3 at the Garden on Bird’s 30 points and 12 rebounds, setting up the pivotal Game 4. In the closing seconds, Magic appeared to be looking inside for Kareem on the block. But in a moment of inspiration, he drove the ball to the middle and perfectly executed his own Baby Skyhook over the outstretched hands of McHale and Parish. Celtics fans needed a Larry Legend miracle. As everyone expected, Bird received the pass and fired a shot from the corner for the win. But the ball hit the back of the rim and sailed up into the air along with the Celtics’ title hopes. Five days later, Magic hoisted the Finals MVP trophy, having averaged 26.2 PPG with 13 assists and eight rebounds per game. As the fans spilled onto the Forum floor after the Game 6 victory, few fans imagined this game marked the last big-stage moment for Magic and Bird. Few fans also could have imagined the historical significance of Topps putting Magic and Bird on the same rookie card back in 1980. They know now. Only 24 of the 16,182 examples of this card (.15%) assessed by PSA have earned a higher grade than this 9. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/04/25.