Magic Johnson Demand!

[Dunker]

Have you seen some of these Magic Johnson Prices as of late. His 81 topps PSA 10 just sold for 75k! 15k month ago. If anyone is looking to sell please DM me. I would like to get a few prior to his documentary this year.

[sc29650]

Sold for a best offer of 50k. Makes sense as the bird sold at heritage for 49k the other day. Bird has been selling for approximately 20% more than the magic so....I have one and am debating on what to do. Goldin could get how much?

[mrb842]

Bird does not sign autographs w/out paid and is not in public as much. magic has met half of america.

[Arianny_Fan]

Originally Posted by mrb842

magic has met half of america.

Yeah, the women population. Lol. Joking aside, I always felt Magic/Bird stuff was under priced as they will always be remembered in the world of basketball.

[Fratboy]

I wasnt around for the Magic and Bird era.

Ive been told they helped save the NBA, which was not very popular prior to their arrival.

[Mattsurewood]

Originally Posted by Fratboy

I wasnt around for the Magic and Bird era.

Ive been told they helped save the NBA, which was not very popular prior to their arrival.

Growing up watching them..their cards are severely undervalued..pull up the video when Bird drops 60 on the Hawks...the Hawks bench were giving each other high fives..it was a great time to be a kid watching basketball..

Bird and Magic would dominate any era..MJ too of course

[mrb842]

Originally Posted by Arianny_Fan

Yeah, the women population. Lol. Joking aside, I always felt Magic/Bird stuff was under priced as they will always be remembered in the world of basketball.

bird is not a pleasant person. magic is everywhere-baseball games, trade shows etc.

[Dunker]

What do you consider Magics best card?

[aaronking23]

Problem with magic/bird was that they were overshadowed by Jordan after they were in the league 4 yrs

they were still balling but mj was the face of the league and everyone knew it

I'm glad their rc is getting respect but the 2nd year prices seem ridiculous to me but to each their own.

Jordan pretty much dictates the market, so when (if lol) his prices come down this should come down as well. Investors/flippers are chasing this card bc of the documentary as well. Will be interesting to see where it ends up after the dust settles after the documentary.

[Dunker]

I consider the 81 topps rookie bird and magic true rookie. The bird just sold for $49k on Heritage. I can see it going over 100k soon.

[Dunker]

Originally Posted by sc29650

Sold for a best offer of 50k. Makes sense as the bird sold at heritage for 49k the other day. Bird has been selling for approximately 20% more than the magic so....I have one and am debating on what to do. Goldin could get how much?

I think you can get 75k right now. There are barely any on eBay and all asking 100k+

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by Dunker

What do you consider Magics best card?

He shares a rookie card with Bird in the 1980 Topps set. It is easily the best card for both of them.

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by mrb842

bird is not a pleasant person. magic is everywhere-baseball games, trade shows etc.

Bird has always been a private person and an introvert, where Magic is the exact opposite. By all accounts, Bird is a really funny guy, but he seems to have a distrust of people that he doesn't know.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by aaronking23

Problem with magic/bird was that they were overshadowed by Jordan after they were in the league 4 yrs.

They also had comparatively short primes.

Bird was age 23 as a rookie, and was pretty much done as a top-tier player by the 1988 season, when he was 31.

Magic was also done by age 31 due to his HIV diagnosis.

Jordan won his last title at age 34.

And now you look at today's top players, some of whom are playing at a top level well into their mid/late 30's.

LeBron is still dominating at age 36.
Kobe played at a high level until age 34.
Curry is still playing at a high level and is about to turn 33.
KD is 32. Harden is 31. Neither shows any sign of slowing down.

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by mfw13

They also had comparatively short primes.

Bird was age 23 as a rookie, and was pretty much done as a top-tier player by the 1988 season, when he was 31.

Magic was also done by age 31 due to his HIV diagnosis.

Jordan won his last title at age 34.

And now you look at today's top players, some of whom are playing at a top level well into their mid/late 30's.

LeBron is still dominating at age 36.
Kobe played at a high level until age 34.
Curry is still playing at a high level and is about to turn 33.
KD is 32. Harden is 31. Neither shows any sign of slowing down.

Your point is generally correct but your timing is a little off on Bird. He averaged 29.9PPG, 9.3RPG, and 6.1APG on 52.7% shooting at age 31.

The following year, he missed almost the entire season after having surgery to remove bone spurs in his heels, and he put up 24.3, 9.5, and 7.5 at age 33 when he came back.

After that, his back problems ended his career, but Bird was such a beast that he still averaged around 20, 9, and 7 in his last two seasons while essentially playing with a crippled back.

Guys today have the advantage of decades of advances in medical technology and a greater understanding of how to take care of themselves.

[Mattsurewood]

Originally Posted by mfw13

They also had comparatively short primes.

Bird was age 23 as a rookie, and was pretty much done as a top-tier player by the 1988 season, when he was 31.

Magic was also done by age 31 due to his HIV diagnosis.

Jordan won his last title at age 34.

And now you look at today's top players, some of whom are playing at a top level well into their mid/late 30's.

LeBron is still dominating at age 36.
Kobe played at a high level until age 34.
Curry is still playing at a high level and is about to turn 33.
KD is 32. Harden is 31. Neither shows any sign of slowing down.

Agreed on a lot of the points but consider hand-checking. It was a much more physical game back then, refs let them play..people got more banged up then..also dieting/training is much more advanced now. Just my opinion.

[gomiamigo]

The 1981 prices are insane but whatever.

DrJ is the one who saved the NBA in the 1970s when it was a dying league that didn't even get the Finals aired live.

Bird and Magic took the mantle from him as he aged and carried it until Mike arrived.

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

The 1981 prices are insane but whatever.

DrJ is the one who saved the NBA in the 1970s when it was a dying league that didn't even get the Finals aired live.

Bird and Magic took the mantle from him as he aged and carried it until Mike arrived.

I like Dr. J but he didn't save anything. The NBA was on life support until Bird and Magic got there and turned things around.

[bruin805]

Originally Posted by Dereth

Your point is generally correct but your timing is a little off on Bird. He averaged 29.9PPG, 9.3RPG, and 6.1APG on 52.7% shooting at age 31.

The following year, he missed almost the entire season after having surgery to remove bone spurs in his heels, and he put up 24.3, 9.5, and 7.5 at age 33 when he came back.

After that, his back problems ended his career, but Bird was such a beast that he still averaged around 20, 9, and 7 in his last two seasons while essentially playing with a crippled back.

Guys today have the advantage of decades of advances in medical technology and a greater understanding of how to take care of themselves.

And Bird came out of the gate fast - made 1st team All-NBA as a rookie and did it every year after that for the first 9 seasons of his career. Was also 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, and 2nd in the MVP voting during those 9 seasons.

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by bruin805

And Bird came out of the gate fast - made 1st team All-NBA as a rookie and did it every year after that for the first 9 seasons of his career. Was also 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, and 2nd in the MVP voting during those 9 seasons.

It's strange to me how the perception has changed as time has passed, because I think that Magic is almost universally regarded as being the better of the two, probably based on the fact that he won 5 titles compared to Bird's 3. Back then, there wasn't really a question that Bird was better.

Bird beat Magic for ROY, and won three MVPs before Magic finally won his first. Magic wasn't even the number one guy on his team for his first several seasons, because Kareem was the man for the Lakers. On the other hand, Bird was the man from day one when he got to Boston. People even nicknamed Magic "Tragic Johnson" for choking in the playoffs against the Celtics.

Bird was definitely better than Magic at their peaks.

[Dunker]

I just feel like with the upcoming documentary it is going to show how much of an impact Magic made not only in the game, but out. Interesting to see what the coming months show with the demand. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shlomos...ichael-jordan/

[mvp]

The Topps 1981 cards have a small pop report compared to other iconic cards from that decade. It’s definitely going to go up with these prices, but I have no idea by how much or what the average grade will be.

You’re looking at just over 3k Birds and 2k Magics graded with PSA. You’ve got almost 9k of the 1980 card. The 1986 Jordan Fleer has over 18k.

The 1980 dual rookie is out of reach for most people at this point. Magic and Bird’s 1981 cards are their first solo cards. They have a lot going for them, imo.

[bruin805]

Originally Posted by Dereth

It's strange to me how the perception has changed as time has passed, because I think that Magic is almost universally regarded as being the better of the two, probably based on the fact that he won 5 titles compared to Bird's 3. Back then, there wasn't really a question that Bird was better.

Bird beat Magic for ROY, and won three MVPs before Magic finally won his first. Magic wasn't even the number one guy on his team for his first several seasons, because Kareem was the man for the Lakers. On the other hand, Bird was the man from day one when he got to Boston. People even nicknamed Magic "Tragic Johnson" for choking in the playoffs against the Celtics.

Bird was definitely better than Magic at their peaks.

Bill Simmons ranked Bird #5 in his book and Magic #4. And Simmons is the biggest Celtics homer there is.

This is what he wrote:

"The Bird-Magic argument mirrors Oscar-West because we reached a definitive conclusion - Oscar was better than West (1965), Bird was better than Magic (1986) - that shifted improbably over the second half of their careers. Would you rather have nine transcendent seasons from Bird, followed by a four-year stretch where he wasn't remotely the same (and missed 60 percent of his games), or a twelve-year stretch of A-plus Magic seasons without a dip in impact? I'd rather have those three extra Magic years."

[Dereth]

Originally Posted by bruin805

Bill Simmons ranked Bird #5 in his book and Magic #4. And Simmons is the biggest Celtics homer there is.

This is what he wrote:

"The Bird-Magic argument mirrors Oscar-West because we reached a definitive conclusion - Oscar was better than West (1965), Bird was better than Magic (1986) - that shifted improbably over the second half of their careers. Would you rather have nine transcendent seasons from Bird, followed by a four-year stretch where he wasn't remotely the same (and missed 60 percent of his games), or a twelve-year stretch of A-plus Magic seasons without a dip in impact? I'd rather have those three extra Magic years."

Yup, I've read it, and it's a great book. I would point out that, of the four-year stretch that Simmons mentioned where Bird wasn't the same, he only played six games in one of them. In the other three, he still averaged around 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. No, he wasn't peak Larry Bird in his last three seasons, but man, Larry Bird with a broken back was still better than 95% of the league.

[bruin805]

I grew up an hour north of Los Angeles and I grew up doing Showtime. I hated Larry Bird, but as an adult I've been able to appreciate just how awesome he was. Peak Bird (84-86) was slightly better than peak Magic (85-90) but you can't really go wrong with either one hobby-wise.