Celtics vs. Knicks: Rivals clash on court, in card market
As the Eastern Conference semifinals shift to the wild setting of Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks are looking to pull off an upset of the heavily favored Boston Celtics.
New York vs. Boston is always a fierce rivalry in sports, and these storied NBA franchises are meeting in the playoffs for the 16th time in history.
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Ahead of Game 3 on Saturday afternoon, cllct breaks down the starting lineups for each team based on their historic card sales.
Boston Celtics
Guard: Bob Cousy, $63,000.00
1957 Topps Bob Cousy Rookie No. 17 PSA NM-MT 8
The 1957 Topps set ranks among the most important in basketball history, introducing legends such as Cousy and Bill Russell, but it was also the first time Topps dipped into the basketball landscape.
Cousy sometimes understandably gets overshadowed in Celtics lore, playing alongside Russell for six NBA championships and winning the 1957 MVP, the same year as this Topps set.
This Cousy card actually has quite a large population, with 37 at a PSA 8. Though, there are five graded higher, three at PSA 9 and two at 8.5, but none of those have sold.
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This card sold for $63,000 in Aug. 2021 at Heritage.
Guard: John Havlicek $100,655.00
1969 Topps No. 20 John Havlicek Rookie – PSA GEM MT 10
The 1969 Topps set certainly delivered a bang. After a 12-year hiatus in Topps basketball, following the release of the iconic 1957 set, Topps returned with the 'Tall Boy' set, including legends such as Hondo, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Walt 'Clyde Frazier.'
This card might very well sell for a record should it come to auction anytime soon. At a Pop 2 for a PSA GEM MT 10, its last sale, for $100,655, came in Oct. 2018 at Goldin, well before the market boom.
Forward: Jayson Tatum $193,200.00
**2017-18 Panini National Treasures Patch Autographs No. 103 Jayson Tatum Signed Rookie Patch Card (#36/99) – PSA GEM MT 10, PSA/DNA 10 **
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Tatum's card market is certainly outpacing his performance through two games this series.
His 2017-18 Panini National Treasures /99 leads the charge of a myriad of six-figure sales.
This GEM MT 10, PSA/DNA 10 sold for $193,200 in May 2022 at Goldin, $1,200 more than the previous record, also at Goldin, just a month prior.
Of note, the latter sale was graded by PSA, whereas the first was graded by Beckett, earning a BGS GEM MINT 9.5/BGS 10.
Forward: Kevin Garnett $132,000.00
**2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Kevin Garnett (Number Pieces Autograph) #NP-KG PSA NM 7, PSA/DNA Auto 10 **
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
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That's my impression of the Celtics wishing KG could walk through that tunnel to provide some defense at the end of the game.
Well, that's not happening. But he is providing the C's with a boost here, with his 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection card, the only one known with a PSA 10 Auto.
It last sold in October at Heritage for a record $132,000.
Center: Bill Russell $660,000.00
1957 Topps Basketball Bill Russell SP Rookie No. 77 PSA 8.5 NM-MT+ (PWCC-A)
The greatest winner in the history of the sport certainly deserves to have the top card sale for the NBA's winningest franchise.
Russell's 1957 Topps card last sold in May 2023 at the Fanatics Premier Auction for a record $660,000, which is $30,000 more than the previous high for this card.
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This card has a Pop 2, but interestingly there are three cards graded at a 9 in PSA's registry, though none have ever sold.
New York Knicks
Guard: Jalen Brunson $96,660.60
2018-19 Panini Prizm Nebula Choice Prizm No. 250 Jalen Brunson Rookie Card (#1/1) - PSA MINT 9
Like Brunson's playoff run so far, this 2018-19 Panini Prizm is a 1/1.
Graded a PSA MINT 9, this Brunson card's only sale came in November for $96,660.60, at the time a record for a Brunson card by more than $72,000.
That lead has now been cut to just over $17,000 with the sale of his 2018-19 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autographs in December for $79,300.
Guard: Walt Frazier $252,000
1969 Topps Basketball Walt Frazier Rookie No. 98 PSA 10 Gem Mint
The 'Tall Boy' moniker for this release certainly held true, with Alcindor and Wilt Chamberlain's cards marking the top sales. But 'Clyde the Glide' isn't far behind, with the third-highest sale of the set, at $252,000.
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Last selling for $252,000 at Fanatics Premier in July 2023, this card is the highest-selling card of any Knicks player in history, and that likely won't change anytime soon considering this a Pop 1 in an iconic set.
Which would sell for more? This card or a collection of all his incredible blazers?
Forward: Carmelo Anthony $43,200
2003-04 UD 'Exquisite Collection' Rookie Parallel No. 76 Carmelo Anthony Signed Patch Rookie Card (#06/15) - BGS NM-MT 8/BGS 10
Carmelo Anthony finds himself one of the newest additions to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, following his induction in April.
But where he might not find himself is in the basketball card hall of fame.
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His top sale, $43,200 for his 2003-04 UD 'Exquisite Collection' Rookie Parallel at Goldin in Aug. 2021, is certainly nothing to scoff at.
It's just not an all-time great, especially looking at a couple of his draft class peers.
Dwyane Wade's top sale from the same set, is nearly four times Anthony's, at $223,860.00. And LeBron James … well, let's just say he's already working on cementing his GOAT status in the card world as well.
Forward: (tie) Karl-Anthony Towns/Patrick Ewing $40,800
2015 National Treasures Karl-Anthony Towns Rookie Logoman Patch Auto 1/1 BGS 8.5 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Patrick Ewing PMG Green /10 No. 26 BGS 7
We have a tie!
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And a shocking one to say the least. But maybe it just speaks to the current market of the modern card.
Ewing, the all-time leading scorer in franchise history, has a sale of the same price as Towns, whose top sale came well before his time in the Big Apple.
Towns' 1/1 2015 National Treasures Logoman sold at Fanatics Premier in October 2022, just a few short months after Ewing's top sale in June 2022, also at Fanatics Premier.
The Ewing card is a part of the 1997 Metal Universe set, one of the most popular in hobby history.
Center: Willis Reed $150,000
1969 Topps Basketball Willis Reed Rookie No. 60 PSA 10 Gem Mint
In a not-so-shocking turn, the two highest sales in team history are from the Knicks' two greatest champions, Frazier and the late Willis Reed.
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Reed, who died in 2023, is most-known for his heroics in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, playing the game with a torn muscle in his thigh.
Reed's efforts helped seal New York their first championship, but also began a string of debilitating injuries that would force him to retire at the end of the 1974 season.
The combination of being a Knicks legend, NBA champion, his playoff pedigree and featured in the '69 Topps set, guaranteed Reed a spot on this list.
The card last sold for its record $150,000 in July 2023 at Fanatics Premier.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.
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Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
