When basketball fans discuss who is the greatest basketball player of all time (the "GOAT"), it's usually a debate between Michael Jordan and Lebron James. One player who should be included in these conversations, at least in my opinion, is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. PWCC has over a dozen cards featuring Jabbar in its weekly auction ending on Sunday, June 25th. Let's take a look at several of those cards below.
It baffles me that many don't even consider Abdul-Jabbar to be the GOAT. Abdul-Jabbar had unparalleled success as a basketball player at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Born Lew Alcindor, he led his high school in New York City to 71 consecutive wins. At UCLA, he led the Bruins to three consecutive national championships.
During his NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar received the Most Valuable Player award a record six times, a 19-time All-Star, a 15-time All NBA Team member, and won six NBA championships including leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first-ever championship. He held the NBA's car career scoring record for an unbelievable 39 years. Abdul-Jabbar broke the NBA's career scoring record in 1984 and held it until it was broken in 2023 by LeBron James. In terms of career accomplishments through college and the NBA, he's right there with Michael and Lebron -- and perhaps even exceeds both of them by some measures.
Are his cards undervalued?
1969 Topps Basketball Lew Alcindor ROOKIE #25 PSA 5 EX
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PWCC currently has three of Abdul-Jabbar's 1969 Topps rookie card for sale in a variety of grades, including the card shown in the photograph above: a PSA 5 EX. As points of reference, one PSA 5 sold on eBay for $1310 just a few days on June 21st, and another sold on June 20th for $1,246.
As of Friday, June 23rd, the current bid on PWCC was only $5. That number will certainly go up, but if you can snag it for under $1000, you likely got a really, really good deal. PWCC also has an SGC 4.5 VGEX+ and an SGC 5 EX up for auction as well.
1986 Fleer Sticker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #1 PSA 9 MINT
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By far the most expensive Abdul-Jabbar card up for auction this week is a 1986 Fleer Sticker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #1 PSA 9 (Mint). This card features Abdul-Jabbar displaying his famous sky hook -- one of the most iconic shots in basketball history.
As of June 23rd, the current bid for this high-grade card is $1,525. While that may sound like a lot of money for a non-rookie card, it's actually a steal at that price. As a point of reference, a PSA 8.5 copy sold on eBay for $6,599 on April 15th. Another PSA 9, however, recently sold for considerably less than that amount on eBay June 18th.
Because the best offer was accepted, we don't know the final sales price, but we do know it was less than $4,700. Even at that price point, the PSA 9 on PWCC is still looking like a really good deal.
2015 National Treasures NBA Greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar AUTO /75 #GR8-KA PSA 9
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A modern, but hard card to find in high grade is this 2015 National Treasures NBA Greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #GR8-KA PSA 9. According to the PSA Population Report, this is one of only three graded this high. Because this card is so rare, I couldn't find a recent sale of an identical card; however, as a point of reference, an ungraded copy sold $161.50 back in April on eBay after 33 bides.
As of June 23rd, the current bid on PWCC is $82. Right now, this is looking like a really good deal.
Did any other items in PWCC's weekly auction catch your attention? Please let us know in the comments section below!
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not reflect advice on behalf of GoCollect.