I don't know about you, but I am already missing watching the Olympics each day! I loved seeing the greatest athletes around the world converge in Paris and provide some of the greatest sports spectacles that we've witnessed in a long time. One of the best stories is the latest iteration of the "Dream Team" (or as LeBron says, the "Avengers") taking on the rest of the world.
I think the "Avengers" is an appropriate name because we saw three of the greatest players of their generation (Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant) put their egos to the side and play together for a greater purpose. This is especially remarkable considering that each of them are alpha dogs and are rivals in the NBA. So to see the three of them play seamlessly as a team for the U.S. was a joy to behold. And considering their ages, we aren't likely to see the three of them play together in the Olympics again.
To commemorate this Olympics moment, Topps produced a 1/1 card featuring James, Curry and Durant along with their autos.
On August 10th, shortly after the US won the gold medal, Topps announced on Twitter (aka "X") a one-of-a-kind card that features James, Curry, and Durant in their Olympic uniforms. The three players also autographed the same card making it truly unique.
As Topps noted in its tweet, this IS the: (1) first Topps card ever to be autographed by James; (2) first to feature James and Curry's autos on the same card; and (3) first to feature Curry, James, and Durant on the same card.
Because this card was released as a part of the Topps Now program (i.e., the card wasn't included as a part of a traditional card set), there was only one way to have a chance at getting this card; Topps will send the card to a customer through a lottery system who purchases the stars' base card (i.e., the version of the same card that doesn't have the autographs) from Topps. The purchasing window closed on Tuesday with Topps sending the card to the lottery winner in ten business days.
While you could've purchased the version of the card without the autographs for only $11.99, the King of Collectibles himself, Ken Goldin, told ESPN that he expected the card to sell for "six figures." That being said, because the card could not be pulled from a pack in a box break, Goldin thought the card's value would be capped.
It's difficult to estimate its value, but it could reach seven figures based on a recent comparable.
Although several collectors responded to Topps' tweet stating that you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery, this card has no doubt generated some buzz in the sports card industry. It's difficult to estimate its value, but one recent comparable is the 1 of 1 2003-04 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Michael Jordan Logoman autographed card that sold for $2.928 million at Goldin in early June.
