1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Erving PSA 9 Auto Sells High

1980-81 Topps Scoring Leader Larry Bird/Magic Johnson/Julius Erving Multi-Signed Rookie Card - PSA MINT 9, PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 Sells for $161,040

On December 7, 2025, Goldin closed a notable multi-signature vintage basketball sale: a 1980-81 Topps Scoring Leader Larry Bird/Magic Johnson/Julius Erving rookie card, graded PSA MINT 9 with a PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 autograph grade, realized $161,040.

For collectors who track key vintage basketball pieces and high-end autographs, this sale offers an informative data point on how the market values multi-signed copies of one of the hobby’s most important rookie cards.

Card overview and why it matters

Card details

• Year/Set: 1980-81 Topps Basketball
• Card: Scoring Leader triple panel featuring Larry Bird, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson
• Rookie status: Recognized as the primary rookie card for both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson
• Teams depicted:
  • Larry Bird – Boston Celtics
  • Julius Erving – Philadelphia 76ers
  • Magic Johnson – Los Angeles Lakers
• Card type: Standard base card from the 1980-81 Topps set (not a numbered parallel)
• Format: Three-player perforated panel card (Bird/Erving/Magic)
• Autographs: Multi-signed on-card by Larry Bird, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson
• Grading:
  • Card grade: PSA MINT 9
  • Autograph grade: PSA/DNA GEM MT 10

This is the famous triple-panel rookie featuring two Hall of Fame legends at the start of their NBA careers, paired with Julius Erving at the height of his scoring dominance. For many collectors, this is one of the cornerstone vintage basketball cards alongside the 1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain, 1961-62 Fleer Oscar Robertson/Jerry West, and 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan.

The 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Dr. J card is especially noteworthy because the Bird and Magic rookies appear together on the same panel. That built-in historical narrative continues to drive collector interest decades later.

Condition, grading, and autograph specifics

This particular copy carries two separate but related evaluations from PSA:

• PSA MINT 9 (card): Indicates sharp corners, strong centering (allowing for minor tolerance), clean surfaces, and overall high-end eye appeal. On a card with colored borders and perforations, achieving a 9 is significantly more challenging than many modern glossy issues.
• PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 (autographs): PSA’s autograph division graded the signatures as GEM MT 10, their highest standard, implying bold, clean, well-placed ink with no visible flaws under normal viewing.

The multi-signature aspect is important. Collectors will sometimes see single-signed versions of this card (for example, only Magic or only Bird). Fully triple-signed copies by Bird, Erving, and Johnson, with all autographs graded GEM MT 10, are comparatively tougher to find in high card grades.

Market context and comps

When collectors talk about “comps”, they mean recent comparable sales that help frame what a card has been selling for in the current market.

Because this exact configuration is fairly specific (triple-signed, PSA 9 card grade, PSA/DNA 10 autos), recent comps tend to be:

1. The same 1980-81 Topps Bird/Erving/Magic card in:
   • Different card grades (PSA 8, PSA 9, PSA 10)
   • Different autograph configurations (single-signed, dual-signed, or triple-signed)
2. Other high-end signed vintage Bird/Magic rookies or key Bird/Magic/Dr. J pieces.

Across the major auction houses, the pattern has generally looked like this over the past few years:

• Unsigned copies of the 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Erving in PSA 9:
  • Have traded in a much lower range than this result, reflecting the premium placed on dual or triple autos and the added PSA/DNA 10 designation.
• Single- or dual-signed copies in high grade:
  • Often land well above unsigned PSA 9s but materially below the strongest triple-signed, PSA/DNA 10 examples.
• Triple-signed copies with high grades:
  • Represent one of the more premium versions of this card that collectors track, especially when the card is PSA 9 or better and the autographs are PSA/DNA 10.

Within that context, $161,040 for a PSA 9 card with PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 autos fits into the upper tier of results for autographed variants of this card, especially given the combination of condition and signature quality.

It’s also worth keeping in mind a few structural factors:

• The 1980-81 Topps set is now over 40 years old; high-grade examples have mostly already made their way into holders.
• Many original copies from the 1980s were separated at the perforations or handled heavily by kids, so fully intact, well-centered panels are less common than raw population numbers would suggest.
• Not every high-grade copy was ever submitted for autographs, and coordinating signatures from three Hall of Famers adds logistical and cost barriers.

Taken together, those points help explain why a PSA 9 / PSA/DNA 10 triple-signed example can sit meaningfully above unsigned or lower-grade comps.

Why collectors care about this card

A cornerstone rookie

For both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, this is the recognized flagship rookie card. When collectors think about building a Bird or Magic run, this card is almost always the starting point.

Beyond individual players, the card represents:

• The transition era between the 1970s ABA/NBA landscape and the modern NBA boom.
• The early chapter of the Celtics–Lakers rivalry that would define the 1980s.
• A visual pairing of two rookies who would go on to reshape the league, alongside Julius Erving, who helped bridge the ABA style into the NBA.

The 1980-81 Topps design and era

The 1980-81 Topps set sits in an interesting place:

• It’s generally grouped with vintage to early-modern basketball, not modern chrome-era or ultra-modern.
• The three-panel perforated design was unusual at the time and remains unique among mainstream flagship basketball issues.
• Condition sensitivity (off-centering, rough cuts at perforations, print issues) makes top grades meaningfully scarcer than the raw volume might suggest.

Because of that, collectors often treat high-end 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Erving copies more like classic vintage than mass-produced “junk wax” era cards that followed later in the 1980s.

Autographed vs. unsigned

Not every collector prefers autographs on rookie cards, but for those who do, the combination here is compelling:

• All three legends are present on one card.
• All three have signed the same surface.
• PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 provides a common, trusted standard for autograph quality.

For collectors focused on display pieces, the visual impact of bold, well-placed signatures on a clean 1980-81 Topps design is a major part of the appeal.

How this sale fits into the broader market

While every auction result is specific to its time and context, this $161,040 sale at Goldin on December 7, 2025, suggests a few broader takeaways for hobbyists:

1. High-grade, multi-signed vintage remains targeted. Even as attention shifts between modern and ultra-modern releases, flagship vintage rookies with strong autograph provenance continue to draw consistent interest.

2. Grading synergy matters. The combination of a PSA MINT 9 card and a PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 autograph grade is a clear driver of confidence. Collectors placing five- or six-figure bids generally prefer clearly defined third-party standards for both card and ink.

3. Narrative still matters. The historical story behind Bird and Magic’s rivalry, and Dr. J’s role in the transition era, keeps this card relevant beyond simple population counts.

For newer collectors, this sale is a useful illustration of how:

• The same card, in different grades and autograph configurations, can occupy very different price tiers.
• Vintage flagship rookies with meaningful context tend to have more stable collector interest compared with more speculative modern issues.

What this means for collectors and small sellers

If you collect or sell vintage basketball, here are a few practical takeaways from this result:

• For PC-focused collectors (personal collection): The unsigned 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Erving in mid to high grades remains a classic way to anchor a vintage basketball collection without stepping into high five- or six-figure territory. This sale highlights how rare and specialized the very top of the ladder is, not what every copy is worth.

• For autograph collectors: This result underscores the premium buyers place on:

  • Complete signing (all three players on this card)
  • Clean, well-positioned ink
  • PSA/DNA authentication and numerical grading

  If you’re sending similar vintage pieces in for signing, placement and pen choice matter a lot for future grading outcomes.

• For small sellers: Watching high-end auction results like this can help with pricing and expectations on more accessible versions:

  • Raw or lower-grade unsigned copies will sit many tiers below this.
  • Single-signed or dual-signed versions fall in between, and their pricing will often follow condition, signature quality, and authentication status.

Nothing in this sale should be read as a guarantee about future values. Instead, it’s a clear, public reference point for how the market currently differentiates between:

• Core vintage flagship rookies
• High-grade examples
• Premium, authenticated multi-signature variants

For those tracking the story of vintage basketball grails, the 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic/Erving rookie remains firmly in the conversation, and this Goldin sale on December 7, 2025, is another chapter in that ongoing history.