This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2020
To try and narrow down a field of 50 exceptional players in any sport is not an easy task. When it comes to basketball, the pursuit seems almost impossible. But in 1996, the NBA decided to celebrate its first 50 years in existence (1946 to 1996) by selecting 50 superb players to honor. When all the factors had been accumulated, the nomination process had covered a wide array of factors: 107 NBA championship rings, more than 400 NBA All-Star Game selections, and nearly one million points scored. At the start of the 1996-97 NBA season, the 50 players had accumulated 107 NBA Championships, 49 Most Valuable Player Awards, 17 Rookie of the Year honors, 447 All-Star Game selections, 36 scoring titles, 923,791 total points and 410,327 total rebounds. So boasts the collective resume of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as selected by a blue-ribbon panel of media, former players and coaches, current and former general managers and team executives.
On Oct. 29, 1996, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the 50 Greatest Players at a press luncheon held in New York City. Joining Stern in the unveiling of the 50 Greatest Players, which tipped off the League's season-long “NBA at 50” celebration, were four prominent members of the list – Wilt Chamberlain, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, George Mikan and Bill Russell. The announcement was made at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which occupies the site of the former Commodore Hotel, where the original NBA charter was signed on June 6, 1946. A short time after the announcement, each of the 50 players selected were awarded with a specially designed color limited edition lithograph featuring headshots of themselves alongside the other 49 players chosen. Each lithograph also holds the autographs in pencil of all 50 players except for “Pistol Pete” Maravich, who passed away suddenly in 1988 from a heart attack.
This offered 25 x 39 un-framed lithograph is the Field of Dreams edition and has been signed by 41 of the 50 players. Signatures include Oscar Robertson, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Hakeem Olajuwon (inscribed “34), Bill Russell (inscribed “#6”), Dave Cowens, Walt Frazier, John Havlicek, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Clyde Drexler, Jerry Lucas, George Gervin, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Jerry West, Dolph Schayes, Shaquille O’Neal, Moses Malone, Earl Monroe, Dave Bing, Bob Cousy, Julius Erving (inscribed “Dr. J”), Magic Johnson, Billy Cunningham, Wes Unseld, Kevin McHale, Michael Jordan, Sam Jones, Rick Barry, Bob Pettit, Nate Archibald (inscribed “Tiny”), Bill Walton, Isiah Thomas, Lenny Wilkens, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, James Worthy, Robert Parish and David Robinson (inscribed “50” and “HEB 13:5-6”). All of the signatures have been penned with a bold fine-tipped black marker. What separates this Lithograph from the regular edition of NBA 50 lithographs is that the regularly sold edition was signed in pencil and this unique lithograph was done entirely in a bold black sharpie for a much more prominent and impressive display. This comes with a LOA from Beckett Authentication and a UDA Hologram on the reverse for the Jordan signature.
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.