We’re clearly looking at a card commemorating the first game of the 1971-72 ABA Finals. In terms of history, let me try to argue that your collection isn’t complete without this card. First of all, as most collector’s know, there was a large span of time where Topps was the only set available for basketball cards. And here in 1972-73, Topps is all that is available. This set contained subsets remembering both the NBA and the ABA championships. This is one of the ABA cards. First, let’s talk about why the 1971-72 ABA Finals depicted here is worth remembering.
There are only four players in history to win both ABA and NBA championships, and two of them were present in this 1971-72 ABA Finals, Rick Barry and Bill Melchionni. You see them listed for the New York Nets on the back with Barry the leading scorer here in game one with 34 points and Melchionni pitching in another six. A piece of trivia, the second leading scorer in this game for the Nets, John Roche, would later gradate from law school and become the only person licensed as a lawyer while currently playing. This ABA Finals is also interesting in that it is the first time that there was an ABA Finals where both teams would later move to the NBA. This only happened one other time.
But with all this talk about the New York Nets, they didn’t win this championship. The Pacers, in addition to winning this game one 124-103, would win the whole series. These cards give a nice statistical summary, presenting the points during each quarter, as well as a list of every player for both teams who scored in the game. Freddie Lewis, the leading scorer for the Pacers in this first game, is pictured on the front of the card driving to the hoop.
Let’s also talk about this set as a whole. These Topps sets are often overlooked, but they are our only choice for cards for a long stretch of time. So unless we want nothing for 1972-73, some of these cards are necessary for a collection. But with only Topps for so long, it’s easy to get lost in all the different Topps sets of the 70’s. One way to keep them clear is the number of cards in the set. The 72-73 Topps set was the largest to that point at 264 cards, a number they would stick with for three seasons in a row. In fact, it started a series of three sets in a row that were fixed at 264 cards. And it was a well-organized, fun-to-collect set too. Cards #1-176 are NBA cards while 177-264 are ABA cards. Within these two halves, interesting subsets were introduced. You had All-Stars, statistical leaders, and cards dedicated to each game of the championship series in both the ABA and NBA. So the set really gives you a feel for what it was like when both leagues were operating simultaneously. The subsets are nice because there were no insert sets that year.
Another way to keep track of the sets is to remember landmark cards from each year. This 1972-73 Topps set was distinguished by the Dr. J rookie card.
This is a fun card from a historical perspective and a great reminder not to forget about the ’70’s in your basketball card collection. Some of these Topps cards are affordable, nice additions for sure!
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