RARE, LIMITED EDITION "LEGENDS EDITION" (46/50) AUTHENTIC NBA TREASURE
INCLUDES JORDAN, MAGIC, BIRD, BILL RUSSELL, WILT, COUSY, KAREEM, DR. J, BIG O, JERRY WEST, BAYLOR, SHAQ & DOZENS MORE!
Presented here is a Mint example of the premier signed basketball piece ever created. In conjunction with the NBA's 50th Anniversary in 1996, the NBA named its 50 greatest players. Remarkably, 49 of the 50 players selected were alive and present (only Pete Maravich was deceased at the time) when they were honored as part of the 1996-1997 All-Star festivities. A magnificent creation was unveiled during that event in the form of a series of limited edition lithographs (25 x 39 inches).
The edition was limited to 250 individually numbered pieces, with the first 50 going directly to the players. Some of the remaining 200 signed prints (100 "NBA Edition," 50 "Legends Edition," and 50 "Field of Dreams Edition") were distributed to league officials. These incredible pieces, printed on the highest quality acid-free paper and bearing the likeness of each of the 50 greatest players as selected by the NBA, were created as a special keepsake and tribute to the selection of the sport's greatest stars of all time. Each player neatly signed the litho in pencil beneath his respective image.
This unique NBA sponsored project represents the most highly regarded, desirable, and important signed sports art print ever conceived. The fact that these prints are universally recognized as the ultimate blue-chip sports-related signed art print, and have continued to escalate in value, is testimony to the uniquely high esteem in which they are held. This fine example is numbered "LE 46 of 50." The NBA's "50 Greatest Players" is easily the most significant lithograph series ever created in any sport.
This signed print is an enduring tribute to basketball history that will never be duplicated. Since it was famously produced in 1996-97, sadly a number of other hoop legends beyond Maravich have passed away including George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Moses Malone and others, making this piece somehow even more valued. Thankfully their images and penmanship are all beautifully captured here.
This masterpiece includes the original leather-bound LOA signed by NBA Commissioner David Stern (d. 2020). (The LOA from the iconic Stern is a collectible itself!)