1971-72 Topps Basketball Card # 29 Nate "Tiny" Archibald RC (HOF) - Cincinnati Royals (NM)

During the 1970s, basketball was still considered by many to be a second-tier professional sport. Understandably, basketball cards were not an extremely popular option for collectors. Other than a few sets combined from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, basketball cards first emerged on a consistent basis during the 1970s, which helped establish the collecting base. While it does not have the same star-power as the 1980s, some important names in basketball history emerged during this period. The card designs of the 1970s were as vibrant and raw as the decade itself. Collectors should look to Topps for their basketball needs as it was the only main card company during the decade.

Among the many options, the top rookie cards available include Pete Maravich, Rick Berry, Bob Lanier, Julius Erving, Bill Walton, George Gervin, Robert Parish, Moses Malone, David Thompson, Bernard King, and Dave Cowens.

Bob Lanier and Rick Barry rookie cards headline the vibrant 1971-72 Topps Basketball. The vintage NBA/ABA set switched back to standard sizing and greatly increased the checklist.

Showcasing classic '70s style, the bright and bold 1971-72 Topps Basketball remains a distinct set for vintage NBA and ABA collectors.

After two years of using a taller-sized card, Topps reverted to the 2 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches standard when they printed the 1971-'72 basketball set. As they expanded the set, it probably made more sense for the company to make that switch in order to better fit the set onto its printing sheets.

Card fronts showed a player photo against a solid-colored block background. The player's head is designed to peek out of the top of the block. At the top, the team city is listed in a font that just screams 1971. The bottom uses both black and red ink. The player's name features his initials in red, and then his team's nickname appears in black, with his position in red. The backs feature a card number, player name and position at the top, with that blue box continuing down the right side and containing vital stats and a cartoon trivia question. A yellow box to the left contains a write-up and career statistics.

The set was broken into two series. Cards #1-144 featured NBA players, and #145-233 had ABA players. Two printing sheets were used to print the set, with 31 of the NBA players being double printed to fill out the second sheet. Again, a checklist card (#144) features two design variations.

Subsets include a review of the NBA playoffs on cards 133-137, the NBA statistical leaders on cards 138-143 and the ABA statistical leaders on cards 146-151. Bob Lanier, Rick Barry, Nate Archibald, Larry Brown, Dan Issel and Rudy Tomjanovich are the most prominent rookies in the set.

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