Bird, Magic, & Dr. J: Iconic and Valuable 1981 Topps Basketball Cards
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The 1981 Topps Basketball set tends to get overlooked. When you think about the best basketball cards of the 1980s, it's all about the 1986 Fleer cards, with Michael Jordan's iconic rookie card (#57), and the 1980 Topps Scoring Leader card, a three-panel card featuring Larry Bird, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson.
But with 1981 Topps you get your chance to own the rookies that debuted in the prior year's set, now as individual cards. Plus, you have two different looks for most of the big-name stars of the set. Below we look at the highest selling 1981 Topps cards.
1981 Topps Kevin McHale rookie card #75
The biggest rookie card in the 1981 Topps set features legendary Minnesota Golden Gopher and Celtic first-round draft pick, Kevin McHale. Widely considered one of the game's greatest power forwards, McHale's post moves were so tough to defend that Dominique Wilkins called him the "man with a thousand moves."
McHale's rookie card is by far the most valuable rookie from this set. The 1980 NBA Draft was not a particularly impressive class, with McHale as the standalone Hall of Famer. The top price ever for a PSA 10 McHale rookie was $4,500 in April 2021. Prices fell shortly after the COVID-induced card craze but they have since picked up, with the highest price in 2025 hitting $3,500 last March.
1981 Topps Magic Johnson #109
One of two Magic Johnson cards in this set, the Super Action Magic card (#109) is the more affordable of the two. It features an in-game photo of Johnson about to finish a layup with Kareem watching in the background. A PSA 10 copy of this card sold in October 2025 for $3,000, but back in 2021 two copies sold for $8,000 or more.
1981 Topps Larry Bird #101
Larry Bird, like Magic and many stars of the year, also has two cards in this 1981 Topps set. The Super Action card (#101) above is the more affordable one. Featuring Larry Legend finishing near the hoop as Wes Unseld looks on, PSA 10 copies last year sold for as much as $15K. At their peak in 2021, Gem Mint versions of this card sold for as much as $23K.
1981 Topps Julius Erving #30
The 1980-81 season marked the fourth and final year Dr. J would win the MVP award, barely beating out Larry Bird for the honor. Erving started every game that year and averaged 24.6 points, 8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks.
The above base card for Dr. J is one of the most sought-after from this set and high-graded copies tend to sell for a few thousand dollars. Three PSA 10s sold in 2025 for $2,100 or more, while the highest sale ever for this card was a PSA 10 that sold for $4,550 back in 2021.
1981 Topps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #20
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cards are one of this sets top chase cards but they're still fairly affordable even at the highest grade. Ungraded and mid-graded copies can be picked up for under $50, and sometimes as low as just a few dollars. The highest selling PSA 10 went for $5,520 back in 2022 but prices today are much closer to $2,000. Recent sales of PSA 9s tend to sell for $80-$100.
1981 Topps Magic Johnson #21
The non-Super Action cards from this set nearly always command a premium, which is true for both Magic and Bird. For Magic, his base card (#21) has seen Gem Mint PSA 10 prices up near $60K back in 2021. Prices for this card have cooled some, but sales are starting to climb again, with two PSA 10 sales over $40K since December 2025.
1981 Topps Larry Bird #4
For now, Bird holds the top spot for most valuable card in the entire 1981 Basketball set with a PSA 10 autographed copy that sold for $138K on December 19, 2025. In many ways this card is unique and iconic unto itself since it captures a young Bird in his warm-up jacket, similar to the one he wore to win the 1988 three-point contest.
Throwback to Larry Bird winning the 1988 3-PT contest while still wearing his warm ups 🍀pic.twitter.com/9GNEs06EIU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 19, 2022
In just his second NBA season, Bird finished second in MVP votes and helped lead the Celtics to a 62-win season and the NBA Championship. Larry Legend averaged 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.0 steals that season.
As collectors continue to chase iconic vintage cards, the starts from the 1981 Topps set look like they could gain some serious momentum in the months to come.
Conor is a life long sports card enthusiast who started collecting in the early ’90s, inspired by hometown heroes like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, and David Ortiz. Like many ’90s hoops fans, he also started building (and continues to build) a modest Michael Jordan collection.