Spring Premium LIVE Auction April 30th and Catalog Auction May 7th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/30/2016
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. The 50th signature on each of the lithographs belongs to Commissioner David Stern on the bottom right side. Beautifully matted and framed, the overall item measures 45½” wide by 32½” high. Here is the comprehensive lineup of all the outstanding players, listed in alphabetical order, who were chosen for this honor: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Paul Arizin, Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Billy Cunningham, Dave DeBusschere, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, George Gervin, Hal Greer, John Havlicek, Elvin Hayes, Magic Johnson, Sam Jones, Michael Jordan, Jerry Lucas, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Pete Maravich, Kevin McHale, George Mikan, Earl Monroe, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Robert Parish, Bob Pettit, Scottie Pippen, Willis Reed, Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, Bill Russell, Dolph Schayes, Bill Sharman, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Jerry West, Lenny Wilkens and James Worthy. Four players have passed away since the honor was bestowed upon them: Paul Arizin, Dave DeBusschere, Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan. This Field of Dreams lithograph is numbered 45/50 and comes with LOA from PSA/DNA.