Michael Jordan and Julius Erving are two of the best players in NBA history and will forever be connected as two groundbreaking aerial artists who took dunking to the next level.
They will also forever be connected on an incredibly valuable card.
An Upper Deck Exquisite Collection dual logoman autograph card featuring both superstars sold as part of Sotheby's Holy Grails auction on Tuesday. According to Sotheby's website, it sold for an astounding $780,000.
The website described the card as "one of only two Dual Logoman Autographs of the pair ever made under the Exquisite Collection brand, and one of only eight to feature Michael Jordan." In addition to the autographs, it features a piece of game-worn jersey from Jordan and game-used warmup from Erving.
What's more, it received a near mint-mint+ condition with a grade of 8.5 from Beckett Grading Services (BGS). The autographs received a 10 from the same service.
The winning bidder landed the card, four hard-copy photographs of the pair and a copy of the 1984 Sporting News with Jordan on the cover in medical scrubs and a headline that read, "The Next Dr. J?"
It turns out Jordan was more than just the next version of Erving or any other player.
He went on to become arguably the greatest player in NBA history and a cultural icon who took home six championships and six NBA Finals MVPs during a career that also featured 10 scoring titles, five league MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year and 11 All-NBA selections.
Erving may not be Jordan, but he is still an all-time great who won an NBA title, two ABA championships and four league MVPs.
Pairing them together on one card with highly graded autographs was surely going to lead to quite the auction price, and that is exactly what happened Tuesday.
