1977-78 Topps Basketball Cards
Product Details
After making what was arguably the most popular basketball card set of the 1970s, 1977-78 Topps Basketball really didn't seem to try very hard to improve on it.
Instead, the company reverted to the standard card size and lowered the number of cards in the set.
1977-78 Topps Basketball Set Details
Considering the classic looks of several '70s basketball designs, 1977-78 Topps Basketball is not quite as memorable. In addition to the player photo on the card front, a colored basketball icon in the lower left corner contains his position. Below the picture, a city name is placed inside a banner, with the team name following the perspective line as if it were an extension of that banner. The player's name appears in the lower right corner, just below the team name.
Card backs feature a circle with a cartoon that says something about the player. Another circle at the top left corner has a card number inside it, while a black bar across the top includes his name. Vital stats appear below the name. Career statistics show up in the box below that along with a short write-up.
One unusual feature of the set is the card stock. All 132 cards in the set can be found with either gray or white stock and there is not really any price difference between the two. The entire set would have fit on a single printing sheet, so it's likely that Topps changed the type of cardboard it used partway through the printing process.
There are no subsets due to the set's reduced size. All-Star players have a ring added around the basketball icon on their regular cards to identify them as members of the team.
Key rookie cards in this set include Robert Parish, Darryl Dawkins, Adrian Dantley, John Lucas and Tom McMillen.
Key 1977-78 Topps Basketball Cards:
- Robert Parish RC #111
- Julius Erving #100
- Pete Maravich #20
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #1
- Adrian Dantley RC #56
Set Checklist
1977-78 Topps Basketball Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Henry Bibby - Philadelphia 76ers
3 Curtis Rowe - Boston Celtics
4 Norm Van Lier - Chicago Bulls
5 Darnell Hillman - New Jersey Nets
6 Earl Monroe - New York Knicks
7 Leonard Gray - Washington Bullets
8 Bird Averitt - Buffalo Braves
9 Jim Brewer - Cleveland Cavaliers
10 Paul Westphal - Phoenix Suns AS
11 Bob Gross - Portland Trail Blazers RC
12 Phil Smith - Golden State Warriors
13 Dan Roundfield - Indiana Pacers RC
14 Brian Taylor - Denver Nuggets
15 Rudy Tomjanovich - Houston Rockets
16 Kevin Porter - Detroit Pistons
17 Scott Wedman - Kansas City Kings
18 Lloyd Free - Philadelphia 76ers
19 Tom Boswell - Boston Celtics RC
20 Pete Maravich - New Orleans Jazz AS
21 Cliff Pondexter - Chicago Bulls
22 Bubbles Hawkins - New Jersey Nets RC
23 Kevin Grevey - Washington Bullets RC
24 Ken Charles - Atlanta Hawks
25 Bob Dandridge - Washington Bullets
26 Lonnie Shelton - New York Knicks RC
27 Don Chaney - Los Angeles Lakers
28 Larry Kenon - San Antonio Spurs
29 Checklist (#1-132)
30 Fred Brown - Seattle SuperSonics
31 John Gianelli - Cleveland Cavaliers
32 Austin Carr - Cleveland Cavaliers
33 Jamaal Wilkes - Los Angeles Lakers
34 Caldwell Jones - Philadelphia 76ers
35 Jo Jo White - Boston Celtics
36 Scott May - Chicago Bulls RC
37 Mike Newlin - Houston Rockets
38 Mel Davis - New Jersey Nets
39 Lionel Hollins - Portland Trail Blazers
40 Elvin Hayes - Washington Bullets AS
41 Dan Issel - Denver Nuggets
42 Ricky Sobers - Phoenix Suns
43 Don Ford - Los Angeles Lakers
44 John Williamson - Indiana Pacers
45 Bob McAdoo - New York Knicks
46 Geoff Petrie - Atlanta Hawks
47 M.L. Carr - Detroit Pistons RC
48 Brian Winters - Milwaukee Bucks
49 Sam Lacey - Kansas City Kings
50 George McGinnis - Philadelphia 76ers AS
51 Don Watts - Seattle SuperSonics
52 Sidney Wicks - Boston Celtics
53 Wilbur Holland - Chicago Bulls RC
54 Tim Bassett - New Jersey Nets
55 Phil Chenier - Washington Bullets
56 Adrian Dantley - Buffalo Braves RC
57 Jim Chones - Cleveland Cavaliers
58 John Lucas - Houston Rockets RC
59 Cazzie Russell - Los Angeles Lakers
60 David Thompson - Denver Nuggets AS
61 Bob Lanier - Detroit Pistons
62 Dave Twardzik - Portland Trail Blazers
63 Wilbert Jones - Indiana Pacers
64 Clifford Ray - Golden State Warriors
65 Doug Collins - Philadelphia 76ers
66 Tom McMillen - New York Knicks RC
68 Mike Bantom - New Jersey Nets
69 Tom Boerwinkle - Chicago Bulls
70 John Havlicek - Boston Celtics
71 Marvin Webster - Seattle SuperSonics RC
72 Curtis Perry - Phoenix Suns
73 George Gervin - San Antonio Spurs
74 Leonard Robinson - New Orleans Jazz
75 Wes Unseld - Washington Bullets
76 Dave Meyers - Milwaukee Bucks
77 Gail Goodrich - New Orleans Jazz
78 Richard Washington - Kansas City Kings RC
79 Mike Gale - San Antonio Spurs
80 Maurice Lucas - Portland Trail Blazers AS
81 Harvey Catchings - Philadelphia 76ers RC
82 Randy Smith - Buffalo Braves
83 Campy Russell - Cleveland Cavaliers
84 Kevin Kunnert - Houston Rockets
85 Lou Hudson - Atlanta Hawks
86 Mickey Johnson - Chicago Bulls
87 Lucius Allen - Kansas City Kings
88 Spencer Haywood - New York Knicks
89 Gus Williams - Golden State Warriors
90 Dave Cowens - Boston Celtics
91 Al Skinner - New Jersey Nets
92 Swen Nater - Buffalo Braves
93 Tom Henderson - Washington Bullets
94 Don Buse - Indiana Pacers
95 Alvan Adams - Phoenix Suns
96 Mack Calvin - Denver Nuggets
97 Tom Burleson - Kansas City Kings
98 John Drew - Atlanta Hawks
99 Mike Green - Seattle SuperSonics
100 Julius Erving - Philadelphia 76ers AS
101 John Mengelt - Chicago Bulls
102 Howard Porter - Detroit Pistons
103 Billy Paultz - San Antonio Spurs
104 John Shumate - Buffalo Braves
105 Calvin Murphy - Houston Rockets
106 Elmore Smith - Cleveland Cavaliers
107 Jim McMillian - New York Knicks
108 Kevin Stacom - Boston Celtics
109 Jan van Breda Kolff - New Jersey Nets
110 Billy Knight - Indiana Pacers AS
111 Robert Parish - Golden State Warriors RC
112 Larry Wright - Washington Bullets RC
113 Bruce Seals - Seattle SuperSonics
114 Junior Bridgeman - Milwaukee Bucks
115 Artis Gilmore - Chicago Bulls
116 Steve Mix - Philadelphia 76ers
117 Ron Lee - Phoenix Suns
118 Bobby Jones - Denver Nuggets
119 Ron Boone - Kansas City Kings
120 Bill Walton - Portland Trail Blazers AS
121 Chris Ford - Detroit Pistons
122 Earl Tatum - Los Angeles Lakers RC
123 E.C. Coleman - New Orleans Jazz
124 Moses Malone - Houston Rockets
125 Charlie Scott - Boston Celtics
126 Bobby Smith - Cleveland Cavaliers
127 Nate Archibald - New Jersey Nets
128 Mitch Kupchak - Washington Bullets RC
129 Walt Frazier - New York Knicks
130 Rick Barry - Golden State Warriors
131 Ernie DiGregorio - Buffalo Braves
132 Darryl Dawkins - Philadelphia 76ers RC
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Pekrul
Having just built this set, I can say that the standard gray backs are MUCH harder to find than the whites – I would say on the order of 10-to-1. Surprised there isn’t a commensurate premium for the grays.