Box format
1980-81 Topps Basketball brought mini cards and NBA trios to collectors en masse. The clear standout card pairs the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rookie with all-time great Julius Erving.
On one hand, this was a set that offered something Topps had never tried before. Featuring three cards had been done in insert sets, but never as part of a base set. On the other hand, it created one of the more iconic cards of its era by combining two legendary rookies and one of the game's biggest stars.
With the larger set size, there are a lot more rookies than could fit in the past several years' worth of sets. Besides Bird and Johnson, notable rookies include Michael Ray Richardson, Purvis Short, Freeman Williams, Maurice Cheeks, Bill Cartwright, Tree Rollins, Michael Cooper, and Sidney Moncrief.
