With sports cards, everyone wants to collect an athlete’s rookie card.  For comic books, a character’s origin or first appearance are generally what’s most desired.  Similarly, when collecting graded magazines, the most collectible issues are an athlete’s first cover appearance.  With the NBA Finals at hand, here’s my list of the top 9 most collectible Sports Illustrated basketball first covers.

#9 - John Havlicek 5/9/66

You might be surprised to see John Havlicek on this list.  While he was an amazing player for the Celtics and won 8 NBA championships, there are at least a dozen or more players that most would agree had better careers than Havlicek.  But this is where the photography and artistry of Sports Illustrated covers comes into play. 

The green and white perfectly captures the feel of the Celtics teams of the 60s, and the simple black border at the top keeps any headlines from diminishing this amazing photo.  This cover is visually stunning and is what pushed this Havlicek first cover to make this list

#8 - Bill Russell 10/25/66

With 11 NBA Championships as a player, more than anyone else, this cover is fitting of the type of player that Bill Russell was.  Rugged, classy, and all business.  The dark green border on this issue makes it extremely condition sensitive which is why the highest graded copy in the world is just 7.0, and there’s only one at that grade.  

#7 - Kobe Bryant 4/27/98

This is the first modern issue to make the list and for obvious reasons.  It’s shocking to believe that Kobe was the 13th pick in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets who quickly traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.  5 Championships later and it’s laughable that people ever doubted an 18-year-old Kobe coming into the league. 

I especially love that Magic Johnson is also on this cover, symbolizing the passing of the torch from Magic’s Showtime Lakers of the 80s to the Kobe & Shaq Lakers of the 2000s.  

#6 - Wilt Chamberlain 10/30/61

5 months before his amazing 100-point game is when Wilt Chamberlain made his first Sports Illustrated cover appearance.  Unfortunately, this cover is quite the opposite of Havlicek’s. 

Coach Frank McGuire is in the forefront, leaving 7-foot Chamberlain looking quite small in the background. It’s not a terrible-looking first cover, but it certainly doesn’t live up to Wilt’s dominating play on the court.  Despite that, there’s no way I could leave Wilt off this list.  

LeBron James 2/18/02

Rarely does a player that’s called “The Chosen One” when coming into the league live up to that kind of hype.  But that’s exactly what LeBron did.  Pictured in his St. Vincent-St. Mary High School uniform, a baby-faced Lebron is now the old man of the league and still its greatest current ambassador. 

The pop counts on this issue are very high, and it really doesn’t matter, because it’s freaking LeBron James!

#4 - Dr J 1/14/74

While I always do my best to set my own personal biases aside, I’m not sure if I’ve done that with this choice.  That’s because I’m an absolute fanboy for the old ABA!  The league that started the slam dunk contest, the 3-point shot, and had a red, white & blue basketball was just so much more innovative and cooler than the NBA. 

This Dr J cover exudes all of that energy, including the nod to Bugs Bunny with the headline.  As of today, there are only 12 copies of this issue graded in newsstand and the highest is 9.2.  

#3 - Larry Bird 11/28/77

It was pretty much a toss-up between #2 and #3 on this list.  Larry and Magic have always gone together since their days at Indiana State and Michigan St respectively.  To rank one over the other in anything is always a challenge. 

I love the 70’s look of this cover.  The white tube socks pulled up to his knees, the feathered hair on the cheerleaders, and the pinstripe basketball shorts.  Larry and Magic literally saved the NBA in the early 80s and any accolades for what they’ve meant to this game are well deserved.      

Magic Johnson 11/28/78 

In 1974 a local newspaper writer in Lansing, Michigan gave Erving Johnson his famous nickname “Magic” after the High School sophomore had a particularly dominant game by racking up a triple-double.  It’s fitting that Magic’s first Sports Illustrated cover has him kinda dressed like a magician with a top hat and tails dunking the basketball. 

Cover images that are shot in the studio vs during a game usually disappoint, but this cover is the exception.  Extremely condition-sensitive due to the black border on this issue, there are only 3 copies graded above a 9.0

#1 - Michael Jordan 11/28/83  

This is one of the 3 most collectible copies of Sports Illustrated for any sport and the only basketball-related cover in my top 3.  The others are the 56 Mantle and the 63 Ali.  A copy graded at 8.5 sold in January 2022 for $11,800 despite the fact that there are many graded higher. 

When examining a copy of this issue raw, be sure to check for tears around the staples as this was a particularly thick issue, causing stress in that area.  The highest copy graded is a 9.6 and there’s only one of those.  My guess is that if that 9.6 came up for auction today it would be the first-ever six-figure sale of a graded Sports Illustrated.  

*Full disclosure - I own the Kobe, Dr. J, Magic, and Jordan issues

Want more Sports Illustrated spec?

*And perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.