Set Showcase #4: 1980/81 Topps NBA Poster Set

I saw these posters on someone's blog a few weeks ago and knew I had to have these in my collection. I found a set on eBay with a starting bid of $8.99 (+ $3.00 shipping) and placed my bid. Thankfully, I was the only bidder... however I was willing to pay up to $15 for the set.

I know they're not worth much, but...

A. they're different (it's not often you see card companies inserting oversized team posters into their packs)

B. they feature a simple, yet awesome design (the remind me of 1977 Topps baseball)

C. they're old (well, not super old... but these posters are 30 years old).

All of these factors put together make this $11.99 purchase well worth while. Most of them are seriously off-centered, but other than that... they're clean.

These posters were inserted into packs of 1980/81 Topps basketball at a rate of one per pack. There were a total of 16 different posters included in the set (7 teams were left out). From looking at the Lakers poster, the photos used seem to be from the 1979/80 season... but I could be mistaken.

Set: 16 posters (1:1 pack)

#8 Los Angeles Lakers

#15 Butch Lee, #14 Brad Holland, #54 Mark Landsberger, #7 Marty Byrnes, #21 Michael Cooper, #10 Norm Nixon

#31 Spencer Haywood, #52 Jamaal Wilkes, #33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, #32 Magic Johnson, #9 Jim Chones

Out of all of the posters... the LA poster is by far my favorite. It features a first year photo of Magic Johnson, along with Laker Legends: Abdul-Jabbar, Wilkes, Cooper, and Nixon. The team photo also includes Jerry Buss (owner), Paul Westhead (head coach), and Pat Riley (assistant coach). I think that's Jerry West next to Chones, but I'm not 100% sure.

Here's the rest of the set...

#1 Atlanta Hawks #2 Boston Celtics #3 Chicago Bulls #4 Cleveland Cavaliers #5 Detroit Pistons

#6 Houston Rockets #7 Indiana Pacers #9 Milwaukee Bucks #10 New Jersey Nets #11 New York Knickerbockers

#12 Philadelphia 76ers #13 Phoenix Suns #14 Portland Trail Blazers #15 Seattle Supersonics #16 Washington Bullets

Along with a list of the teams not included in the set...

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Golden State Warriors

Kansas City Kings

San Antonio Spurs

San Diego Clippers

Utah Jazz

Topps included eleven teams from the Eastern Conference. However, only five of the twelve Western Conference teams were represented. I understand why they didn't include the Mavericks... it was they're inaugural season, so they might not have had access to a photo. However, I really wish they would have included the Golden State Warriors.

So today's question of the day is... assuming that Topps is only allowed to create a 16 team poster set.

Which teams would you take out... and which teams would you substitute in?

Well... I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I'm happy... the Packers just beat the Vikings... 31 to 3. I guess my Rodgers sports card trifecta helped ;-)

So Charles... does that mean I get 5 cards from your tradelist?

Happy Sunday everyone!