After 1970, Topps switched to using normal sized cards (as opposed to the tall boys). This makes the 1972 Topps set their 2nd normal sized card set.
The 1972 Topps Basketball set contains both NBA and ABA cards which makes it unique. These cards have a white border and a dark colorful background.
There are two main rookie cards present in this set. The first is Julius Erving when he played for the Squires. This was an ABA team and he is one of the only all-time greats with an ABA rookie card. The second is Phil Jackson. He is more known for his coaching than his playing and won championships with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
One important note for collectors is that these cards tend to have issues with centering (especially) on the back of them. Also, there can be what’s known as “fish eye” which is when there is a printing bubble on the front of the card. Unfortunately, both of these problems have nothing to do with collectors, and it’s just the way they were made.
Notable Players:
Julius Erving #195
The first is Julius Erving when he played for the Squires. This was an ABA team and he is one of the only all-time greats with an ABA rookie card. Irving won the MVP award 4 times and only won one NBA championship. This is because he wasn’t technically in the NBA until he was 26. While he was in the ABA, he also won two championships in that league.
Phil Jackson #32
The second is Phil Jackson. He is more known for his coaching than his playing. He won championships as a coach with both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. However, he also won two rings as a player. Jackson was a role player during his career, but this card still holds value due to the legacy he holds on the game of basketball.
Card Specs:
These cards are normally sized. On the front of the card, the team name of the player is in bold. Underneath is the name of the player and the position.
On the back of these cards, you will find the card number, player’s name, position, a bio, a cartoon of the player, and the player’s stats.
The Checklist for this set is split into two: NBA and ABA (NBA having a bigger part). Card numbers 1-176 are related to NBA players whereas cards 177-264 are related to the ABA. There are different types of cards scattered throughout the set including NBA/ABA all-star, stat leader, and championship cards.
1972 Topps Basketball Checklist
This is a 264 card set
1 Wilt Chamberlain
2 Stan Love
3 Geoff Petrie
4 Curtis Perry
5 Pete Maravich
6 Gus Johnson
7 Dave Cowens
8 Randy Smith
9 Matt Guokas
10 Spencer Haywood
11 Jerry Sloan
12 Dave Sorenson
13 Howie Komives
14 Joe Ellis
15 Jerry Lucas
16 Stu Lantz
17 Bill Bridges
18 Leroy Ellis
19 Art Williams
20 Sidney Wicks
21 Wes Unseld
22 Jim Washington
23 Fred Hilton
24 Curtis Rowe
25 Oscar Robertson
26 Larry Steele
27 Charlie Davis
28 Nate Thurmond
29 Fred Carter
30 Connie Hawkins
31 Calvin Murphy
32 Phil Jackson
33 Lee Winfield
34 Jim Fox
35 Dave Bing
36 Gary Gregor
37 Mike Riordan
38 George Trapp
39 Mike Davis
40 Bob Rule
41 John Block
42 Bob Dandridge
43 John Johnson
44 Rick Barry
45 Jo Jo White
46 Cliff Meely
47 Charlie Scott
48 Johnny Green
49 Pete Cross
50 Gail Goodrich
51 Jim Davis
52 Dick Barnett
53 Bob Christian
54 Jon McGlocklin
55 Paul Silas
56 Hal Greer
57 Barry Clemens
58 Nick Jones
59 Cornell Warner
60 Walt Frazier
61 Dorie Murrey
62 Dick Cunningham
63 Sam Lacey
64 John Warren
65 Tom Boerwinkle
66 Fred Foster
67 Mel Counts
68 Toby Kimball
69 Dale Schlueter
70 Jack Marin
71 Jim Barnett
72 Clem Haskins
73 Earl Monroe
74 Tom Sanders
75 Jerry West
76 Elmore Smith
77 Don Adams
78 Wally Jones
79 Tom Van Arsdale
80 Bob Lanier
81 Lenny Wilkens
82 Neal Walk
83 Kevin Loughery
84 Stan McKenzie
85 Jeff Mullins
86 Otto Moore
87 John Tresvant
88 Dean Meminger
89 Jim McMillian
90 Austin Carr
91 Clifford Ray
92 Don Nelson
93 Mahdi Abdul-Rahman
94 Willie Norwood
95 Dick Van Arsdale
96 Don May
97 Walt Bellamy
98 Garfield Heard
99 Dave Wohl
100 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
101 Ron Knight
102 Phil Chenier
103 Rudy Tomjanovich
104 Flynn Robinson
105 Dave Debusschere
106 Dennis Layton
107 Bill Hewitt
108 Dick Garrett
109 Walt Wesley
110 John Havlicek
111 Norm Van Lier
112 Cazzie Russell
113 Herm Gilliam
114 Greg Smith
115 Nate Archibald
116 Don Kojis
117 Rick Adelman
118 Luke Jackson
119 Lamar Green
120 Archie Clark
121 Happy Hairston
122 Bill Bradley
123 Ron Williams
124 Jimmy Walker
125 Bob Kauffman
126 Rick Roberson
127 Howard Porter
128 Mike Newlin
129 Willis Reed
130 Lou Hudson
131 Don Chaney
132 Dave Stallworth
133 Charlie Yelverton
134 Ken Durrett
135 John Brisker
136 Dick Snyder
137 Jim McDaniels
138 Clyde Lee
139 Dennis Awtrey
140 Keith Erickson
141 Bob Weiss
142 Butch Beard
143 Terry Dischinger
144 Pat Riley
145 Lucius Allen
146 John Mengelt
147 John Hummer
148 Bob Love
149 Bobby Smith
150 Elvin Hayes
151 Nate Williams
152 Chet Walker
153 Steve Kuberski
154 NBA Championship Game 1
155 NBA Championship Game 2
156 NBA Championship Game 3
157 NBA Championship Game 4
158 NBA Championship Game 5
159 NBA Champs: LA Lakers
160 NBA Checklist
161 John Havlicek
162 Spencer Haywood
163 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
164 Jerry West
165 Walt Frazier
166 Bob Love
167 Billy Cunningham
168 Wilt Chamberlain
169 Nate Archibald
170 Archie Clark
171 NBA Scoring Leaders
172 NBA Scoring Average Leaders
173 NBA Field Goal Pct Leaders
174 NBA Free Throw Pct Leaders
175 NBA Rebounds Leaders
176 NBA Assists Leaders
177 Roland Taylor
178 Art Becker
179 Mack Calvin
180 Artis Gilmore
181 Collis Jones
182 John Roche
183 George McGinnis
184 Johnny Neumann
185 Willie Wise
186 Bernie Williams
187 Byron Beck
188 Larry Miller
189 Cincy Powell
190 Donnie Freeman
191 John Baum
192 Billy Keller
193 Wilbert Jones
194 Glen Combs
195 Julius Erving
196 Al Smith
197 George Carter
198 Louie Dampier
199 Rich Jones
200 Mel Daniels
201 Gene Moore
202 Randy Denton
203 Larry Jones
204 Jim Ligon
205 Warren Jabali
206 Joe Caldwell
207 Darel Carrier
208 Gene Kennedy
209 Ollie Taylor
210 Roger Brown
211 George Lehmann
212 Red Robbins
213 Jim Eakins
214 Willie Long
215 Billy Cunningham
216 Steve Jones
217 Les Hunter
218 Billy Paultz
219 Freddie Lewis
220 Zelmo Beaty
221 George Thompson
222 Neil Johnson
223 Dave Robisch
224 Walt Simon
225 Bill Melchionni
226 Wendell Ladner
227 Joe Hamilton
228 Bob Netolicky
229 James Jones
230 Dan Issel
231 Charlie Williams
232 Willie Sojourner
233 Merv Jackson
234 Mike Lewis
235 Ralph Simpson
236 Darnell Hillman
237 Rick Mount
238 Gerald Govan
239 Ron Boone
240 Tom Washington
241 ABA Championship Game 1
242 ABA Championship Game 2
243 ABA Championship Game 3
244 ABA Championship Game 4
245 ABA Championship Game 5
246 ABA Championship Game 6
247 ABA Champs: Indiana Pacers
248 ABA Checklist
249 Dan Issel
250 Rick Barry
251 Artis Gilmore
252 Donnie Freeman
253 Bill Melchionni
254 Willie Wise
255 Julius Erving
256 Zelmo Beaty
257 Ralph Simpson
258 Charlie Scott
259 ABA Scoring Average Leaders
260 ABA 2 Point FG Pct Leaders
261 ABA 3 Point FG Pct Leaders
262 ABA Free Throw Pct Leaders
263 ABA Rebounds Leaders
264 ABA Assist Leaders
