Milwaukee Bucks superstar and casual sports card enthusiast Giannis Antetokounmpo has recently made an offer for the Topps NOW 1/1 triple autograph card that features Team USA’s LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant.
Topps revealed on Instagram that Giannis Antetokounmpo recently offered $150,000 on an IG Stories post to buy the Topps NOW 1/1 triple autograph card featuring Team USA’s Big Three.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s interest in Team USA’s Big Three card
Antetokounmpo’s bid is for a card that hasn’t been released yet and likely won’t reach collectors until September. However, his offer is considered relatively low.
The Milwaukee Bucks star forward bid is part of a string of high-value offers from prominent collectors since the card was introduced, shortly after Team USA’s gold-medal win over France in the men’s basketball final at the Paris Olympics.
Topps revealed the one-of-one basketball card on August 10, highlighting that it’s the first card from the brand featuring a James autograph and the inaugural triple autograph from Curry, James, and Durant.
Big bids for the Big Three
Geoff Wilson, founder of Sports Card Investor, was the first to place an offer, proposing $100,000 in cash along with a VIP experience. Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions, countered with a $150,000 non-refundable cash advance and the first lot in an upcoming auction.
Wilson’s updated bid offered $250,000, contingent on the card being consigned to the Holy Grails auction by Fanatics Collect and Sotheby’s on September 23 and 24.
Grand Slam Collectibles eventually surpassed all previous bids with a $500,000 offer. The condition for this offer is that all three signatures on the card must receive PSA 10 or BGS 10 grades.
Earlier this month, Topps announced that the triple autograph would go to one person who purchases the Topps NOW James-Curry-Durant card. The base card, which originally sold for $11.99, set a record with a print run of 588,035, the highest ever for a Topps NOW card.
This release marks the first card to feature James, Curry, and Durant together, and it also includes the first James autograph under the Topps brand.
The significance of the 1/1 card
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Clay Luraschi, Topps’ senior vice president of product, discussed the card’s importance with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“This card pays tribute to the incredible moment that we saw during the Olympics where three of the greatest active basketball players combined to take home the gold medal. This particular card is special because you have your regular version and then you have an autograph version. There’s been many different autograph cards throughout basketball trading card history, but this is the first time these three players have signed the same card. So, it makes it very unique,” said Luraschi.
James, who had been exclusively signing with Upper Deck since he entered the NBA, joined Fanatics last year. His initial autograph under this new arrangement was a Bowman U Chrome Superfractor 1/1 Dual Autograph featuring both him and his son, Bronny James.
At the Paris Games, James, Curry, and Durant stood out as the top three American players. They averaged 42.8 points per game together. James topped the team with 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game. Durant shot 52.0% from three-point range, and Curry hit 17-of-27 from beyond the arc in the semifinals and finals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo initially showcased his card collection in 2020, posting a video of his cards, which he later deleted. He later shared cards of teammates Bobby Portis and Donte DiVincenzo during a press conference.
