The 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie is the undisputed king of basketball cards, one of the most important vintage issues in any sport, and the cornerstone of any serious collection. This example has been graded NM 7 by PSA, a high-end grade for a card that is notoriously difficult to find in even lesser low-to-mid-grade condition.

As card #69 in the 72-card set, Mikan belongs to the scarcer second series, and its status as the defining card of the sport's first great superstar has made it a blue-chip hobby asset for decades. The front features the bespectacled 6-foot-10 center in his Minneapolis Lakers home uniform bearing his familiar number 99, crouched over the ball against a vivid royal blue background. The colors are bright and bold, the image is sharply registered and the cream borders are clean with nicely preserved corners. Off-centering on the front is really the only blemish.

The reverse, printed on tan stock, is equally attractive, recounting Mikan's record-shattering season in the National Basketball League, including his 1,195 points in 56 games, and declaring him the greatest basketball player in history up to that point. The period mail-in offer for personalized pencils completes the back.

Mikan was pro basketball's first dominant big man, leading the Lakers to five championships between 1949 and 1954 and forcing rule changes including the widening of the lane. He was part of the inaugural 1959 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history. This is a premier example of the most significant basketball card ever produced. Encapsulated and graded NM 7 by PSA.