Bill Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players ever. UCLA went 30-0 in back-to-back seasons under Walton’s leadership before he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA Draft. He had a solid start to his professional career, but Walton suffered numerous injuries that ultimately derailed his career and limited him to only 468 NBA games.
In this article, I’ll highlight his dominant 1977 NBA Championship performance and the card that commemorated that season, his 1977 Topps card #120.
The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was played between the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Julius Erving, and the Portland Trail Blazers, led by Walton. Philadelphia was expected to be there, having the best record in the Eastern Conference, but Portland’s appearance was more of a surprise. The 76ers took the first two games of the series before Portland’s legendary comeback.
In Game 3, down 2-0, Portland exploded for 42 points in the fourth quarter to win 129-107 and claim their first victory of the series. Walton led the way with 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists.
In Game 4, Philadelphia again couldn’t contain Walton and the Blazers, who put up another huge quarter, this time scoring 41 points in the third en route to a 32-point victory. Walton contributed 13 rebounds, 12 points, 7 assists, and 4 blocks.
Game 5 saw another huge third quarter from Portland, this time with 40 points. The Blazers built a 22-point lead with eight minutes remaining before Erving led a furious rally, but Portland held on for a 110-104 victory. Walton was dominant inside, collecting 24 rebounds to go with 14 points.
In the final game of the series, Portland again had one huge quarter, scoring 40 points in the second to take a 15-point halftime lead. No matter what Erving did in the second half, the 76ers couldn’t close the gap or contain Walton, who finished with 20 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, and 8 blocks to lead Portland to the championship.
For the series, Walton averaged 18.5 points, 19 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 3.7 blocks, putting together one of the greatest NBA Finals performances ever. Portland coach Jack Ramsay said:
I’ve never coached a better player. I’ve never coached a better competitor. And I’ve never coached a better person than Bill Walton.
Walton’s performance in those legendary Finals was commemorated on his 1977 Topps card #120. While the 1977 Topps Basketball set took a step back from the 1976 Tall Boys, it still featured some exciting action photography, and the green backs were visually appealing. The front of Walton’s card shows him in a defensive stance, while the back highlights his NBA Playoffs MVP performance and that his dominant performance in the Finals led the Blazers to the title. The cartoon in the upper left notes that Walton rode in the victory parade on a bicycle.
The card has a PSA population of 760 (June 2026), including only four PSA 10s, 152 PSA 9s, and 266 PSA 8s. When I first looked into this card in early 2020, I felt that 1970s Topps Basketball cards were relatively inexpensive and under-collected, and this card was no exception.
At the time, the last recorded PSA 10 sales were $232.50 and $304 in September 2018, so I expected a bidding war when one of the four PSA 10s returned to the market. I couldn’t have predicted the 2020 hobby boom, but prices exploded. As you can see from the Card Ladder screenshot, Fanatics sold a PSA 10 (pictured below, #23514154) for $1,100 in November 2020, and Mile High Card Company sold the copy pictured above (#20878950) for $1,270.59 in April 2021. Those two PSA 10s are the only copies with public sales recorded on Card Ladder.
In early 2020, PSA 9s were selling between $35 and $50. Today, prices have become much more variable, with verified sales ranging from $70 to $224 over the past few months. PSA 8s are selling closer to $40, which is pretty reasonable for a Hall of Famer in a nearly 50-year-old set with a relatively small print run.
If you’re interested in adding a graded copy to your collection, you can see current PSA graded 1977 Topps Bill Walton #120 cards available on eBay by clicking here.
Bill Walton’s performance in the 1977 NBA Finals was historic. He defeated Julius Erving and delivered Portland its only NBA championship. The 1977 Topps card that commemorated that season is a classic 1970s basketball card with reasonable pricing and availability.
Walton went on to win the league MVP award the following season, leaving us to wonder what his career and impact on the basketball card hobby could have been without the devastating foot injuries.
Happy Collecting!
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