FILE - NBA great Bill Russell reacts at a news conference as he learns the most valuable player award for the NBA basketball championships has been renamed the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, Feb. 14, 2009, in Phoenix. Russell has died at age 88. His family said on social media that Russell died on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Russell anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 titles in 13 years. (AP Photo/Matt York, file)AP Photo/Matt York, file

Celtics Legend Bill Russell's Rookie Card Sells for Record-Setting $660,000

Erin WalshMay 12, 2023

Bill Russell was one of the best players in NBA history, so it should come as no surprise that one of his rookie cards sold for a fortune.

A 1957 Topps Russell rookie card sold for $660,000 at auction on Thursday at PWCC Marketplace, per ESPN's Dan Hajducky. It set a new record for the highest-selling card of the Boston Celtics legend.

It is also the third-most expensive vintage (pre-1980) basketball card of all time behind a 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie card that sold for $800,000 in March 2022 and a 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain rookie card that sold for $670,000 nearly one year ago.

TOP NEWS

Bleacher Report1w

With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Celtics' fourth-quarter comeback falls short in Game 7 loss to 76ers

Bleacher Report1w

DENVER NUGGETS VS GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS, NBA

Bleacher Report1w

This particular Russell card was graded an 8.5 between mint and near-mint by PSA. Only three of these cards have been graded higher, and they have never been up for public auction, per Hajducky.

Russell spent his entire NBA career with the Celtics, winning 11 NBA titles, including eight straight, and five MVP awards between 1956 and 1969. He was also a 12-time All-Star, four-time total rebounding champion and made an All-NBA team 11 times.

Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. He died last July at 88, and the NBA announced a month later that his No. 6 would be retired league-wide.