Growing up in the 1970's as a basketball fan, Kareem was already a Legend to us kids, playing in his prime. No one could deny how he would dominate a game. In high school, while attending Power Memorial Academy, he led his team to three straight New York City championships, a 71–game winning streak, and a 79–2 overall record. Which is why he got "The Tower from Power" nickname. Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, perfected the sky hook, an offensive weapon that no one could stop during his reign. All of us on the Jr. high team would try and copy the sky hook, and of course none of us could. We did not have any basketball cards for sale on PEI in the 70's, at least I never saw any. It was later in the 80's when I first saw his rookie card, and instantly thought of it as a beautiful piece of Art. The 1969 "Tall-Boy" cards are not everybody's favourite, but I feel the size suits the most prolific offensive player in NBA history perfectly. His Legend is bigger than most, so it's only fitting his rookie card is as well. There aren’t many players that have had the impact on the game of basketball like Kareem. Not only was he a great basketball player, but he is still a prominent cultural figure for Humanity, and the African American community. The Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play for them, but he declined the big money and was picked first overall in the 1969 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, who were in only their second season of existence. He was the NBA Rookie Of The Year on this card, and then won the NBA Championship the next year, winning the Finals MVP and NBA MVP, and his Legend only grew taller from there for another 20 years. If I was to paint the most beautiful legendary basketball rookie card of my boyhood, or maybe any era, this is it. 
I just wish I could have painted him, even bigger.