The Bill Russell rookie card is one of the most coveted in the hobby. And for more reasons than one. First off, it features Bill Russell, who is arguably one of the top five best players in the history of basketball. Secondly, it is also a short print in the set, making it even harder to find what is already a tough condition issue in really nice shape. The cool thing about the Russell card is that it IS a true rookie card, meaning that he was drafted the year prior by the Celtics. Note that all other cards in the set are considered rookies only because it was the first and only set issued during the era. See our profile of the 1957 Topps Basketball set.
