Run It Back to 1986-87 with Magic Johnson and NBA Top Shot

Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. Hakeem Olajuwon. Dominique Wilkins. Isiah Thomas. Kevin McHale. James Worthy. Patrick Ewing. Clyde Drexler. Dennis Rodman. 

Before we tip-off an exciting season of NBA action, it’s time to run it back. 

Some of the greatest basketball players in NBA history are coming to NBA Top Shot this September 21-23 — including 17 Hall of Famers and 206 combined All-Star appearances — ushering in a new era of exclusive limited edition video collectibles that capture the essence and feeling of the NBA in 1986-87. 

This three-day celebration of 80s excellence will introduce over 50 new players to NBA Top Shot across three drops that celebrate local fan favorites, certified All-Stars and Hall of Famers.

It’s the perfect time to introduce friends and family to Top Shot, with three tiers of historic pack drops from every NBA team of the era. Start your collection today to join the fun.

Across all three historic drops, collectors will have the chance at finding 1 of 32 iconic Legendary “Anthology” Moments inside these packs — Magic Johnson’s “Junior, Junior Skyhook” from the 1987 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, one of the most limited edition Moments on all of NBA Top Shot.  

Here’s a look at the full 86-87 NBA Top Shot Starting Lineup.

Here’s a look at how Run It Back week will go down in history. 

On September 21, we open the Archives with the return of our Archive Set, a Common-tier collection featuring 30 staples of the era and veterans of the game, including Spud Webb, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Charles Oakley, Kiki VanDeWeghe and Joe Barry Carroll. 

2 lucky collectors who open an 86-87 Archive Pack will find a Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook inside. 

28,500 total $19 packs will be for sale, each containing three Archive Set Common Moments with a limited edition size of 5000, and a small chance at finding the Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook replacing one of the three Moments. 

These packs will become available in a General Queue at 3pm ET on September 21, with a small group of collectors who own a complete set listed below at the time of the snapshot (1pm ET on September 14) getting guaranteed priority access on our Allow List on September 20, starting at 2pm ET, for 24 hours. 

• Archive Set (Summer 21)
• Cool Cats (Series 2)
• Run it Back (Series 1)
• Run it Back 05-06 (Summer 21)
• All-Star Classics (Series 3)
• Deck the Hoops (Series 3)
• Anthology: Magic Johnson (Series 4)
• Vintage Vibes (Summer 21)

The players included in the Archive Set are Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis, Spud Webb, Buck Williams, Danny Ainge, Charles Oakley, Hot Rod Williams, Derek Harper, Rolando Blackman, Vinnie Johnson, Joe Barry Carroll, Rodney McCray, Chuck Person, Michael Cage, Kurt Rambis, Ricky Pierce, Terry Cummings, Gerald Wilkins, Jeff Hornacek, Larry Nance, Walter Davis, Kiki VanDeWeghe, Terry Porter, Otis Thorpe, Reggie Theus, Artis Gilmore, Xavier McDaniel, Dell Curry, Mark Eaton and Jeff Malone.

The Challenge Rewards are Spud Webb, Artis Gilmore and Dell Curry.

More details on these Archive Packs can be found here.

On September 22, we Run It Back with 22 Rare-tier Moments, including the Top Shot Debuts of Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Dennis Rodman, Clyde Drexler, Byron Scott, Alex English, Robert Parish and Karl Malone. 

10 lucky collectors who open an 86-87 Run It Back Pack will find a Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook inside. 

8,500 total $119 packs will be for sale, each containing 4 Archive Set Common Moments, 1 Rare Run It Back 1986-87 Moment with a limited edition size of 499 and a small chance at finding the Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook replacing the Rare Run It Back Moment.  

These packs will become available across a series of Queues on September 22, with a small group of collectors who own a complete Run It Back (Series 1), Run It Back 2005-06 (Summer 21), All-Star Classics (Series 3), Deck The Hoops (Series 3), Vintage Vibes (Summer 21) or Anthology: Magic Johnson (Series 4) Set at the time of the snapshot (1pm ET on September 14) getting guaranteed priority access on our Allow List on September 21, starting at 2pm ET, for 24 hours.  

At 2pm ET, a Priority Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 250,000+ will open, featuring 3,000 packs reserved for this group in our community. 

At 3pm ET, another Priority Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 100,000+ will open, featuring 3,500 packs reserved for this group in our community. 

At 4pm ET, our General Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 500+ will open, featuring 1,500 packs reserved for this group in our community. 

The players included in the Run It Back Set are Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper, Mark Aguirre, Alex English, Fat Lever, Adrian Dantley, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Sleepy Floyd, Byron Scott, Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Patrick Ewing, Maurice Cheeks, Clyde Drexler, Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers, Karl Malone and Manute Bol.

The Challenge Rewards are Larry Bird and Dennis Rodman.

More details on these Run It Back packs can be found here.

On September 23, we celebrate Legacies with the first-ever Legendary Run It Back Moments, featuring the Top Shot Debuts of Hakeem Olajuwon, Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale and James Worthy. 

Run It Back: Legacies is an exciting new chapter in the story of Run It Back, reserved for truly legendary performances from some of the game’s most respected and accomplished to ever step foot on the court. For a deeper dive into this new exploration of hoops history, jump on into our Intro to Run It Back: Legacies and meet the roster of Hall of Famers coming to Top Shot with Legendary Debuts.  

20 lucky collectors who open an 86-87 Run It Back Legacies Pack will find a Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook Moment inside. 

450 total $999 packs will be for sale, each containing 7 Archive Set Common Moments, 1 Rare Run It Back 1986-87 Moment, and 1 Legendary Run It Back Legacies 1986-87 Moment with a limited edition size of 99, and a small chance at finding the Legendary Magic Johnson Anthology Baby Hook replacing the Run It Back Legacies Moment.  

These packs will become available across a series of Queues on September 23, with a small group of collectors who own a complete Run It Back (Series 1), Deck The Hoops (Series 3), All-Star Classics (Series 3) or Anthology: Magic Johnson (Series 4) Set at the time of the snapshot (1pm ET on September 14) getting guaranteed priority access on our Allow List on September 22, starting at 2pm ET, for 24 hours.  

At 2pm ET, a Priority Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 1,000,000 will open, featuring 175 packs reserved for this group in our community. 

At 2:30pm ET, another Priority Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 400,000+ will open, featuring 175 packs reserved for this group in our community. 

At 3pm ET, our General Queue for collectors with a Top Shot Score of 5,000+ will open, featuring 30 packs reserved for this group in our community.

There are no Run It Back Legacies Challenges, and Dominique Wilkins, Kevin McHale, Isiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajuwon and James Worthy will all be available in packs.

More details on these Run It Back Legacies packs can be found here.

This trip through basketball history is an essential part of Magic Johnson’s legacy and is a celebration of some of the most beloved players amongst our community and fans. 

If you have a friend or family member who lived and breathed 80s basketball, invite them to join the drop and start their collection today. 

We’ll see you on September 21 to tip-off Run It Back week!

This blog was updated at 6:30pm ET on September 14 to detail each player in each drop and who will be available as Challenge Rewards.