Book It, Buzz: Landing basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamps, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common. So, with that said, here's the first of what just might become a monthly department here on The Buzz for this new year

Our first subject and autograph to start this series? Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
The Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Specs: Grand Central Publishing -- released on May 16, 2017 (Hardcover Large Print edition -- 320 pages)
The Price: $50 ($31 cover price)
The Spot: shop.kareemabduljabbar.com/collections/books

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: After a record-setting career with John Wooden's UCLA Bruins where his team won it all three years straight (losing just two games) and he was a three-time college player of the year as well as the Final Four's top player three times, Abdul-Jabbar was the No. 1 pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. ... He was a six-time NBA champ with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, a six-time league MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP and retired in 1989 as the league's all-time leading scorer -- a mark that has only since recently been topped by LeBron James. Beyond that, Abdul-Jabbar retired as the all-time leader in games played, field goals made/attempted, blocked shots and defensive rebounds -- in short, his lengthy basketball career was as big as it gets at all levels. ... During his NBA career he was so big that he dabbled with Hollywood -- and still he does -- with appearances in Airplane!, The Big Bang Theory, The Game of Death (fighting Bruce Lee), Fletch, Diff'rent Strokes, Uncle Buck, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House and even the new Night Court just last year among his many credits. This quick summation isn't even close to touching on everything that is his legendary life and career -- his influence and place in history goes well beyond pop culture and the court.

Why this item: Post-NBA, Abdul-Jabbar, who is now 76, has been active in many causes and has authored a number of books and other works over the years with many of them available signed via his website. Some types of memorabilia can be found there -- and you can send in your own items, too -- but a lot of those can get pricey with the overall "market" for his stuff being in play on those items. However, his signed books and comics can be found for $40 and up and you can even add on a video of him signing your book for an added fee as well as various inscriptions if you want to make your item more deluxe (even on the books). He's not a cheap autograph when it comes to cards and he often signs just "Abdul-Jabbar" on everything, but a complete auto is also an add-on if you want that, too. ... I went with a book that relates to his career and clearly shows him on the cover while being affordable. (I prefer that over something not showing him as this is just a better item in my mind.) I landed John Wooden's ink a few times literally decades ago -- he regularly signed through-the-mail -- and also pulled him from packs (2006 Topps Allen & Ginter for me), but I never landed ink for his biggest player. I had scouted Abdul-Jabbar's certified autograph cards the last few years but they became even pricier in that time so this addition fills that void in my collection at a fraction of the price and seemed like a perfect piece to start this series.

Chase ink on cards: BlowoutCards.com for NBA boxes

The Bottom Line: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is among the names that are as big as it gets in the history of basketball and the fact that he's making his books available signed without breaking the bank makes them a no-brainer of an addition for a collector.

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