Goldin Offers CGC-certified Sports Illustrated Famous for Michael Jordan’s First NBA Cover Appearance

Goldin Auctions is giving collectors courtside seats to bid on a Michael Jordan cover that is one of the most valuable issues of Sports Illustrated. The rarity graded by CGC® will be included in the 2026 Summer Goldin 100 auction, which begins on August 17, 2026.

The Sports Illustrated v61 #26 December 10, 1984, graded CGC 9.8 (lot 7) features the first appearance by Michael Jordan on the cover of the magazine as an NBA star. In August 2023, another example of this issue graded CGC 9.8 broke sales records when it realized $126,000.

Of the 125 CGC-graded Newsstand examples of this magazine, only four are graded Top Pop CGC 9.8 as of early August 2026. The CGC Population Report also includes more than 700 examples of the Subscription version of this edition, but the highest-graded of those is CGC 9.6.

As one of the earliest collectibles of Jordan's legendary NBA career, this Sports Illustrated issue was appropriately titled "A Star Is Born," and featured an image of the shooting guard in the middle of an acrobatic layup against the Milwaukee Bucks only a few months after he entered the league. He quickly became the focal point of the Bulls' offense, as Jordan took the NBA by storm and went on to win Rookie of the Year. Although Jordan first graced the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside Sam Perkins while attending the University of North Carolina, this was the first issue of "His Airness" in a Chicago Bulls uniform.

Jordan would go on to become arguably the greatest basketball player ever and one of the most recognizable figures in all of sports. Between his accomplishments on the hardwood and his signature sneaker line off of it, No. 23 became one of the first global NBA superstars. Jordan led Chicago to six NBA championships, earned six Finals MVPs, five league MVPs, 14 All-Star selections and three All-Star Game MVPs in his astounding career. Among numerous post-retirement honors, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Other CGC-certified magazines offered by Goldin in other upcoming auctions include:

• a Sports Illustrated v61 #26 December 10, 1984, graded CGC 9.4 (lot 103)
• a Sports Illustrated v56 #3, January 25, 1982, Newsstand, graded CGC 9.8 (Auto 7) with a JSA-authenticated signature by Joe Montana (lot 222)
• a Sports Illustrated v62 #17, April 29, 1985 graded CGC Signature Series 7.5, with a Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) signature (lot 1029)
• a Time v204 #21, December 30, 2024, Caitlin Clark cover, graded CGC 9.4 with a JSA-authenticated signature by Caitlin Clark (lot 1392)
• a Slam #2 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 1385)
• a Standard: Iwate Sports Magazine #12 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 102)

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games, and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs, and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation, and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray, and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.

CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication, and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.