The title of this impressive piece, "Legends of Basketball We Made This Game," completely sums up its subject matter. This canvas collects over fifty NBA greats, men who redefined, reinvigorated and reinvented the game of basketball over the past five decades. This piece was made for NBA star Blake Griffin, whose image appears on the collage, but is not signed by Griffin. This visually impactful piece features the original abstract paint background by artist Erika King upon which color action shots of 60 of the greatest NBA players, have mounted, each signed by the player depicted and also includes the signature of former NBA Commissioner, the late David Stern underneath the NBA logo.
The four decades of hardwood stars include Dolph Schayes, Elvin Hayes, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Rick Barry, Dominique Wilkins, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, John Stockton, Artis Gilmore, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Walt Frazier, Bob Lanier, Deron Williams, Hal Greer, Kevin McHale, Hakeem Olajuwon, Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Julius Erving, Blake Griffin (not signed), Kobe Bryant, George Gervin, Gary Payton, Earl Monroe, Dave Cowens, Connie Hawkins, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Bill Walton, Bob Cousy, Lenny Wilkens, Moses Malone, Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Charles Barkley, Bob McAdoo, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, David Stern, Dirk Nowitzki, Bill Sharman, James Worthy, Adrian Dantley, Jerry West, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, Jerry Lucas, Elgin Baylor, Robert Parish and Billy Cunningham. The colorful collage has wood-framed backing and measures 40 x 60 inches. The canvas has been signed by former New Orleans/Utah Jazz owner Sam D. Battistone on the back of the canvas guaranteeing it is a 1/1 Blake Griffin Player Edition. It is the only piece ever signed by Battistone of the “Erika King / We Made This Game”. The piece is also inscribed on the lower right corner “Blake Griffin 1/1” in gold on the black background and also has the artist Erika King’s name in gold. Accompanied by full Letters of Authenticity from Icon Art (who commissioned the artwork) and from James Spence Authentication (JSA).