The most iconic basketball card of our generation belongs to the greatest basketball player we've ever witnessed is the crown jewel of 1986-87 Fleer basketball. Today, we'll teach you about these incredible treasures in our new series: The Set of the Week.
When you think of a basketball player, odds are Michael Jordan is the first name that pops into your mind. There isn't much on the court that Jordan didn't do! A six-time NBA champion with his Chicago Bulls, Jordan won the league MVP five times, was named Defensive Player of the Year, brought home, Rookie of the Year, won the scoring title TEN times, owns a pair of Slam Dunk titles, and had Olympic Gold placed around his next twice. At some point in your life, maybe even as you read this, you've looked down at your feet to see the Air Jordan shoes that MJ changed the world with. Now, when it comes to basketball card collection, you won't be shocked to learn who rules the hobby: Michael Jordan. Today, we'll teach you about the set where you can find a Michael Jordan rookie card: 1986-87 Fleer.
The 1986 Fleer set totals 132 regular cards that each measure 2.5" x 3.5". We say "regular" cards as back in 1986, Fleer sold wax packs with 12 cards and 1 sticker (along with that stick of gum you remember!). There are 11 sticker cards in all. Sticker cards are the same size as as the regular release, but were obviously meant to be peeled off and placed in your sticker book, maybe next to your Garbage Pail Kids. Each card has a patriotic red, white, and blue border. In the top right of each card is the Fleer logo. Your traditional player stats are on the back of each card. Remember long before the Internet was a thing, we used the backs of our sports cards to know how many points a basketball player scored?
Multiple Hall of Fame players can be found in the 132-card set including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#1), Charles Barkley (#7), Larry Bird (#9), Dr. J Julius Erving (#31), Patrick Ewing (#32), Magic Johnson (#53), Karl Malone (#68), Akeem Olajuwon (#82), and Isaiah Thomas (#109) to name a few!
The top card of the set sits at #57: Michael Jordan.
Tongue out, ball in-hand, flying towards to rim for a dunk - does it get any more MJ than this?
The 11-card sticker set is also filled with legends: 10 of the 11 players in the set are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jordan is sticker #8 in the set.
This is a sealed 1986-87 Fleer wax pack! A wax box of 1986-87 fleer has 36 total packs. Given there are 12 cards and 1 sticker in each pack, with 132 cards and 11 stickers, a full wax box should yield 3 Michael Jordan rookie cards.
Why is the 1986-87 Fleer set so iconic?
The demand for basketball cards wasn't as high in 1986 as it is today. In fact, in 1986, CBS was still airing NBA playoff games on TAPE DELAY! May 16th, 1986, the Lakers and Rockets played Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals that aired on your TV three hours after tipoff.
Fleer did not release a set after the 1961 Fleer basketball card set until this 1986-87 set! When Jordan began to rise, you could not find a Topps basketball card set either; Topps did not release a basketball set between 1982 and 1992. Imagine with all of the releases we see in the modern card market to not have a basketball card set released for years!
The game grew, Jordan became world famous, and collectors were drawn to a set filled with stars.
This, now iconic, set was the reintroduction of a widely-released basketball set to our lives. The wax packs you peddled to your local gas station to buy. Aside from your Huffy or BMX, you may have brought 40 cents with you to buy a pack with. Ah, the days of Stand by Me, Top Gun, and Ferris Bueller. When your Saturday morning was Smurfs, G.I. Joe. Hulkamania ran wild.
Just Collect has proudly purchased many 1986-87 Fleer complete sets. Recently, we purchased a set from a collector's mom who bought the set back for her son in 1987 - for $17.95! Her son held onto the receipt all these years later, too! You can see this incredible purchase HERE.
If you have a 1986-87 Fleer basketball set, a Michael Jordan rookie, or Hall of Famers from the set, we are buying! If you have these cards and are interested in selling, reach out for a FREE APPRAISAL any time. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards. Read below to see how easy it is to contact us today!
Make sure to come back next week to learn about our next Set of the Week.
Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1989 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.
We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:
We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.
If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.
If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!
Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.
Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!