The Set: Just as 1989-90 was the fourth Fleer set in a row, it was also the fourth year in a row of Fleer’s traditional one-per-pack, 11-card, sticker set. But for 1989-90, the set focused on All-Stars, making for a strong line up of hall-of-famers like Jordan, Magic and Bird. The “Fleer ’89 All-Stars” at the top shows this shift in focus. Being inserted one per pack, none of the cards are very rare, but centering/chipping/wax damage are typical and widely-present, so mint condition cards are a bit harder to come by. The blue border and stars in the background (present on the back also) are familiar from the previous year, although the stars are purple this time. And the phrasing for the numbering changed a bit saying “Sticker No. X” on the back.
The Card: When did people start realizing that Jordan might be the greatest of all time? With this card, we can see the chatter had begun at least in 1989-90. The back of the card opens, “No individual in sports attracts as many people to a game…as Michael Jordan.” It later says that Jordan’s level of play, “had people debating whether he was the best basketball player of all time.” And at the time of printing, he hadn’t even any championships!
The back is a beautiful snapshot of his previous 1988-89 season. It mentions his 28 points in his fourth All-Star game (only four because he missed 1985-86 due to an injury). In addition to the review of the prior season, there is a flashback to Jordan’s legendary game-winning shot in the 1983 NCAA championship and a mention of his participation on the 1984 Olympic team.
Overall, great photo and wonderful reverse of the card. A glimpse at the previous season and the chatter begins…is he the greatest?
In Short: Most of you know this card. This is sticker #3 from ’89-90 Fleer, the Michael Jordan. But did you ever read and think about this one sentence on the back, “Jordan averaged 34.8 points per game in the playoffs and reached a level of play that had people debating whether he was the best basketball player of all time.” But when those words were printed on this card, Jordan just finished his ’88-89 season. The GOAT debate already? Back then? He still hadn’t won a championship, let alone his first three-peat. Or his second three-peat. There were still four more MVP’s coming up. Still seven more scoring titles in the future. I think it says a lot that this card brings up the GOAT debate before any of that happened, as the ’89-90 season was beginning. Really cool detail to think about! Please subscribe to our channel if you like spending time with cards that are often overlooked! (The GOAT already?!? If only they knew…)
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