1990-91 Skybox and ’90-91 Hoops were under the same parent company, Impel marketing. Because of this, many ideas are shared between the two sets, including the fact that both chose to include the lottery draft picks in their Series II sets this year. It was one of the first times that collectors could find current-year rookies in base sets. In ’90-91 Skybox, the Draft picks appear as the third item in Series II, after the coaches and team checklists. And they don’t appear in draft order! Gary Payton is actually the last card of the eleven-card subset. Other than the bold, NBA Draft logo on the front, there is nothing to distinguish the Draft Picks subset. The usual gold border and computer-generated background is still present. It’s also worth noting that both Hoops and Skybox chose to display some great looking suits! Are these ’90-91 cards the first that depict players in their suits?
But I prefer the photo of the 1990-91 Hoops better, I think the telephone is a great added feature. And this photo in the 1990-91 Skybox is kind of awkward. One of the general arguments about the computerized backgrounds in this set is the fact that they end up cropping all of the action and details. But in this case, it’s a little awkward that this would’ve been the picture of him and David Stern holding the basketball and Stern is cropped out entirely. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ballcap or the team-colored phone that is on the 1990-91 Hoops Gary Payton rookie, but this is still a nice pic.
There are a few cards from the overproduced ’90-91 Skybox set that collectors should really have in their collection, and this Gary Payton rookie is certainly one of them!
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