In 1993-94, NBA Hoops was still trying to find their footing and consolidating after that enormous (and overprinted) 1991-92 set. We went from about 600 cards in ’91-92, to about 500 the next season and now, here in ’93-94 we’re at 421 cards. And the number of subsets in ’93-94 is limited too, only four, and all are recaps of the previous season. An important note about the number of cards in the set though! They are numbered to 421 but some resources argue that a Magic/Bird commemorative card and 28 “Hoops Scoops” inserts should’ve been numbered as part of the regular set since they appear at the same rate as the other cards. In addition to the number of cards being in flux, the design was in flux as well. This is the first season that we have a borderless, full-bleed photo on the front. The basketball court key from 1989-90 and ’90-91 gave way to a more conventional border for two seasons, and now the border is gone entirely.
The cards are still alphabetized by team and name, placing this Dennis Rodman at card #66. But Rodman has a special place in this set. 1993-94 was his trade from the Pistons to the Spurs and, here in ’93-94 Hoops, Rodman appears with two different teams, and two different hair colors, in one single set. For one of the last Pistons cards, this #66 has a great photo. Nice dunk… With the Pistons jersey and natural hair color, when contrasted with the blonde hair on the Series II #405, you would think these cards were from two different eras, not the same ’93-94 set.
The backs of these Hoops cards are very conventional ,but they contain full college and professional stats for those that like to see the complete numbers. Having the chance to see the college statistics, I want to point out that Rodman seemed to be finding his niche as his college career went along. Look at how his rebounds grew during his three years at Southeastern Oklahoma…392, 510 and 605. Another thing to point out is the drop in rebounds between ’91-92 and ’92-93. There was a drop from 1,530 rebounds to 1,132. But make note that this was while missing 20 games that season! And as the card says, he was “the NBA’s leading rebounder for the second consecutive year by averaging 18.3 rpg despite” missing these games. Overall, a junk wax card that’s still really fun, and a great chance to have two very contrasting Rodman’s in one set!
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