MJ’S NEXT DANCE
MICHAEL JORDAN’S LEGACY, ALONG WITH JUST ABOUT ALL HIS CARDS, ARE SOARING TO UNPRECEDENTED HEIGHTS.
MICHAEL JORDAN’S LEGACY, ALONG WITH JUST ABOUT ALL HIS CARDS, ARE SOARING TO UNPRECEDENTED HEIGHTS.
“MY MENTALITY WAS TO GO OUT THERE AND WIN, AT ANY COST.”
If there was a theme to Michael Jordan’s career, it would be that impactful line from ESPN’S “The Last Dance” documentary that took an unprecedented deep dive into the Chicago Bulls’ championships through the 1990s. The show vaulted Jordan’s legacy to a new level, and magnified the importance and impact he made on sports culture and basketball worldwide.
“The Last Dance” debuted last spring at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was just one part of a perfect storm of timing, attention and cultural maturity. The popularity of the sports card hobby, especially basketball, was already on the rise. People stuck at home pulled out their old collections to realize those late 1980s and ’90s Jordan cards actually have significant value. Adults today who collected as kids rekindled their love for the hobby. Government stimulus checks didn’t hurt, either. Plus, people were sports starved.
The Michael Jordan-lebron James debate reheated after the Lakers won the NBA Championship last season, giving Lebron James his fourth ring. It only helped to further embolden Jordan fans who unequivocally claim that His Airness is the greatest of all time.
“‘The Last Dance’ put Jordan back into mainstream pop culture,” says Jordan collector Ryan Deffley. “However, it also gave people a reason to embrace what they had been experiencing for a while—their dislike of Lebron James. The better Lebron seems to do, the more people dislike him and cling to Jordan out of spite. I mean, he even wears Jordan’s number.”
RECORD-SETTERS
The result of all this revived attention: just about everything Michael Jordan is absolutely on fire. Perhaps the best illustration are two recent sales of PSA Gem Mint 10 graded versions of his 1986-87 Fleer Rookie Card that topped a staggering $200,000.
They sold in Goldin Auctions lots—one for $211,560 in December and the other for $222,630 in early January. Both records, and roughly seven times what they were selling for at the beginning of 2020. Of course, prices for other graded condition levels are also skyrocketing. Many collectors think attention will shift to Jordan’s other early cards, and some already have seen incredible growth. His 1986-87 Fleer Sticker graded PSA Mint 9 was commanding up to $7,000-$8,000 by the end of December when it was selling for about $1,700 in January 2020.
“I never thought we’d see Jordan cards shoot up in value by a factor of 10 or more in such a short period of time,” says Jordan collector Joe Sandin. “I thought it would be more slow and steady. That’s probably the most surprising aspect.”
When asked which cards he thinks have the best potential to move up in value, Sandin says, “A couple months ago I felt it was the 1986 rookie sticker because it seemed to be lagging behind the base rookie. I bought a PSA 9 and now it has tripled in value. I do think his second-year base and sticker have a lot of room to run.”
IT’S BEEN A WHILE
Another big factor contributing to the incredible rise of Jordan cards is the simple fact that the hobby hasn’t had any Nba-licensed Jordan cards since 2009. In terms of exclusive licensing and usage rights, Jordan is with Upper Deck, and Panini has been the NBA’S sole licensed trading card partner for more than a decade.
The gap has helped drive focus on 1990s cards, compounded with the fact that those years coincide with the Bulls’ dominance. Even base cards are hot. You’ll even find ebay listings for cards of other players noting Jordan being pictured in the background of the photo. “This is why I feel that ’90s inserts will continue to rise exponentially. During the ’90s Jordan won three championships, took almost two years off, and did it again,” Deffley says.
There are no signs of Jordan cards slowing down, and the 2020-21 NBA season just got started. What follows are deeper looks at the rise of his Rookie Card and other key 1980s and ’90s inserts.