Going back to when I was a kid in the early 90’s, I truly didn’t need much to make me happy. Youth sports kept me active and I had a good group of friends to hang with when I wasn’t in school and playing ball. My 2 prized possessions were my Dyno VFR BMX bike and my 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Free time was spent listening to rap music, playing Excitebike, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, and Tecmo Bowl on my Nintendo, and going to baseball card shops and sports card shows. Rap + video games + sports cards = happiness for a young Timmy. But there was always something in the back of my mind that I wanted but knew it was too out of reach for me. It was an iconic piece of art of a player that I would watch fly through the air on WGN broadcasts on our old school TV. It was something that I would catch a glimpse of at card shops and shows occasionally but it was always way outside of my means. It was none other than the 1986-87 Fleer Basketball Michael Jordan rookie card.

I can’t even remember what a Jordan rookie card was going for in the early 90’s but I think $700 seems about right for mint condition? Unfortunately all of my old Beckett Basketball Monthly magazines are stowed away in my parents’ attic so I haven’t had a chance to flip through the pricing pages to confirm what my memory recalls. The 86 Fleer Jordan was the holy grail of sports cards for kids my age back then and I would dream about that damn thing. I would devise plans as to how I could buy it, steal it, trade for it, or find any other way I could get my hands on it. I never did get that ‘86 Fleer Jordan rookie card but I still think about it. And while most fiscally responsible adults are paying off their mortgage on their nice houses and saving money for their future, I’m still thinking about that damn Jordan rookie.

It wasn’t just the Jordan rookie though. That cards themselves were beautiful with the red, white, and blue bordering and the back of the cards were clean as well. Before this 1986-1987 Fleer Basketball Set, basketball cards had been on a hiatus since Topps stopped producing cards after the 1981-82 season. Star Company filled the void for a few years with cards but they distributed their product in team sets and not packs. So when 1986-87 Fleer Basketball Cards came out, they included the first “rookie cards” for the most iconic group of players of all-time in one year’s set. Let’s run down the list on the rookie cards… Jordan, Barkley, Hakeem the Dream, the Mailman Karl Malone, the Human Highlight Reel Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Chris Mullen, Patrick Ewing, and one of all-time favorite players, Clyde the Glide Drexler. Just look at this pic below. So beautiful!

If you weren’t aware, the sports cards and Pokemon card market is booming. Booming I guess might be an understatement? Since the beginning of the year, sports cards news stories have appeared on CNN, Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, and the New York Times just to name a few. eBay posted results that they sold 4 million more cards in 2020 than they did in 2021. Rich investors and Wall Street peeps are pouring into the space looking to get their hands on scarce cards quickly rising in value. Big names like Kevin Durant, Mark Cuban Mark Wahlberg, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, and YouTube star Logan Paul are throwing millions down in this alternative investment world. Entrepreneur and longtime card collector Gary Vaynerchuk is helping push the hobby along and predicted this explosive growth 2 years ago. Even the big homie Snoop Dogg is getting in on the action as he was recently in the news for trading one of his Cutlass old-school rides for a PSA 10 Topps Chrome Kobe Bryant rookie valued at $30K.

I’ve been engulfed in the hype recently and have been reading stories, watching YouTube videos, and listening to podcasts to get fully back into the sports card world. I got a bonus from my work last month and a stimulus check not too long ago so I had some money to play around with that wouldn’t set my family back. Just don’t tell my wife about all of this because I kind of buy these cards on the hush hush nahmean! As I started to go on a little eBay searching I had to just check in on that Jordan rookie card that I’ve always dreamed of. And guess what folks…. it’s still a dream! The most recent PSA 10 Michael Jordan rookie cards sold for $738K!!!! So okay…. The Jordan PSA 10 will probably have to wait another 5-10 years for me. No worries, something to strive for in the future. So then I was curious, what does a PSA 8 Jordan rookie go for? Below is a screenshot from the Market Movers Tool which helps you track eBay sales over custom time periods. This below shows 1986-87 Jordan PSA 8 sales over the last 3 months. While there has been a recent dip, you can’t ignore the fact that this PSA 8 rookie of MJ sold for $5800 in November and is now going for $15K - $20K. Not a bad investment for any of those that got in on this. But yeah… I don’t have that kind of paper so even a PSA 8 is nowhere close to what I could afford.

While the Jordan rookie was my desire, I set out to just own one ‘86 Fleer rookie. I’ve always loved the set but have never even owned a card! So I went on the hunt. And let me tell you, it’s a slippery slope when looking at these cards that you want and the prices they’re selling for. If I’m not getting a Jordan, my next move was the Barkley. Did a little searching at PSA 9… Nope… Not possible. Okay cool, PSA 8? Nah… Still too much. So now Barkley is out of the mix. Then I move pivot quickly to Akeem Olajuwon (aka Hakeem) but he’s a bit out of my price range as well. Maybe I’m shooting too high? So then I go to guys like Manute Bol and Spud Webb who I know will be lower…. Side note, does it get better than this pic of Manute and Spud?

After spending days of looking through eBay searches for ‘86-’87 Fleer Basketball Cards to purchase, I finally spotted my target. While Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, and Karl Malone were all absolute beasts, I just loved what my man Clyde Drexler brought to the court every game. So fun to watch. The Portland Trailblazers had the fresh uniforms and a nice little squad to support Clyde. Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, and big man Kevin Duckworth were a squad that you didn’t want to face in the early 90’s. Take a trip back through memory lane and watch a little Drexler vs. Jordan from the 1992 Finals.

I own a throwback Drexler jersey so it’s only right that I pair that with a 1986-87 rookie. So I went searching…. What I found out was that Drexler is pretty undervalued. Dude was a beast on the court and is one of the top 50 NBA players of all-time so why would his ‘86 rookie be so low? Let me rephrase that… Why would his values be so much lower than some of the other rookies? It didn’t matter to me though. While I do look at sports cards as possible investments, I’m still that same kid from the 90’s who LOVED ripping open packs and trading cards so I still plan on adding to the collection. That Drexler card is pretty slick!

The PSA 9’s and PSA 10’s were still way too much for me but then I found it…. a PSA 8 with my name all over it. What exactly is a PSA 8 you ask? A PSA 8 is graded at a Near Mint - Mint condition so in my eyes, it’s a cool card to own. So here’s the card I purchased…. Pay close attention to the title of the listing. Because the seller used the wrong year (1886?!) and can’t spell Blazers right (Blazzers?), he missed out on some search volume that I quickly capitalized on. Gotta have that SEO down folks!!

There it is…. I finally got my hands on my first 1986-87 Fleer Basketball Card. And it’s my boy Clyde Drexler who I once crossed paths with at the Final Four in Houston in 2011 as I looked in awe. I’m sure he still remembers me… But real talk, this card means the world to me. I bought it for $157.50 which I felt was a great value. Sure it’s only PSA 8 but this is a good start for me. Below you’ll see the pricing chart for this Drexler over the last 3 months. It’s now selling at $300 so in less than a month so I’ve almost doubled my original investment. I’ll take that all day!

So where do I go next? Do I just say f*ck it and ball out on a Barkley rookie? He was one of my favorite hoops players of all-time and he’s one of the best TV personalities around. His game was ridiculous. Dude was a rebounding machine who would run through a brick wall and was only 6’6”. Such good swagger and he would push anybody off of the post to get his buckets. Okay, I’ve already convinced myself…. I need a Charles Barkley rookie card in my collection. Until then, let’s just watch some Barkley footage to be reminded of how dope he was.