The "Junk Wax Era" is known for massive overproduction as the hobby boomed in popularity. Card companies printed millions of copies, leading to market saturation and diminishing the value of most standard cards. While most cards from this era are relatively inexpensive, specific inserts, rare error cards (like the 1990 Topps Frank Thomas "No Name" error in baseball), and high-grade rookie cards of superstars like Kobe Bryant can still hold value. This era included multiple brands like Topps, Hoops, Skybox, Fleer, and Upper Deck. As a collector interested in the 90s, you likely appreciate the wide variety and nostalgic aspects of this period.
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In 1989, Jackson had another promising season for the Knicks, teaming with Ewing to lead them to the Atlantic Division title and the number-two seed in the East (behind the eventual champion Detroit Pistons, whom they swept 4–0 in the regular season), and making his lone All-Star Game appearance. After sweeping Charles Barkley’s Philadelphia team in the opening round, the Knicks faced the upstart Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Near the end of Game 2, Jackson en route to a fast-break layup in the fourth quarter looked back and stuck out his tongue at Jordan before finishing the layup; Jordan responded with a 40+ PPG average the remainder of the series, and led Chicago to a 4–2 series victory. So, why would I need to own an “unremarkable” 1990 Mark Jackson basketball card?
The primary appeal of this card lies in the unusual feature of Lyle and Erik Menendez, convicted murderers, visible courtside in the background of the photo. This unique aspect makes the card more desirable among collectors than a standard card from that era. I think it’s an interesting piece of pop culture history and card lore. They had already murdered their parents and were actively on their spending spree and partying binge by that time. There’s a great mini-series about them on “Netflix,” but I guess the saying goes – “it’s better to be a killer on court..”
Rookie Cards of note in the set include Nick Anderson, Mookie Blaylock, Vlade Divac, Sean Elliott, Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, and Clifford Robinson. However, the 1990 Rony Seikaly #102 trading card is a rare error card that features Michael Jordan in the photo and spells Seikaly's name as "Ron" in front of the card. It's a valuable addition to any basketball fan or trading card collector's collection since it features Michael Jordan in the lower right too!
Sikaly was one of the first, internationally-born players to make an impact on American basketball. Considered one of the top college players from the Syracuse basketball program, Seikaly’s stellar offence and defense placed him among the school’s all-time leaders in rebounds, points and blocks, while earning several nationally-recognized awards and honors. Drafted by the Heat with the 9th pick of the 1988 draft, he developed into one of the best centers NBA and the team’s top offensive and defensive contributors. He would win the NBA player of the week twice, and also amassed many of the team’s records.
The complete 1991-92 SkyBox basketball set contains 659 standard-size cards. The set was released in two series of 350 and 309 cards, respectively. The fronts feature color action player photos overlaying multi-colored computer-generated geometric shapes and stripes. The pictures are borderless and the card face is white. The player's name appears in different color lettering at the bottom of each card, with the team logo in the lower right corner. In a trapezoid shape, the backs have non-action color player photos. At the bottom biographical and statistical information appear inside a color-striped diagonal.
Dee Brown was selected by the Celtics with the 19th pick of the 1990 NBA draft. He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first year, when he played in all 82 games and averaged 8.7 points per game. One of the highlights of his career occurred in 1991, when he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest with a no look slam dunk.
Reggie Miller was one of the best natural shooters in the history of the game. He was also one of the fiercest competitors and trash talkers in history. Miller was a player who made the game come alive. But Reggie was best known for a remarkable amount of quality in the clutch. For example, in the 1992 playoffs, he shot 62% from beyond the arc and 58% from the field.
Other popular players from the 1992 Topps set include Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal… but you can’t sleep on a classic Reggier Miller “50 point club” card either.
Gold foil versions of the regular cards were inserted one per 15-card plastic-wrap pack. Gold foil cards were also inserted two per 18-card mini-jumbo pack, three per 45-card retail rack pack, five per 41-card magazine jumbo pack, and 12 per factory set. In addition, complete Gold factory sets were made at the end of the season. These sets include all 396 cards, plus a seven-card Gold Beam Team insert set. The cards are identical in design to the regular issue, except that on the fronts the team color-coded stripes carrying player information are replaced by gold foil stripes. Reportedly, only 10,000 factory sets were produced. Four different player cards replaced the checklist cards found in the regular 396-card set.
Vibrant and unapologetically 90’s, this was a great set from a time when big men ruled the court. Randomly inserted in all first series packs at an approximate rate of one in three, cards from this 10-card standard-size set feature a selection of the NBA's most powerful stars. This set features color player action cutouts set on a colorful and sparkly starburst background design. The player's name appears in vertical gold lettering in a lower corner. The colorful starburst design continues on the borderless horizontal back, which carries a color player head shot on one side, and career highlights on the other. The cards are numbered on the back as "X of 10." The set was sequenced in alphabetical order too.
The six-foot-eight-inch forward led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record-setting seven consecutive seasons from 1991 to 1998. A two-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Defensive First Team honoree, Rodman loved doing the dirty work that is crucial to a team's success. "The Worm" won his first NBA championship in 1989 with the Detroit Pistons. The following year Rodman was the league's best defender and he helped the Pistons capture a second consecutive ring. In 1995, after a short stint with the San Antonio Spurs, Rodman landed in Chicago where he teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan to bring the Windy City three titles in three years.
The 1990’s had some of the best inserts, and randomly-inserted in all first-series packs at a rate of one in five, these nine standard-size cards highlight some top NBA stars. Borderless fronts feature color paintings of the players on fanciful backgrounds. The player's name appears in gold-foil lettering in a lower corner. The back carries career highlights on a colorful ghosted abstract background. Limited to only 9 players, these cards featured Jamal Mashburn, John Starks, Toni Kukoc, Derrick Coleman, Chris Webber, Dennis Rodman, Gary Payton, Anfernee Hardaway, and Dan Majerle.
The 1994-95 Upper Deck basketball set consists of 360 standard-size cards, released in two separate 180-card series. Fronts feature full-color action photos with player's name and team running in color-coded bars along the side. Topical subsets featured are All-Rookie Team (1-10), All-NBA (11-25), USA Basketball (167-180), Draft Analysis (181-198), and Then and Now (352-360). Rookie Cards of note include Grant Hill, Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Jason Kidd and Glenn Robinson.
Toni Kukoc was one of the first, established European stars to play in NBA. He played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
A stacked rookie class, 1996-97 products included Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Ray Allen among others. A staple of 1990s collecting, Collector's Choice was the main, low-end offering from Upper Deck and a great way to get inexpensive cards of the top players.
Equal parts passion and ability, Allen Iverson wowed the league during his impressive career and earned the respect of collectors along the way, leading to significant interest in Allen Iverson rookie cards. Although he had plenty of ups and downs, and never claimed that elusive NBA title, "The Answer" proved he was one of the greatest guards of his era. Iverson played for Georgetown University before making the jump to the NBA. Four teams and 11 All-Star nods later, AI officially retired in 2013. He also added an MVP Award in 2000-01 and was the Rookie of the Year in 1996-97.
Randomly inserted in both series, with series one inserted at 1:387 hobby and series two at 1:309 hobby, this 12-card set featured a color action photo of a different player on each side of the card along with an authentic autograph of each player. Each of these double-sided cards are stamped with the Topps Certified Autograph issue stamp to ensure authenticity. The cards were inserted within three groups at different levels. Group "A", or cards CO1-CO4 were inserted at 1:15,483. Group "B", or cards CO5-CO8 were inserted at 1:5,161. Group "C", or cards CO9-CO12 were inserted at 1:430 packs. Chris Webber and Kerry Kittles were prominent NBA players in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but they never played on the same team during their professional careers. They are notably linked through a shared appearance on a 1997-98 Topps Stadium Club Co-Signers basketball card featuring both of their autographs. This particular card is one of 14 in a GEM MINT 9.5 grade, and none higher exist.
Webber played in 72 out of 82 games during the 1996-97 season, starting all of them. In the playoffs, the Bullets were swept in three games by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. But one notable performance included a game against the Bulls in January 1997 where Chris Webber scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists. He earned his first career All-Star selection that season and led the Bullets to the playoffs for the first time in nine years. In 1997, Kerry Kittles was in his rookie NBA season with the New Jersey Nets, earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He set a Nets franchise and NBA rookie record for three-point field goals made with 158 that season.
1998 Topps Finest checklist includes some big names like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Vince Carter; however, the NBA legend and first-ballot Hall of Famer, Paul Pierce likely needs no introduction. For whatever reason, Paul Pierce rookie cards don't always get the same recognition as other stars.
Pierce spent the bulk of his 19-year career with the Boston Celtics. "The Truth" is perhaps best remembered from 2007-08, when he led the Celtics to a title over Kobe and the Lakers, and won the Finals MVP.
His NBA card career got underway in 1998-99 sets. In total, collectors can find 18 Paul Pierce rookie cards. Although his ungraded base cards remain relatively affordable, high-grade versions and limited parallels continue to push higher.
With arguably one of the best-looking Paul Pierce rookie cards, especially once the protective coating has been removed, 1998-99 Finest Basketball presents a strong base card and a desirable refractor.
“Gold Label” is a 10-card insert set that is associated with 1998-99 Topps basketball cards. Gold Label has two parallels, Gold Label Black Label and Gold Label Red Label. The set features 10 of the top stars of the day, including Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Although the Jordan #GL1 Gold Label is the top-trending card, other players like Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce and Vince Carter also make the list.
Tim Duncan spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, and is widely-regarded as the greatest power forward of all time. He was fundamental in the franchise’s success during the 2000’s. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2020, and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
When it debuted in 1993-94, Finest was basketball’s first chromium line. By the time 1998-99 Finest came out it had some competition from within. As other lines were rising in popularity, Finest got a little big stagnant. But it’s still chromium so it’s still stable as far as values go. This is one of the years where Topps added a film to the front to protect the surface from scratching and damage. The film can be removed or kept in place.
Vince Carter is an eight-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Team selection. He played a record 22 seasons in the NBA, tied with LeBron for the most seasons played in league history. Hs is also the only player to have played in the NBA in four different decades. In 2024, Carter was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
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