Allen Bored
Not being a collector of basketball cards these days I can’t speak to who is the dominant force in the market but during the late 80’s it was Fleer. As I mentioned before even during the boom period of the 80’s for the NBA there still wasn’t a whole lot of interest basketball cards. Fleer though released what is the Holy Grail of basketball card sets in 1986 which has the one true Michael Jordan “rookie” card. Although I sadly did not have any ’86-’87 Fleer cards one of the prizes of my collection as a kid was having a complete set of ’87-’88 Fleer Basketball although no idea what condition it is in at this point.
Of course by 1991 we were already well into the overproduced sports trading card market so the 1991-92 Fleer set (or 1991 Fleer Basket-ball according to the pack) is nothing special. I didn’t think I could top the horror of the three punter pack but I may have done it here with this pack which has seven coach cards. I’m starting to think Fleer was really shitty at collating their cards. This insanely high number of coach cards made me think this could possibly be a tampered pack except for 1) no one would/should waste their time tampering with a ’91-’92 Fleer Basketball pack as there is nothing to pull, and 2) there was a card in this pack that definitely would have been gone if it had been tampered with. Here’s a hint, his name rhymes with Cycle Gordon.
One final note, CardBored is going on hiatus for probably the rest of the Summer as I’ll be moving onto doing college football previews.
#29
Card Value: $2.00
1991-92 Stats: 80 G, 30.1 PTS, 6.4 REB, 6.1 AST, 27.7 PER, 17.7 WS
I hear guy was pretty good. Jordan won his fifth consecutive scoring title and a second straight regular season MVP and Finals MVP. One of his more iconic performances came in Game 1 of the ‘92 Finals when he scored 35 points in the first half including hitting six three pointers.
#41
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 57-25, Lost in Conference Finals
The Cavs 57 wins would match the most of any Wilkens’ coached team (’88-’89 also with the Cavs and ’93-94 with the Hawks).
#52
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 81 G, 9.0 PTS, 4.9 REB, 0.6 BLK, 11.6 PER, 3.0 WS
Magic Johnson photo bomb #1. Hey I remember when cards would tell you the player had been traded which I actually prefer over today’s airbrushing of putting the player in their new team’s uniform. Rasmussen was part of a three team deal with between the Nuggets, Hawks, and Bucks that included first round busts Anthony Avent and Kevin Brooks.
#58
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 48-34, Lost in First Round
With an aging team the Pistons had their worst season under Daly since ’85-’86. He would resign shortly after the Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs and take over as head coach of the Nets. He of course also would be the coach of the ’92 Dream Team.
#68
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 72 G, 18.9 PTS, 3.2 REB, 3.5 AST, 18.8 PER, 6.4 WS
Magic Johnson photo bomb #2. Marciulionis was a fan favorite with the Warriors and this was by far his best season. He was the runner up to Detlef Schrempf for the Sixth Man of the Year award and would also help lead Lithuania to a bronze medal in the ’92 Olympics.
#98
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 43-39, Lost in First Round
Dunleavy had the unenviable position of replacing Pat Riley as head coach the prior year but it was a success as the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals once again. But after Magic Johnson retired due to being diagnosed with HIV the ’91-’92 season was a lost year for Dunleavy and the Lakers as they barely made the playoffs and was their worst season in 16 years. He’d resign after the Lakers were eliminated and take the Bucks head coaching job.
#109
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 82 G, 14.8 PTS, 8.4 REB, 1.7 STL, 15.8 PER, 7.7 WS
This was probably Long’s best season, he set a career high in points per game. According to basketball-reference.com the player his career was most similar to is Metta World Peace.
#110
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 38-44, Lost in First Round
This was Loughery’s first season as the Heat’s head coach and the 4th year expansion franchise made their first playoff appearance.
#126
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 15-67, Last Place in Midwest Division
Under Rodgers the Timberwolves had the worst record in the NBA.
#132
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 40-42, Lost in First Round
Nets made the playoffs for the first time in six years but Fitch would resign after the season.
#136
Card Value: $0.15
1991-92 Stats: 82 G, 24.0 PTS, 11.2 REB, 3.0 BLK, 22.8 PER, 13.0 WS
Ewing was voted second team All-NBA and All-Defensive (behind David Robinson in both instances).
#150
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 82 G, 13.7 PTS, 3.4 REB, 1.6 AST, 14.1 PER, 3.5 WS
Anderson was a long time Sixers’ sixth man, this was the last year that he averaged double digit points per game.
#159
Card Value: $0.10
1991-92 Stats: 53-29, Lost in Conference Semifinals
Cotton picked up his 800th career win in a game against the Blazers in late March ’92 (box score). He’d retire for the first time as Suns head coach at the end of the season.
#214
Card Value: $0.15
1991-92 Stats: 70 G, 21.6 PTS, 12.1 REB, 4.3 BLK, 23.7 PER, 9.8 WS
Olajuwon was still a year away from simply being great to beginning to become one of the greatest of all-time. After the season he’d be in a bitter contract dispute with the Rockets and was the subject several trade rumors. I remember listening to local sports talk radio back around this time and Warriors fans were convinced they could get him for some package involving Chris Gatling and Victor Alexander.
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