The Mount Rushmore of Basketball Trading Card Sets

C ollecting basketball trading cards is a thrilling journey through the history of the game, connecting fans to iconic players and unforgettable seasons. From vintage sets that launched the hobby to modern masterpieces pushing design boundaries, each collection offers something unique for enthusiasts. In this guide, we highlight six of the best basketball card sets to collect, showcasing their design, player lineups and cultural significance. Whether you're a seasoned collector or just starting out, these sets represent the pinnacle of basketball card collecting.

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Exquisite | Capsule Collection

December 2024 | New York

The set that started it all. 1948 Bowman was the first major set of professional basketball cards and Bowman’s only independent foray before being acquired by Topps in 1956. Headlined by the game’s first true megastar, George Mikan, the set has stood the test of time as a symbol of the genesis of the basketball card collecting hobby. Smaller than today’s cards, measuring in at just 2-1/16 by 2-1/2 inches, this issue nevertheless made great use of black-and-white photography with striking red and blue backgrounds, making a product that still jumps out to collectors nearly 80 years later.

Mikan in particular has the most important card in this set by some distance. A longtime record-holder in the basketball category, some have likened it to the T206 Honus Wagner for basketball collectors.

A couple of dimensions make this set an all-timer. First, it was the first major basketball card set released since the 1961-62 Fleer set almost a decade earlier, and their first since the 1957-58 set. This release in turn set off the most stable run of major releases that the basketball card hobby had seen to that time, with Topps making a set to commemorate each NBA season through the 1981-82 campaign.

Second, its distinctive design. The tallboy format has become a source of desire for collectors, and the color action photography proved similarly striking. The cards measured 2-1/2 by 4-11/16 inches, considerably larger than the standard 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inch offerings that Topps collectors were used to.

Finally, the checklist. Stars such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), Walt Frazier and John Havlicek have their rookie cards in this set, and many more Hall of Famers, including Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson, also make appearances. Compared with other early basketball sets, the star power is highly concentrated in this remarkable set, with names that are still well known today strewn generously across the 99-spot checklist.

The 1986-87 Fleer set represented something of a return to normality for the basketball card hobby. Although the 1970s had seen a consistent run of releases from Topps, after the 1981-82 season basketball cards experienced a period of relative uncertainty. While Star gained the rights to produce cards in the 1983-84 season, these were released in poly bags as team sets. This trend continued until the 1986-87 Fleer set, which returned to the traditional, sealed-wax box and pack-with-gum format that had characterized the hobby for so long.

The design is iconic. The red-white-and-blue color scheme has become a pop culture symbol, and runs through each card on the checklist. In addition to the 132 cards, 11 stickers round out the set, with one sticker included in each pack. Collectors have long focused on condition rarity when it comes to value as the release did not contain different rarity levels, however that singular design for the cards and stickers has been etched fondly into the minds of collectors spanning generations, with future card releases and artists alike consistently harkening back to it.

Many years did not see a traditional release, and so a multitude of stars have their first standard release cards in the 1986-87 set, including Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Clyde Drexler, among others. Debate rages in the hobby about whether these are the “true” rookie cards or if their respective Star sets are, with much of the hobby arguing in this set’s favor because they were the first to come out of sealed wax packs for the respective players. Plus the classic design and significance in returning the hobby again to a place of regular releases has helped solidify this set as an all-time favorite.

Though parallels had long been a feature of the hobby, and trading-card companies had begun to play around with manufactured rarity before this, Skybox Metal Universe combined these qualities to produce a captivating insert set within Precious Metal Gems. Whereas early in the decade manufactured rarity had often meant cards limited to tens of thousands, these were extremely limited, with only 90 red examples and 10 green for each card in the checklist. Combined with a stellar era of players including Jordan, Barkley, David Robinson, young Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, as well as rookies Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady, this set caught lightning in a bottle.

The design and its story also add to the charm and allure of the set. While publishers played with foil and chromium throughout the 90s, the experimental team at Skybox utilized full foil on the front of the card. This made for a striking initial visual impression, and also has made mint-condition examples even more of a rarity.

Fleer, a titan of the trading-card industry, was acquired by Marvel in 1992 during a moment of relative unease in the trading-card space. Several years later in 1995, Skybox International was added to Marvel’s portfolio, and with that came the opportunity for Jean MacLeod, a graphic designer that had seen Fleer through their redesign of Razzles packaging, to push the envelope of card design. Together with Marvel’s illustrators, MacLeod sought to key-in on the galactic design elements that Marvel was so known for, and the result was Metal Universe. Dazzling with their full-foil coatings, Jean, her late husband, Earl Arena, and their graphic-design team at Fleer wanted to ensure that when your pack contained a PMG, you knew you had something special. With color choices inspired by the emerald stone on her engagement ring, the team got to work – and the rest was hobby history.

While the set is distinctively eye-catching with its exceptional colors and metallic finish, the checklist is also unmatched in the basketball hobby. Not only does it feature Jordan and other 90s stars at the peak of their powers, Skybox Metal Universe also features the players that would come to define basketball in the new millennium in Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan. The 1997-98 Precious Metal Gems are credited by many with helping to bring card collecting out of the mass production era and exemplified the experimental nature of late 90s trading cards.

On June 4, 2004, Upper Deck released the first ever edition of Upper Deck Exquisite Collection. The creator of Exquisite Collection, Karvin Cheung, had been looking for the right player to serve as the centerpiece for a new high-end set that would feature highly limited rookie patch autographs. Cheung has cited the moment he saw LeBron James on the cover of Sports Illustrated in February 2002 under the headline “Chosen One” as the moment when he knew he had his player.

Exquisite Collection, in many ways, was created because of LeBron James. The initial issue featured many of his most valuable cards and revolutionized what collectors expected from a high-end product. After establishing itself with basketball, Exquisite Collection spread to other sports, including baseball and football, and it now boasts a number of the most highly sought after cards in sports from the mid-aughts.

Cheung joined Panini in 2011, where he created a product that, like Exquisite, features highly sought after RPAs: Immaculate Collection. Since, Immaculate has featured some of the most highly sought after cards for rookies across a multitude of sports, especially its RPAs. Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors Universe, the parent company of PSA, credits the influence of Exquisite with the founding of National Treasures and Flawless, some of the most marquee products on the market today. Without LeBron James and the drive and creative vision of Cheung, the trading card landscape would look very different today.

The product also brought countless NBA legends and other future Hall of Famers to bare, such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic, Hakeem, Patrick Ewing, Kobe Bryant, rookie guard Dwyane Wade and National Champion Carmelo Anthony, as well as new configurations such as the dual logoman 1/1 patch. Combined with other exciting sets like number pieces, noble nameplates and limited logos, the hobby had new basketball grails that have set the tone for two decades.

A cornerstone of the Panini era, this set picked up the mantle of licensed chromium basketball cards after the loss of Topps Chrome. Presented with a simple yet dazzling chrome design and only three parallels (silver, green and gold numbered to 10), this release laid the groundwork for the set that has become the beloved object of annual anticipation for collectors every year, especially rookie collectors.

This set kicked off a 12-year run of what is often viewed as the benchmark for a given season’s rookie class in the hobby. The number of parallels has expanded greatly, with 63 now offered across several product configurations. This has helped to give new meaning to the phrase “rainbow” in the hobby, and provides collectors not only with parallels that are likely to suit their tastes but also enough data points to begin to gather a sense of a rookie class’s popularity in a given season. However, the parallel that this first set shared in common with its Topps predecessor, gold, has continued to be a fan favorite. With Panini limiting these to just 10, they have become some of the most sought after cards each year for rookies and veterans alike.

The set experienced good timing both with its introductory period as well as the recent market surge beginning in 2018. The Panini era began with a string of historic talent not often seen before. So far in the Panini era, rookies like Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalyen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Anthony Edwards, Lamelo Ball, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama have all found their way to the NBA hardwood – and Panini Prizm gave each their marquee rookie cards. As the market surged in 2018 thanks in part to hype around Luka Doncic, Prizm became the de facto destination for collectors focused on set-building and rare parallels as the available list and configurations began to expand, with Prizm’s chromium finish being both iconic and comparatively available compared to other high end sets. With a historic run that saw Olympian talents like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards, Prizm was well positioned to become the face of the hobby for three of the best players in a generation.

Between design, the checklists and the impeccable timing of draft classes and set development, 2012-13 Panini Prizm basketball was the genesis for one of the most important sets in the modern hobby.

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