Welcome to The Athletic Collectibles Staff’s Sports Card of the Week! Here we highlight a notable, interesting, or just plain fun sports card. This week, we go back to the early ’90s and a classic Michael Jordan card.
The 1991 Fleer Basketball set contains 400 cards and was released in two parts: Series 1 and an Update Series. 1991 Fleer Pro-Visions inserts were only included in Series 1 packs, with odds of pulling one in every six packs (on average).
Fleer produced six Pro-Vision cards for this release, with Michael Jordan’s being the most popular among basketball collectors. Other key Hall of Famers in the subset include David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and Magic Johnson.
Unique for its time, the card’s out-of-this-world original artwork shows Jordan soaring through space surrounded by stars, planets, and a vibrant cosmic background. What stands out to me is how Jordan’s legs are illustrated in a superhero-like fashion — a fitting theme for an icon who has become synonymous with playing above the rim.
It’s also worth noting that this card was released five years before Jordan’s starring role in Space Jam. Could it have served as inspiration for the film in some way?
Why It Matters
Fleer’s Pro-Visions inserts from the 1990s are cherished by collectors for their distinctive artwork and portrayal of superstar athletes in baseball, basketball, and football.
Artist Terry Smith, who introduced the Pro-Visions line and illustrated the insert cards for Fleer through 1992, drew inspiration from players’ nicknames or defining traits to create images that felt like the cover of a comic book. In the late 1980s, Smith sent one of his creations to Topps, Donruss, and Fleer as a pitch to design cards for the companies. However, he didn’t hear back from any of them about his artwork until a Fleer executive found his submission two years later. The design Smith initially submitted ultimately became the image used for Doc Gooden’s 1991 Fleer Pro-Visions card.
Even though Pro-Visions don’t have the rarity or command the prices of high-end inserts like Precious Metal Gems or Jambalayas from later in the decade, they have a cult-like following and are nostalgic to sports fans of the era. Plus, Jordan’s unparalleled legacy and the cultural impact of his brand make his only Fleer Pro-Visions card highly collectible.
PSA Graded Population and Current Market Value
Out of roughly 5,000 or so Jordan 1991 Fleer Pro-Visions #2 graded by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), about 22 percent (1,104 examples) have achieved a PSA 10 grade.
The most common grade this card has received is PSA Mint 9, which typically sells for around $50. Its high demand in raw and graded copies generates multiple sales per day on eBay, but since so many were produced, prices have remained affordable. While raw examples (ungraded) are worth less than $10 each, Gem-Mint PSA 10s are currently selling for around $260, up from around $140 a year ago.
The popularity of Jordan’s Pro-Visions compared to others produced during the 1990s is evident in the number of PSA graded examples. Behind Jordan, Bo Jackson’s from the same year is the second most graded Pro-Visions insert card by PSA, with a population of nearly 700 copies.
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(Card images: eBay)