Timing is everything in the world of sports cards, and the 2006-07 season marks the 20th anniversary of the 1986-87 Fleer Basketball set that contained more big name rookie cards than any basketball set before or since. That makes it the perfect time for Upper Deck to resurrect the base Fleer brand with a release that pays tribute to the biggest name of all, Michael Jordan.
Hobby boxes of 2006-07 Fleer hold 36 packs with 10 cards each at a suggested retail price of $2.99 per pack.
Base Set
Fleer's base set design is simple and clean. The first 200 cards are commons depicting a good chunk of the NBA's stars and veterans, and they feature a white border with a large grey stripe on either side of the photo flanked by smaller, team color stripes. Player and team information is centered at the bottom.
Common card backs incorporate a similar design as the front and include complete career statistics, something that is becoming more and more rare. Collation in my review box was perfect, as it yielded all of the veteran base cards.
The design for the 50 rookie cards, which fall one per pack, changes things up with a grey border and a black stripe. My sample box contained the expected 36 rookies, including top overall pick Andrea Bargnani, Adam Morrison, Rudy Gay and Randy Foye.
Insert Cards
Each pack in my sample box yielded a card from one of four insert sets. Team Leaders and Rookie Sensations are pretty standard fare, featuring top stars and 2006-07 rookies respectively.
A more interesting theme is reflected in Platinum Influence, an insert that pictures a mix of NBA and NFL rookies holding the famous Jordan rookie card. The football players are wearing throwback jerseys from their franchises, leading to cool visuals like Vince Young sporting an Earl Campbell Houston Oilers jersey.
The final insert set is the most direct tribute to the 1986-87 set, as it incorporates pictures of today's stars and rookies into the red, white and blue card design from 20 years ago. There are 132 of the retro cards in all, including one of a young Jordan himself.
Autographed Cards
The packaging touts the return of Autographics, an autograph set that ran through Fleer products in various sports back before Upper Deck bought them out. My review box contained none of the signature cards.
An autograph is also at the center of Fleer Basketball's ultimate chase: randomly inserted autographed Jordan rookie cards. Upper Deck purchased some of the famous cards on the secondary market and gave them to MJ to sign before inserting them into 2006-07 Fleer packs. The buy-backs are likely to draw huge interest once collectors start pulling them, but alas, none turned up in my demo box.
Memorabilia Cards
