The NBA season is upon us! Beginning this month, you will see more hoops content sprinkled into our regularly scheduled programming!
Much like the 1989 Upper Deck set did for baseball, Skybox's first offering absolutely changed the game in basketball card collecting. The cards were based on a nice, crisp white card stock and featured abstract, geometric graphics that were very 1990s, but somehow still look good today. Little touches like the glowing basketballs and gold borders contrasted well with the background graphics and just made them POP.
The actions cut-outs of the players on the front are done really well, and I have to say that I love looking at the "candid" photos on the back. The disparity in the shots absolutely cracks me up and sometimes reminds me how much things have changed. Let's compare this Rex Grossman card to the MJ from the set:
Ok, two nice action shots here. MJ dunking (of course) and Rex looks like he's headed to the hoop. Now the backs:
Let's unpack this. First of all, in case you're unaware, Rex is verifiable a badass. Hops for days. But here he's doing his best Heathcliff Huxtable impression with that Bill Cosby signature series sweater. Not candid, not cool, but he's kind of a nobody in the league at this point. Now up to MJ.
I can picture the photographer showing up to take a photo of His Airness posing for a "candid" glamor shot, and Michael just saying "No. Just come with me" and proceeding to do an all day "photoshoot" where Michael plays golf and the the camera person caddies and takes some photos. Best day of their life. It's got to be cool or it's not Mike. Rex Chapman? Sorry man. You get what we give you.
Also, just take a moment and look at MJ's stats from '89-'90 compared to the average NBA guard that season. Significantly above average in every single category. What a dominator.
If you can't tell, I love these cards. Not as flash as today's Mosaic or Prizm, but every bit as revolutionary in their time. These designs would be the predecessor to a lot of future sets in every sport, not just basketball. You have to know where you have come from to see where you're going. It will be exciting to see where the basketball card world takes us in the next 30 years. As I build my content, I am thinking that a design retrospective might be in order...we'll see.
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