1990-91

This was the year I got back into basketball card collecting in a big way.  It helped that it was a great ear for the NBA with Magic, Jordan, David Robinson, Ewing, etc. all in their prime.  Plus, my Blazer team was pretty darn good.

Basketball cards were being mass produced at this time, along with baseball and football cards. There were also lesser named companies, such as America's Finest (below) trying to make a name for themselves.  As far as I can tell, America's Finest only lasted a year in the sports card market.

The Blazers drafted Alaa Abdelnaby from Duke late in the first round in 1990.  He never saw a ton of playing time on the talent loaded Blazers though.

1990-91 Fleer basketball had a simple, nothing to write home about design.  However, their All-Star cards were kind of fun.

The Hoops cards from this set are the ones I collected in earnest at this time.  I opened pack after pack of this stuff.  Anything I could get my hands on.  I must have spent hours sorting and organizing these things.  I probably have every card from this set seared into my brain.  So, while it may not be a particularly important set from a sports card collecting standpoint, it was certainly pivotal in my collecting memory.

One of the nice things about living in Portland at this time is that the players were relatively accessible.  Between basketball camps and hanging around after games, it wasn't too tough to score player autographs, even from a superstar like Clyde "the Glide".  Buck Williams was my favorite player from this era though.  He was defensive minded but always a solid contributor.

The Hoops company gave away uncut "Night" sheets at NBA games in an effort to ignite kids interest in the hobby.  They looked a little different than the standard base set (note the yellowish tint) and featured less players, approximately 3 per team.

The Hoops company also put out these "Collect-A-Books".  These could be purchased at sports card shops (yes, sports card shops existed back then as this was pre-internet) and were for sale in one of 4 boxes.  Buy all 4 boxes and you had the complete set.

Each book had several pages of stats, pictures, and personal stories for each player.  While it's not super convenient to pull out each book from a sleeve and read it, it was a nice idea.

Aaahhh, Skybox.  This was the inaugural year for Skybox basketball.  They broke the mold by featuring players overlaying a funky 90s style computerized background.  Of course, the ball was also highlighted.  To this day, these have to be considered the ugliest cards ever.  However, one can hardly argue that they were iconic at the time.

One plus to the Skybox card is the large player pictures featured on the back of the card.  The stats were also interesting.  They featured the most recent season ended plus player stats compared to all guards and if that player played all 48 minutes.  Not sure what sort of value the per 48 has as it's not like any player plays a full game nor is able to sustain that level of consistency over 48 minutes.  

                                                
The Star company, in one of their last bids for relevance, put out a 12 card tribute set to Clyde Drexler.  The cards are glossy, in contrast to their mid-80s sets but are other wise nothing spectacular.  I also don't recall seeing them until they popped up on the internet years later.

The 1991 Franz edition featured some highlights from the previous season plus some bold Blazer colors.  I've always wondered why on the Abdelnaby card, it looks like he's playint outdoors.

As I mentioned, may card companies were trying to make their way into the collecting world, including Wasatch which produced a 24 card set in 1990.

I couldn't you much else about this set though.  Clearly they weren't around long.

Despite a 63 game winning record this season, they Blazers had an early exit from the playoffs (anything other than the finals was considered early in this year) thanks to a brilliant play by Magic Johnson where he stole the ball and sent it bouncing down the length of the court while time ticked away.  We fans would have to wait another year for a crack at the title.