The 1988-89 Fleer Basketball checklist is one of the best for all 1980s sports cards. It’s not at the levels of 1986-87, but that set is the benchmark. With several rookie cards of Hall of Famers, the expected assortment of big stars and one of the coolest early Michael Jordan cards in existence, what’s not to love?
1988-89 Fleer Basketball Checklist Details
For the third consecutive year, the base set clocks in at 132 cards. But that doesn’t mean the composition is the same. One small tweak at the end added not only a second card for major names, but resulted in one of the most iconic basketball cards of the decade.
Standard player cards make up the vast majority of the set, though. The big draws not named Michael Jordan are the rookie cards. Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Dennis Rodman and John Stockton are the headliners. All also happen to have key roles in the Chicago Bulls dynasty that would begin within a couple of years. For Pippen and Rodman, they were part of that dynasty. Miller and Stockton were both rivals.
Even the second-tier rookies like Kenny Smith, John Salley and Mark Price are solid. The 1988-89 Fleer Basketball checklist also has the first cards that mention the expansion Charlotte Hornets with rookies of Muggsy Bogues and Del Curry.
As for veterans, Michael Jordan is the clear leader. Others include Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. 1988-89 Fleer Basketball is the final set to feature Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from his active career.
The big change for the 1988-89 Fleer Basketball checklist is the addition of a 12-card Fleer All-Star Team subset towards the end of the set. This gives a chance for the big names to appear once again. In particular, the Michael Jordan All-Star is a true standout simply due to its photo choice. MJ is shown mid-flight at the Slam Dunk competition, an image that is engrained in the memories of a generation of basketball fans. A high percentage likely had the poster hanging on their walls as well. It’s one of the most iconic sports photos of all-time.
Rounding things out, once again, are 11 stickers. Falling one per pack, these are pretty much all top names.
1988-89 Fleer Basketball Checklist
Click on the links to shop for cards on eBay or to check current market values.
Set size: 132 cards
Cards per pack: 13
Packs per box: 36
Boxes per case: 12
Shop for 1988-89 Fleer Basketball boxes and packs on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
132 cards.
Buy on eBay:
1 Antoine Carr, Atlanta Hawks RC
2 Cliff Levingston, Atlanta Hawks
3 Doc Rivers, Atlanta Hawks
4 Spud Webb, Atlanta Hawks
5 Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
6 Kevin Willis, Atlanta Hawks
7 Randy Wittman, Sacramento Kings
8 Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics
9 Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
10 Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics
11 Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
12 Robert Parish, Boston Celtics
13 Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues, Charlotte Hornets RC
14 Dell Curry, Charlotte Hornets RC
15 Dave Corzine, Chicago Bulls
16 Horace Grant, Chicago Bulls RC
17 Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
18 Charles Oakley, New York Knicks
19 John Paxson, Chicago Bulls
20 Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls RC
21 Brad Sellers, Chicago Bulls RC
22 Brad Daugherty, Cleveland Cavaliers
23 Ron Harper, Cleveland Cavaliers
24 Larry Nance, Cleveland Cavaliers
25 Mark Price, Cleveland Cavaliers RC
26 John Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
27 Mark Aguirre, Dallas Mavericks
28 Rolando Blackman, Dallas Mavericks
29 James Donaldson, Dallas Mavericks
30 Derek Harper, Dallas Mavericks
31 Sam Perkins, Dallas Mavericks
32 Roy Tarpley, Dallas Mavericks RC
33 Michael Adams, Denver Nuggets RC
34 Alex English, Denver Nuggets
35 Lafayette Lever, Denver Nuggets
36 Blair Rasmussen, Denver Nuggets RC
37 Danny Schayes, Denver Nuggets
38 Jay Vincent, Denver Nuggets
39 Adrian Dantley, Detroit Pistons
40 Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons
41 Vinnie Johnson, Detroit Pistons
42 Bill Laimbeer, Detroit Pistons
43 Dennis Rodman, Detroit Pistons RC
44 John Salley, Detroit Pistons RC
45 Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
46 Winston Garland, Golden State Warriors RC
47 Rod Higgins, Golden State Warriors RC
48 Chris Mullin, Golden State Warriors
49 Ralph Sampson, Golden State Warriors
50 Joe Barry Carroll, Houston Rockets
51 Sleepy Floyd, Houston Rockets
52 Rodney McCray, Houston Rockets
53 Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
54 Purvis Short, Houston Rockets
55 Vern Fleming, Indiana Pacers
56 John Long, Indiana Pacers
57 Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers RC
58 Chuck Person, Indiana Pacers
59 Steve Stipanovich, Indiana Pacers
60 Wayman Tisdale, Indiana Pacers
61 Benoit Benjamin, Los Angeles Clippers
62 Michael Cage, Seattle SuperSonics
63 Mike Woodson, Houston Rockets
64 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
65 Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
66 A.C. Green, Los Angeles Lakers
67 Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
68 Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers
69 Mychal Thompson, Los Angeles Lakers
70 James Worthy, Los Angeles Lakers
71 Dwayne Washington, Miami Heat RC
72 Kevin Williams, Miami Heat
73 Randy Breuer, Milwaukee Bucks RC
74 Terry Cummings, Milwaukee Bucks
75 Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks
76 Jack Sikma, Milwaukee Bucks
77 John Bagley, New Jersey Nets
78 Roy Hinson, New Jersey Nets
79 Buck Williams, New Jersey Nets
80 Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
81 Sidney Green, New York Knicks
82 Mark Jackson, New York Knicks RC
83 Kenny Walker, New York Knicks RC
84 Gerald Wilkins, New York Knicks
85 Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
86 Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
87 Mike Gminski, Philadelphia 76ers
88 Cliff Robinson, Philadelphia 76ers
89 Armon Gilliam, Phoenix Suns RC
90 Eddie Johnson, Phoenix Suns
91 Mark West, Phoenix Suns RC
92 Clyde Drexler, Portland Trail Blazers
93 Kevin Duckworth, Portland Trail Blazers RC
94 Steve Johnson, Portland Trail Blazers
95 Jerome Kersey, Portland Trail Blazers
96 Terry Porter, Portland Trail Blazers
97 Joe Kleine, Sacramento Kings RC
98 Reggie Theus, Atlanta Hawks
99 Otis Thorpe, Sacramento Kings
100 Kenny Smith, Sacramento Kings RC
101 Greg Anderson, San Antonio Spurs RC
102 Walter Berry, New Jersey Nets RC
103 Frank Brickowski, San Antonio Spurs RC
104 Johnny Dawkins, San Antonio Spurs
105 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio Spurs
106 Tom Chambers, Phoenix Suns
107 Dale Ellis, Seattle SuperSonics
108 Xavier McDaniel, Seattle SuperSonics
109 Derrick McKey, Seattle SuperSonics RC
110 Nate McMillan, Seattle SuperSonics
111 Thurl Bailey, Utah Jazz
112 Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
113 Bobby Hansen, Utah Jazz RC
114 Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
115 John Stockton, Utah Jazz RC
116 Bernard King, Washington Bullets
117 Jeff Malone, Washington Bullets
118 Moses Malone, Atlanta Hawks
119 John Williams, Washington Bullets
Fleer All-Star Team
120 Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls – All-Star
121 Mark Jackson, New York Knicks – All-Star
122 Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers – All-Star
123 Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers – All-Star
124 Larry Bird, Boston Celtics – All-Star
125 Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks – All-Star
126 Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets – All-Star
127 John Stockton, Utah Jazz – All-Star
128 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio Spurs – All-Star
129 Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers – All-Star
130 Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks – All-Star
131 Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz – All-Star
132 Checklist
Super Star Stickers Checklist
11 cards.
1 per pack.
1 Mark Aguirre, Dallas Mavericks
2 Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
3 Clyde Drexler, Portland Trail Blazers
4 Alex English, Denver Nuggets
5 Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
6 Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
7 Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
8 Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
9 Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
10 Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
11 Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
