1989-90 Fleer basketball was the beginning of the junk era for basketball cards. Off the success of their extremely strong offering in 1988-89, Fleer production levels spiked and therefore the long term values has stayed depressed. The set is also hurt by a lack of key rookies (highlighted below) in comparison to the incredible set the year before contained rookie cards of Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and John Stockton.

The top rookie names included in the set are Mitch Richmond, Rik Smits, Danny Manning, Rony Seikaly, Dan Majerle and Twitter Superstar Rex Chapman. Three prominent future NBA Head Coaches in Scott Skiles, Scott Brooks and Jeff Hornacek also have their rookie cards in this set. As you can see there are some very good players and fun names to remember, but nothing that would hold significant value.

One highlight of the set is the inclusion of 1989 All Star Stickers. The 11 card set features 8 future Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon (as Akeem Olajuwon) and Larry Bird. These stickers fall one per pack and instantly bring a ton of collecting memories when you see them.

Here’s a look at what we pulled out of two wax packs.

Pack 1:

Charles Barkley All Star Sticker, Dennis Rodman, Reggie Miller, 1989 All Star Game (Dominique Wilkins & Moses Malone), Adrian Dantley, Kevin Johnson, Spud Webb, Kurt Rambis, Mike Sanders, Ed Pinckney, Eric Floyd, Darrell Griffith, Winston Garland, Walter Davis, Mike Gminski, Robert Reid.

Pack 2:

Patrick Ewing All Star Sticker, Scottie Pippen, 1989 All Star Game (Hakeem Olajuwon & Clyde Drexler), Clyde Drexler, James Worthy, Jack Sikma, Mark Price, Frank Brickowski x2, Alton Lister x2, Robert Reid, Ledell Eackles, Rodney McCray, Reggie Theus, Mike McGee.

Review:

While we didn’t pull any Michael Jordan cards, there were plenty of big names to enjoy. Barkely and Rodman were two of my favorite players growing up so pulling their cards was fun. The 1989 All Star cards are really cool and I forgot all about them.

The set brings back a lot of memories. It’s one of the first basketball sets I really remember opening packs of. The design is pretty nice and the photography is also good for the time-frame. While the 1988-89 set is more popular due to the production levels and rookies in the set, I actually like this set better. The inclusion of the All Star Sticker cards was a great addition and the checklist for it was just awesome.

I love opening packs from this set and the search for the Jordan Stickers is fine. I’ve yet to find one in gradeable shape, but hopefully someday I’ll get lucky and find that PSA 10.

We love opening older cards and getting the flood of memories rushing back to us. We hope you enjoy it too! Leave us a comment on the blog or on our Facebook post and let us know if you like these too! If you would like to try ripping your own 1989 Fleer Basketball Wax Pack you can pick them up on eBay for right around $10 from reputable sellers.