1989-90 Basketball Cards
NBA Hoops Series 1 & 2
Series 1 Release Date: November 1989
Box Configuration:
36 Packs Per Box
15 Cards Per Pack
Original Pack SRP: $0.50 Cents
89-90 Hoops Boxes on eBay
Series 1: #1-300
Series 2: #301-353
1989-90 Basketball Cards
NBA Hoops Series 1&2 Basketball
Prior to 1989, the market for NBA trading cards was limited to a single set produced by Fleer. The popularity of the Fleer sets were minimal, even though the cards had a similar look and feel to the 1989-90 NBA Hoops cards. The reason the 89-90 NBA Hoops cards have become a landmark basketball set boils down to several key attributes that made the cards unique for it’s time. 
1) The Rookie Card. In the late 1980’s the market for sports cards in general shifted from collectors going after veteran players – to chasing the hot young player. Every collector from that day remembers the likes of Greg Jeffries, Jose Canseco, and Ken Griffey Jr. Prior to 1989-90 Hoops, basketball card collectors had to wait sometimes several years for a “rookie card” to appear of their favorite player. For example NBA Hall of Famer James Worthy has a rookie card in 1986-87 Fleer even though he was drafted by the Lakers in 1982. While David Robinson was drafted #1 in the 1987 NBA Draft, he did not play in the NBA until 1989 because he was serving his two-year commitment to the Navy. Robinson was considered the next big thing in basketball during that time. Big men were more of a focal point in NBA offenses back in those days – and Robinson was considered a cornerstone type player. Shortly after the product came out, Robinson rookie cards were selling for $10-20 in hobby stores and shows across America. While that seems like a piddly sum today – $10-20 was a lot to spend on a trading card. Pack prices started at $.50 cents per pack – but quickly got as high as $2 per pack. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette – the set price at some stores got as high as $100.
2) Marketing. The NBA Hoops set was a team of people led by the NBA. Think of it this way, imagine if the “MLB” came out with their own set of cards today – competing against the baseball card giant themselves, Topps. The NBA took it upon themselves to market the cards during events like All-Star Weekend. But there was plenty of help for the NBA to market and produce the 89-90 NBA Hoops cards. The league teamed with Cardco Inc. and the Liggett Group in what proved to be a crucial strategic move. Liggett at the time was having wild success producing Pro Set Football cards. Liggett also was involved in distributing candy and tobacco products to retail stores across the country. This partnership proved key, as Liggett made sure that cards could easily be found in just about every grocery store in the United States during the early 1990’s.
3) Cards got hot. In the early 1990’s sports card collecting got hot. In the same vein, so did the NBA, as Michael Jordan became the most popular athlete in the world. But the popularity of sports cards stretched across all three major U.S. sports, football, baseball and basketball. The 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card set off a frenzy, and even to this day that card can still bring $25-40. Cards were affordable in those days, as typically $.50-$1.00 could get you a pack of cards. With no eBay or frankly, the internet – typically collectors actually “collected” these cards in boxes or binders and treasured the cards like gold.
1989-90 NBA Hoops
Checklist
Legend:
- Sp = Short Print – Only in Series 1
- RC = Rookie Card
- C = Coach
- AS = All-Star Card
- UER = Uncorrected Error Card
- COR = Corrected error card
- ERR = Error Card
- IA = In Action
1 Joe Dumars
2 Tree Rollins
3 Kenny Walker
4 Mychal Thompson
5 Alvin Robertson SP
6 Vinny Del Negro RC
7 Greg Anderson SP
8 Rod Strickland RC
9 Ed Pinckney
10 Dale Ellis
11 Chuck Daly RC
12 Eric Leckner
13 Charles Davis
14 Cotton Fitzsimmons C
15 Byron Scott
16 Derrick Chievous
17 Reggie Lewis RC
18 Jim Paxson
19 Tony Campbell RC
20 Rolando Blackman
21 Michael Jordan AS
22 Cliff Levingston
23 Roy Tarpley
24 Harold Pressley UER
25 Larry Nance
26 Chris Morris RC
27 Bobby Hansen UER
28 Mark Price AS
29 Reggie Miller
30 Karl Malone
31 Sidney Lowe SP
32 Ron Anderson
33 Mike Gminski
34 Scott Brooks RC
35 Kevin Johnson RC
36 Mark Bryant RC
37 Rik Smits RC
38 Tim Perry RC
39 Ralph Sampson
40 Danny Manning RC
41 Kevin Edwards RC
42 Paul Mokeski
43 Dale Ellis AS
44 Walter Berry
45 Chuck Person
46 Rick Mahorn SP
47 Joe Kleine
48 Brad Daugherty AS
49 Mike Woodson
50 Brad Daugherty
51 Shelton Jones SP
52 Michael Adams
53 Wes Unseld C
54 Rex Chapman RC
55 Kelly Tripucka
56 Rickey Green
57 Frank Johnson SP
58 Johnny Newman RC
59 Billy Thompson
60 Stu Jackson C
61 Walter Davis
62 Brian Shaw RC SP
63 Gerald Wilkins
64 Armon Gilliam
65 Maurice Cheeks SP
66 Jack Sikma
67 Harvey Grant RC
68 Jim Lynam C
69 Clyde Drexler AS
70 Xavier McDaniel
71 Danny Young
72 Fennis Dembo
73 Mark Acres SP
74 Brad Lohaus RC SP
75 Manute Bol
76 Purvis Short
77 Allen Leavell
78 Johnny Dawkins SP
79 Paul Pressey
80 Patrick Ewing
81 Bill Wennington RC
82 Danny Schayes
83 Derek Smith
84 Moses Malone AS
85 Jeff Malone
86 Otis Smith RC SP
87 Trent Tucker
88 Robert Reid
89 John Paxson
90 Chris Mullin
91 Tom Garrick
92 Willis Reed C SP
93 Dave Corzine SP
94 Mark Alarie
95 Mark Aguirre
96 Charles Barkley AS
97 Sidney Green SP
98 Kevin Willis
99 Dave Hoppen
100 Terry Cummings SP
101 Dwayne Washington SP
102 Larry Brown C
103 Kevin Duckworth
104 Uwe Blab SP
105 Terry Porter
106 Craig Ehlo RC
107 Don Casey C
108 Pat Riley C
109 John Salley
110 Charles Barkley
111 Sam Bowie SP
112 Earl Cureton
113 Craig Hodges UER
114 Benoit Benjamin
115a Spud Webb ERR
115b Spud Webb COR
116 Karl Malone AS
117 Sleepy Floyd
118 Hot Rod Williams
119 Michael Holton
120 Alex English
121 Dennis Johnson
122 Wayne Cooper SP
123a Don Chaney C ERR
123b Don Chaney C COR
124 A.C. Green
125 Adrian Dantley
126 Del Harris C
127 Dick Harter C
128 Reggie Williams RC
129 Bill Hanzlik
130 Dominique Wilkins
131 Herb Williams
132 Steve Johnson SP
133 Alex English AS
134 Darrell Walker
135 Bill Laimbeer
136 Fred Roberts RC
137 Hersey Hawkins RC
138 David Robinson RC SP
139 Brad Sellers SP
140 John Stockton
141 Grant Long RC
142 Marc Iavaroni SP
143 Steve Alford RC SP
144 Jeff Lamp SP
145 Buck Williams SP
146 Mark Jackson AS
147 Jim Petersen
148 Steve Stipanovich SP
149 Sam Vincent RC SP
150 Larry Bird
151 Jon Koncak RC
152 Olden Polynice RC
153 Randy Breuer
154 John Battle RC
155 Mark Eaton
156 Kevin McHale AS UER
157 Jerry Sichting SP
158 Pat Cummings SP
159 Patrick Ewing AS
160 Mark Price
161 Jerry Reynolds C
162 Ken Norman RC
163 John Bagley SP UER
164 Christian Welp SP
165 Reggie Theus SP
166 Magic Johnson AS
167 John Long UER
168 Larry Smith SP
169 Charles Shackleford RC
170 Tom Chambers
171a John MacLeod C SP ERR
171b John MacLeod C COR
172 Ron Rothstein C
173 Joe Wolf
174 Mark Eaton AS
175 Jon Sundvold
176 Scott Hastings SP
177 Isiah Thomas AS
178 Hakeem Olajuwon AS
179 Mike Fratello C
180 Hakeem Olajuwon
181 Randolph Keys
182 Richard Anderson UER
183 Dan Majerle RC
184 Derek Harper
185 Robert Parish
186 Ricky Berry SP
187 Michael Cooper
188 Vinnie Johnson
189 James Donaldson
190 Clyde Drexler
191 Jay Vincent SP
192 Nate McMillan
193 Kevin Duckworth AS
194 Ledell Eackles RC
195 Eddie Johnson
196 Terry Teagle
197 Tom Chambers AS
198 Joe Barry Carroll
199 Dennis Hopson RC
200 Michael Jordan
201 Jerome Lane RC
202 Greg Kite RC
203 David Rivers SP
204 Sylvester Gray
205 Ron Harper
206 Frank Brickowski
207 Rory Sparrow
208 Gerald Henderson
209 Rod Higgins UER
210 James Worthy
211 Dennis Rodman
212 Ricky Pierce
213 Charles Oakley
214 Steve Colter
215 Danny Ainge
216 Lenny Wilkens C UER
217 Larry Nance AS
218 Muggsy Bogues
219 James Worthy AS
220 Lafayette Lever
221 Quintin Dailey SP
222 Lester Conner
223 Jose Ortiz
224 Micheal Williams RC SP
225 Wayman Tisdale
226 Mike Sanders SP
227 Jim Farmer SP
228 Mark West
229 Jeff Hornacek RC
230 Chris Mullin AS
231 Vern Fleming
232 Kenny Smith
233 Derrick McKey
234 Dominique Wilkins AS
235 Willie Anderson RC
236 Keith Lee SP
237 Buck Johnson RC
238 Randy Wittman
239 Terry Catledge SP
240 Bernard King
241 Darrell Griffith
242 Horace Grant
243 Rony Seikaly RC
244 Scottie Pippen
245 Michael Cage UER
246 Kurt Rambis
247 Morlon Wiley RC SP
248 Ronnie Grandison
249 Scott Skiles RC SP
250 Isiah Thomas
251 Thurl Bailey
252 Glenn Rivers
253 Stuart Gray SP
254 John Williams
255 Bill Cartwright
256 Terry Cummings AS
257 Rodney McCray
258 Larry Krystkowiak RC
259 Will Perdue RC
260 Mitch Richmond RC
261 Blair Rasmussen
262 Charles Smith RC
263 Tyrone Corbin RC SP
264 Kelvin Upshaw
265 Otis Thorpe
266 Phil Jackson C
267 Jerry Sloan C
268 John Shasky
269a Bernie Bickerstaff C SP ERR
269b Bernie Bickerstaff C COR
270 Magic Johnson
271 Vernon Maxwell RC
272 Tim McCormick
273 Don Nelson C
274 Gary Grant RC
275 Sidney Moncrief SP
276 Roy Hinson
277 Jimmy Rodgers C
278 Antoine Carr
279a Orlando Woolridge SP ERR
279b Orlando Woolridge COR
280 Kevin McHale
281 LaSalle Thompson
282 Detlef Schrempf
283 Doug Moe C
284a James Edwards ERR
284b James Edwards COR
285 Jerome Kersey
286 Sam Perkins
287 Sedale Threatt
288 Tim Kempton SP
289 Mark McNamara
290 Moses Malone
291 Rick Adelman C UER
292 Dick Versace C
293 Alton Lister SP
294 Winston Garland
295 Kiki Vandeweghe
296 Brad Davis
297 John Stockton AS
298 Jay Humphries
299 Dell Curry
300 Mark Jackson
301 Morlon Wiley
302 Reggie Theus
303 Otis Smith
304 Tod Murphy RC
305 Sidney Green
306 Shelton Jones
307 Mark Acres
308 Terry Catledge
309 Larry Smith
310 David Robinson IA
311 Johnny Dawkins
312 Terry Cummings
313 Sidney Lowe
314 Bill Musselman C
315 Buck Williams
316 Mel Turpin
317 Scott Hastings
318 Scott Skiles
319 Tyrone Corbin
320 Maurice Cheeks
321 Matt Guokas C
322 Jeff Turner
323 David Wingate
324 Steve Johnson
325 Alton Lister
326 Ken Bannister
327 Bill Fitch C UER
328 Sam Vincent
329 Larry Drew
330 Rick Mahorn
331 Christian Welp
332 Brad Lohaus
333 Frank Johnson
334 Jim Farmer
335 Wayne Cooper
336 Mike Brown RC
337 Sam Bowie
338 Kevin Gamble RC
339 Jerry Reynolds RC
340 Mike Sanders
341 Bill Jones UER
342 Greg Anderson
343 Dave Corzine
344 Micheal Williams UER
345 Jay Vincent
346 David Rivers
347 Caldwell Jones UER
348 Brad Sellers
349 Scott Roth
350 Alvin Robertson
351 Steve Kerr RC
352 Stuart Gray
353a Detroit Pistons Cham SP
353b Detroit Pistons Cham
1989-90 NBA Hoops
Error & Sp Cards
115a Spud Webb ERR – Says Spud signed 9/27/89 on back of card.
115b Spud Webb COR – Corrected that he signed 9/26/85 on back.
Market: The error version of this card is considered more rare and thus more valuable.
123a Don Chaney C ERR – On card back – a black line is next to the words ‘NBA coaching record’
123b Don Chaney C COR – No Line on back
Market: It’s believed both have about equal print runs.
171a John MacLeod C SP ERR – NBA logo on his photo on card back
171b John MacLeod C COR – No NBA logo on his photo on back
Market: The error version of this card is considered more rare and thus more valuable.
269a Bernie Bickerstaff C SP ERR – Says he was born on 2/11/44 on card back.
269b Bernie Bickerstaff C COR – Corrected date of birth 11/2/43 on back.
Market: The error version of this card is considered more rare and thus more valuable.
279a Orlando Woolridge SP ERR – On card back – ‘TM’ is not under Lakers Logo
279b Orlando Woolridge COR – The trademark ‘TM’ is under Lakers Logo
Market: The error version of this card is considered more rare and thus more valuable.
284a James Edwards ERR – There is a small black line to the left of the card number on back
284b James Edwards COR – No Line on back
Market: It’s believed both have about equal print runs.
Short Print (Sp) Cards – these cards are not that rare at all. To produce a series 2, Hoops needed to drop some cards from the actual sheets they printed the cards on to make room for the additional cards in the second series. Typically these cards have no additional value compared to other cards in the set.
1989-90 NBA Hoops
Pistons Championship Cards
Hoops produced two 1989 World Champions Pistons cards and the rare version was inserted into series 2 boxes at what is believed to be 1:72 packs. During that time, many people tried to complete the entire set and collectors were upset because it was so hard to pull one of these cards. Hoops then responded by producing a 2nd version, that you could get for free by mailing Hoops. Additional cards were also available for $0.35 cents a card.
1989-90 NBA Hoops
NBA Superstars Set
Have Yellow Background – Originally Only Sold at Sears
100 Cards From Series 1 Inside
1989-90 NBA Hoops
David Robinson RC #138
Sold for $10-25 back in early 1990’s
Can be found for less then $2 today
One of the most important NBA cards of all-time
2011-12 NBA Hoops
Hitting store shelves in February 2012, Panini will produce ‘Hoops’ again and the set will feature buyback autograph cards, including card #310, the in action (IA) version of David Robinson.
2011-12 Panini NBA Hoops Basketball Checklist
 2016-17 NBA Hoops Basketball
I saved all my 1989 and some 1991 NBA hoops cards. Some are the same player cards, some are all star. But about 450 all together. I have them in a small shoe box. What should I do with them? Keep them or sell them? Where and how to appraise them. Please help.