At small forward #1, 6ft-8in, from Central Arkansas, #33...
Scottie Pippen!!!
Full disclosure: this is not my card. I grabbed this image from a recently sold eBay listing. Way back in early 1997, I did own a copy of this. I was recently out of high school and working at Toys R Us unloading trucks or assembling various floor models. One day I went to the front of the store to buy a Mountain Dew(don't judge, I was young) at the end of a shift. On the way to the checkout lanes, I saw one of those 100 card repacks with this showing on the front. I didn't think twice and brought it with me to the register. I held onto this awesome insert for a few years and eventually traded it away. I can't remember what I got in return, but it was probably a handful of Gary Payton cards.
At small forward #2, 6ft-10in, from Croatia, #7...
Toni Kukoć!!!
*I split the small forward position because Pippen missed the first half of the regular season with an injury.*
In the middle of the Vin-Sanity craze, I bought a box of 1998-99 SP Authentic hoping to pull the Vince Carter Sign of the Times auto, his serial numbered RC, and maybe an Antawn Jamison RC. I pulled none of the above. I wasn't even lucky enough to pull a Dirk Nowitzki rookie(even though I had no idea who he was at the time). I pulled this auto instead. I remember what a big deal it was when Kukoć finally came to the NBA to play in Chicago, he just wasn't one of my favorites. To this day, his auto lives in my 'for trade/sale' box.
At power forward, 6ft-7in, from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, #91...
Dennis Rodman!!!
From his time with the Pistons through his post-career craziness, I was not a fan of The Worm. Younger me did have an appreciation for how great he was on the boards though. This is my favorite card of his that I actually own. I loved Finest and this is a low-key, all business design/picture. With my current collecting preferences, I kinda wish I owned one of the cards showing him in a more dynamic light, like diving for a loose ball or pulling down a rebound.
Next up, the man in the middle, at center, 7ft-2in, from New Mexico, #13...
Luc Longley!!!
Not much to say about this one. It came out of a pack of Ultra while I was searching for Tim Duncan and Keith VanHorn. I was not thrilled. However, upon inspecting it a bit closer for the purposes of writing this post, it appears this picture was taken during the 1996-97 NBA Finals.
At point guard, 6ft-6in, from Miami-Ohio, #9...
Ron Harper!!!
I don't have any non-base Harper cards. Much like the Longley, I thought this was the most fitting of the occasion as it looks like this photo is also from the '96-97 Finals.
And at shooting guard, 6ft-6in, from the University of North Carolina, #23...
Michael Jordan!!!
Back in the day, most MJ cards were out of my collecting budget. I really couldn't trade for them either because almost all of my friends that collected wanted his cardboard too. So, I pretty much had to stick with what I was lucky enough to pull from packs. From the moment I saw this card peeking out from middle of a 1992-93 Skybox pack, I was in love! I had enjoyed watching the Dream Team win the Olympic gold medal in the summer of '92 and this was a rare, non-base Jordan pull for me. Since he is the source of all the hoopla(see what I did there), I'm going to write about one more Jordan card before wrapping up.
In the summer of 1994, all of the MJ hype was focused on his new found quest to become an MLB ball player. I was living in a rural town in Orange County, NY and had the good fortune to have a tiny LCS that was about a 5 minute bike ride from my house. A few days a week, I would ride to the shop and spend time talking with the owner, flipping through singles, and buying some packs(allowance-permitting). I wasn't one for minor league cards back then, but since MJ was going to make an appearance in the newly released Upper Deck Minors set, I picked up a few packs throughout the summer. A week or two before school started, I pulled this. Though I may be in the minority, I really liked the 1994 Upper Deck design and I was thrilled to pull such an 'in-demand' piece of cardboard.
They're coached by...
Phil Jackson.
This is one of the first basketball sets I can remember opening. Packs were cheap and readily available at my local mom and pop convenience store. Get a load of that tie!
Let's hear it for your starting five(plus two) getting ready for The Last Dance!
I hope you enjoyed this take on the highly anticipated series. Thanks for reading.
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