Mid 90s Basketball Card Inserts Highly Sought by Collectors

In this article, we will be looking at a few of the most collectable and valuable inserts from the 1990s, the decade where sports cards were, in many ways, defined by unique looking inserts.

Before we get started into the specific insert sets, let’s do a very brief overview of the history of inserts in basketball card sets. You can find some inserts in earlier sets in history, such as for example the iconic Fleer Sticker series from the 1986 Fleer set. But it was really the early 1990s when inserts became like the exciting thing in card packs.

Collectors at that time eagerly awaited to find out what insert card they would find in their purchased packs, and these unique and more scarce cards gave the collector a feeling like they had got their hands on something truly unique and scarce. Now, as soon as card producers realized how much collectors were enjoying these inserts, they began to go a little bit crazy with the trend.

Looking through the 1990s cards, you can see a ton of insert cards were produced. Some were and still are very popular and highly sought, while others are seen as… somewhat ridiculous… and only just a card production company’s effort to exploit the market.

Due to the ridiculousness of the insert explosion, into the 2000s, insert cards began to loose their luster to many collectors, and you can see a long period of time where inserts are just none too common, at least truly sought ones, as gradually things like color parallels began to take the place of the inserts, as the big ‘hit’ cards one hoped to find in a pack. In more recent years, inserts have been making a little bit of a comeback, but not with the kind of intensity that existed in the 1990s. Now, let’s look at a few insert sets still highly sought by collectors today.

First up, we have:

1992–93 Stadium Club Beam Team

Back during the 1992–93 card season, inserts were just beginning to become a thing. At that time, Topps Stadium Club released their Beam Team series at a rate of 1 card per 36 packs. Among the list of names in this set included the hot new rookie, Shaquille O’Neal. His card from this set, as well as the Michael Jordan card pictured above, are the most sought cards from among the set, but the whole insert set has become a popular one for collectors, especially by those who are looking for a little taste of nostalgia from some of their early years in the hobby.

1993–94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings

When the 1993–94 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings were released, it was a card that was high on everyone’s wish list. And among inserts from the 1990s, it was and still remains one of the most sought. Piecing together a full set isn’t necessarily that expensive, except for the one major highlight, the Michael Jordan. A PSA 10 version of that card sold in September 2021 for over $20 grand. The Scoring Kings cards were, if you ask me, one of the most beautifully produced cards of the 1990s. And I think a lot of people would agree with me on that one, considering how well these cards still do on the basketball card market.

1993–94 Upper Deck SE Die-Cut All-Stars

For collectors in the mid 90’s who loved clean, well designed, uniquely shaped cards of some of the best players in the league, the die-cut all-stars inserts were well appreciated. While these cards were almost as difficult to pull from a pack as the above two mentioned, and their value was and still is considerably less than that of the Scoring Kings, this was a card that was one of the big goals for basketball card collectors on a budget. The prices of the cards kept them in the range of possibility for many young collectors, and the unique design really stood out to a lot of people. And for most people, they could also find their favorite players amidst the set, making it great as an additional to any personal collection.

1996–97 Skybox EX2000 A Cut Above

Some inserts could be pulled at a relatively likely rate, while others, like the 96–97 Skybox E-X2000 A Cut Above required luck beyond most mortals. With a rate of being inserted in only 1 out of every 288 packs, or one out of every 12 boxes, this card was about as rare as rare could be. As such, for the average collector, this actually wasn’t even on their minds, it just seemed like a fable. But when one did pop its head out of a pack, it was like finding a holy grail, a long lost artifact only gazed upon by a few eyes.

Now, some 25 years later, combine the rarity of this card initially with the fact that the unique die-cut style of it made it very hard to remain in good condition through the years, and you have a card that can fetch a premium in today’s market. A super premium. That scarcity has made this a gem in the eyes of many collectors.

1996–97 Skybox Z-Force Big Men on Court

Almost as rare as the ‘A Cut Above’ inserts, the Skybox Z-Force Big Men on Court were another very valuable, holy grail style insert from that same year. The eye popping, 90s style graphics of the card stand out as a very appropriate representation of the time period. The list of ten names that make up the set are also all very popular names: Charles Barkley, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, MJ, Shawn Kemp, Alonzo Mourning, Olajuwon, Shaq, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson. Today, these cards can fetch a couple hundred bucks each if they are graded well.

1996–97 Skybox Premium Autographics

In modern day cards, player autographs have become a very common thing in boxes of cards. So much so, that it has almost just become expected that even a relatively casual collector will have a least a few. This was not the case for card collectors in the mid 90s. There had been a few sets of cards that introduced player autographs to a small degree previous to the 1996–97 Skybox Premium Autographics cards, but this set was really the start of autographs becoming a much more normal thing. No longer did you have to mail off a card to the team address with a letter asking for a signature from your favorite player (and yes, I did that quite a few times, and never once got a reply) nor did you have to try to push your way forward through a crowd of spectators to try to get an autograph in person. With the introduction of this set, autographs became accessible to the masses.

1997–98 Upper Deck Game Jerseys

If the 96–97 Skybox Premium Autographics series was the introduction to what has now become a hobby mainstay of pack pulled autograph cards, then the 1997–98 Upper Deck Game Jerseys insert did the same for the introduction of slices of jersey in the card itself, which has also become common in cards today. However, whereas today’s jersey cards can be found at least commonly enough to make them relatively accessible to most collectors, the 97–98 Upper Deck Game Jerseys came at just 1 per 2,500 packs. Talk about scarcity. In fact, the Jordan version of this card had a total of only 23 produced, and higher graded versions of it can sell today for well into the five figures. Despite the rarity, and the fact that most of us will likely never even gaze upon this card in real life, it’s relevance in basketball card history is set, since this tactic has become a mainstay in cards today.

1997–98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems

When I was growing up, I wish I knew what I would be missing in the future by not purchasing much from Fleer Metal or Metal Universe. Those cards were so cool. And still are. The Precious Metal Gems were relatively uncommon, with a print run of 100 per card (only 10 of the green version though, 90 of the red), but due to the fact that there were more than 100 different players in the set, it meant that finding you favorite player or the few ultra superstars in the mix was actually pretty much as uncommon as it came. But, since the cards themselves weren’t that uncommon, it was possible to see some cards of them here and there, just sparking that desire to hunt down and find your favorite players. These cards continue to be very valuable today, especially due to the fact that finding them in excellent quality is tough to do. They had a foil covering on them that tended to flake off easily, so many of them look a little beaten down nowadays. If a gem mint version is found nowadays, it’ll cost you a pretty penny and a half. It has become one of the most iconic insert sets of all time.

1997–98 EX2001 Jambalaya

The 1997–98 E-X2001 Jambalaya insert remains, to this day, one of the very most sought after insert sets of the 1990s. As a card that could only be found once in every 720 packs, they were amongst the rarest. But with the unique shape, the artistic style, and the caliber of the players on the checklist, this set is a popular one among collectors who are willing to spend big money.

Do you own any cards from any of the sets mentioned in this article? What’s your favorite from the list?