In the lead up to the 1993-94 NBA Basketball season and in subsequent card releases, Fleer made an effort to step up their insert game. A prime example of that upgrade is the high end look and feel of the six card Living Legends insert set.
Randomly inserted in Series 2 packs at a rate of one in every 37 of the standard 15-card packs and one in every 24 of the larger 21-card packs, the relatively small insert set focused on some of the biggest names in the sport.
The set carries a horizontal design Fleer often put to use on its inserts cards at the time. Each card features two full-color images of the legends featured. The player images are placed on top of a borderless, metallic motion streak back drop. The player’s name and the Living Legends logo are found at the bottom of the card, both in gold foil. Fleer 93-94 text is found in gold foil in the top corner of the card.
The card backs feature the same horizontal design as the front but in place of the metallic backdrop is a clean, white background. The backs showcase another full color, close up image of the player on one side of the card, the player’s name, team name appear in an upper corner and fun career highlights appear in a paragraph on the opposite side.
With the set being constructed in alphabetical order by the player’s last name, Charles Barkley. The rest of the set is a tour of some of the most popular players of the day.
The second card in the set shows Larry Bird in his classic shooting form in his home white Celtics gear. The second image shows Bird grabbing a rebound with his right hand well on his way to a triple double, I’m sure.
New York Knicks Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing is the third card in the product. Ewing is featured in his blue Knicks uniform as he’s calling for the ball posted up in the paint. The second image on the card shows him in his white Knicks uniform in mid jump shot release with his classic knee pads showing.
Card number 4 in the six card set shows Michael Jordan in his road red Bulls uniform, ball in hand, ready to raise up for a shot. The second image finds MJ dribbling up court. Both are great snapshots in time chronicling the greatest to ever do it.
The fifth card in the set features Houston Rockets Hall of Fame (are you sensing a theme here?) center Hakeem Olajuwon.
The left picture shows Hakeem with the ball in both hands, wide eyed, looking to dish the rock. The right image shows him ready to release his signature jump shot that’s sure to put two points on the board.
The final card in the six card set features Dominique Wilkins taking a jump shot in the first image and in the second shot he’s shown driving to the hoop with intent with the ball in his left hand.
This product won’t set you back thousands of dollars or force you to take out a second mortgage, as the entire set can be had on eBay for a very modest investment, with the Jordan being the key card, of course, selling for $30-$40 regularly online. Graded mint MJ examples obviously run higher.
The small six card set offers enough to give you an iconic starting five and your sixth man off the bench but is absolutely packed with star power. It features a unique card design that when seen in the right light offers a shine reminiscent of the classic 1993 SP Baseball, with so much of the backdrop being a metallic look and feel. That fact, coupled with the classic images of six of the true all time greats and the clean text and fonts makes this set a shoo-in for the insert set Hall of Fame.
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