1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk Set - Star Basketball Cards

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Fast Facts

Year(s) Issued: 1985
Number Cards: 10
Common Card Value (Good Condition): $15
Estimated Production Run: 4000

Full 1985 Star Gatorade Checklist

1985 Star Gatorade On EBAY

KEYS FOR COLLECTORS

The set was handed out to fans at the NBA Slam Dunk weekend festivities in 1985
The original set was issued with nine players, but a Charles Barkley card (not originally issued in team bags) has surfaced.
The Michael Jordan card from the set is an extremely sought after card

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1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk Set – Summary

The Gatorade Slam Dunk set is another popular issue for vintage basketball collectors, mostly because it includes another Michael Jordan card, along with several other big-name stars from the era.

The issue’s Charles Barkley card was not initially released when the set was distributed to fans at the All-Star Weekend Banquet in 1985. Barkley was replaced in the dunk contest by Terrence Stansbury and thus was removed from the set. I’m unsure how the cards were issued into the marketplace afterward (maybe someone knows?). Notably, the Barkley is more challenging and is considered a short print.

You can see in the checklist below how Terrence Stansbury’s name is noted in bold.

The cards featured a standard design for Star, yet with lime green borders supportive of their advertising sponsor, Gatorade. Here is the most valuable card in the set, Michael Jordan’s card. The backs don’t feature a stat line, as on normal Star cards, but a biography for the player. I like that Jordan’s assistant coach said that his hang time was ‘better than Ray Guy’s punts’.