[buckunteer]

For those of us collecting on a budget, particularly MJ collectors, there are a ton of PC cards that we will flat out never be able to afford: Star XRC, 97-98 PMGs, embossed gold refractor /74 just to name a few.

Thankfully, however, there are a lot of great-looking 90's MJs that are within reach even for those of us on a budget. I just picked up a borderline-iconic card: 1993-94 Ultra Scoring Kings MJ. It prompted me to think of my favorite looking cards that are still affordable!

For the purposes of this thread, I'm considering "realistic" as anything that books $150 or under. I'm sure I'll miss plenty, but these are some of my favorites that I'm still looking for!

1994-95 Collector's Choice #240 gold signature
1994-95 SP Championship Playoff Heroes die-cut
1995-96 E-Xl Natural Born Thrillers
1995-96 Metal Maximum Metal (I know, I know, this one is VERY affordable and pretty easy to find, just tough to find raw in good shape or graded for a reasonable price!)
1995-96 SP All-Stars Gold
1996-97 Ex2000 Net Assets
1996-97 Upper Deck Rookie of the Year Collection
1997-98 Topps Rock Stars refractor
1998-99 Skybox Molten Metal Xplosion
1998-99 Topps East/West refractor w/ Kobe

That's a really solid list of 10. There are plenty more I want, but these are at/near the top. What do you guys think? Which ones (or others) do you want/need?

[hegotgame1515]

buckunteer, you already mentioned some good cards i would have said before these....
1997-98 Metal Universe Planet Metal #1 Michael Jordan
1997-98 Z-Force Quick Strike #5 Michael Jordan
1996-97 Bowman's Best Shots Atomic Refractors #BS6 Michael Jordan
1998-99 Metal Universe Planet Metal #1 Michael Jordan
1997-98 Finest Embossed #154 Michael Jordan G
1996-97 Metal Platinum Portraits #5 Michael Jordan
1997-98 SkyBox Premium Competitive Advantage #CA3 Michael Jordan
1996-97 Flair Showcase Row 0 #23 Michael Jordan
1996-97 Z-Force Slam Cam #SC5 Michael Jordan, Above $150 BV but you can get them around $150

I would highly recomend over anything else (for the price) getting any of the MJ hologrfx set 1-10
1998-99 UD Ionix MJ HoloGrFX #M1-M10 Michael Jordan

[nickm1123]

Hey man, great list! This is still one card that I cant seem to find or at least win:
1998-99 Skybox Molten Metal Xplosion.

It is a great looking card and doesnt cost too much. These cards that you want are very easily obtained.

I also cant seem to pull the trigger on this card now that it has drastically increased in SV.
1996-97 Z-Force Slam Cam #SC5 Michael Jordan, Above $150 BV but you can get them around $150

[user_3n5kp]

A few amazing ones no one mentioned:

92-93 fleer team leaders
92-93 total d
92-93 fleer all star
93/94 ultra power in the key
92-93 beam team
93-94 beam team
92-93 upper deck 15,000 pt club
94-95 emotion ntense
93-94 skybox center stage

[pingbling23]

for me, its gotta be a bgs graded star rc. its at a price that i can afford, but i dont want to just break down and buy one because they are selling so high. i plan on selling a few of my kobe autos to put toward the star, my wife has already given the approval lol, i just gotta committ myself. thats the fun thing about collecting, theres such a wide range of cards out there, everyone can be happy.

[buckunteer]

@nickm I love that xplosion card. I actually got the Mitch Richmond in a trade on here and love the look and feel of the all-metal card! Last MJ one went for $70 on the 'bay and they rarely pop up.

@hegot I had trouble keeping my list at 10. The Planet Metal and Quick Strike cards almost made the list!

@ping I wish you luck man, PLEASE post pics if you get one!!

@user Awesome early MJ list! I actually have several of those, and the N-tense I pulled WAY back in the day and have LOVED it ever since. Still need the team leaders and the first-year beam team! I like the 93-94 dynamic dunks MJ too.

Love the other additions keep them coming!

[taffster74]

I'll just stick to MJ's base and whatever inserts i can pick up, thank you very much. MJ (much like my Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Hersey Hawkins Collections) is not an absolute priority, so I'll only go for him if I can't get my focus players.

[buckunteer]

Thought this thread deserved an update! I picked up the 95-96 SP All-Stars Gold in a cash/trade combo (thanks Nickm!) and also the 93-94 scoring kings which I accidentally left off my list of 10 (would've replaced either the natural born thrillers or the rookie of the year). I also just won another one of these on the 'bay for less than half bv! First one I have ever seen go that low, condition looked fine in the pics. I will post it when it arrives!

[nickm1123]

Thought this thread deserved an update! I picked up the 95-96 SP All-Stars Gold in a cash/trade combo (thanks Nickm!) and also the 93-94 scoring kings which I accidentally left off my list of 10 (would've replaced either the natural born thrillers or the rookie of the year). I also just won another one of these on the 'bay for less than half bv! First one I have ever seen go that low, condition looked fine in the pics. I will post it when it arrives!

Which card did you get? or are you doing a surprise and post it when it comes?

[buckunteer]

Haven't updated this thread in quite a while!

I now have half of the 10 listed!

95-96 Maximum Metal (raw)
95-96 SP All-Stars Gold (BGS 8.5)
96-97 Ex Net Assets (BGS 8.5)
96-97 UD RoY collection (BGS 9)
98-99 Molten Metal Xplosion (BGS 9)

Still need the other 5 obviously.

Something I'm considering doing is selling some raw MJs in that $20-$50 bv range that I like, but am afraid won't grade particularly well. My 95-96 borderless mystery finest comes to mind as I'm afraid the centering will hurt the grade even though it looks very nice otherwise.

I figure if I sell a dozen or so cards like that, I could really get close to having all of these, and hopefully in at least that coveted silver BGS label (8.5!).

Thoughts are welcomed/appreciated