Pack Sampling: 1993-94 Fleer Jam Session

Thanks to a combination of the Rona, and the recent MJ produced "documentary" about MJ, all things 90's basketball have been deemed cool again, or at least most things have.

I've never considered myself to be one of the "cool" kids, and probably won't be winning any points from them with today's pack, as Jam Session wasn't a must have brand when it came out, and after doing a quick search, I see that despite the resurgence of love for all things 90's, still isn't.

I don't recall too many card shops near me carrying boxes of Fleer's inaugural Jam Session release back in '93-94, but somebody must've had at least one box, because I know I did get a few packs before they were gone, then had to wait many years before seeing them for sale again anywhere.

Being a fan of the vintage tall boys since the first time I laid eyes on one, I liked the idea of Fleer creating a modern set of tall's, and felt like they did a pretty good job of giving us something that felt relevant to the times. Even after all of these years I still think that they're great, and will never turn down a cheap pack/box, which is how I ended up with this pack, 25¢ at the print/copy/card shop down in town was just way too cheap to walk away from -- I just wish that there would've been more than one pack of the '93-94 set left though, but one is still better than none, so let's get to sampling, shall we?

I forgot to scan the back of the pack, so I can't remember if you're supposed to get an insert in every pack or not, but I'm pretty sure that you are, as that's the way the packs would work for future releases. But either way, the good news is that I did get insert, the bad news though, Rookie Standouts was the worst looking of the four insert sets, what with there lack of logos and all -- good news 1.5, Penny was/is the best card to get from this ugly set, so I guess that's something?

I just recently watched Clutch City (and Double Clutch), which was an NBA produced "documentary" about the Houston Rockets and their 1994-95 championship season. This "documentary" was not that great, way too much player interviews, and clips of motivational speeches from the locker room, and not nearly enough in-game action -- not that this was at all surprising mind you, as the NBA is kind of known for the poor documentation of their own history. It's no wonder that today's fans can't even name a handful of players from say, the 80's, when you realize that the league can't even properly document a teams championship season less than a year after it happened. Anyways, the point of me mentioning Clutch City, wasn't a veiled excuse for me to critique the NBA (of which I could in a series of posts), no, it was because I had forgotten about the role that Carl Herrera had played in those two Houston title runs. I don't think that it could be called a key role, but it was a role nonetheless.

Chuck Person had a solid career, but I can't think of him without thinking about Larry Bird. In case you're not familiar with some of the stories, I'd encourage you to do a Google search and read some of them, and/or watch some videos if they're available. Speaking of Larry Legend, am I the only one  who'd love to see a multiple part ESPN documentary about him? I didn't watch any of that MJ circle jerk, but I can say with the utmost confidence that a properly done Bird special would blow the Jordan one out of the water. There's nothing better than a good Bird trash-talking (and always backing it up, btw) story, and there's certainly no shortage of them out there. Plus there's the whole Bird in his prime (pre back injury) being better than Jordan in his prime thing, and that's not just me talking out of my butt either, many a NBA great has said the exact same thing, and I tend to value the opinions of guys like Russell and Chamberlain, over some twentysomething on Twitter.

I'd never make any assertions as to him being the best point guard of all-time, or even in the top 25, but Terry Porter was the point guard of my childhood, so he'll always carry a special place in my heart.

The backs on this set are almost as good as the front, and that's a fact that isn't debatable.

I don't know if it's still being used or not, but in professional wrestling they used to call a match between two really big guys, a hoss fight, and I can't help but think how appropriate that term is when looking at this match-up between Mark Eaton (7' 4" 270lbs?) and Kevin Duckworth (7' 0" 280lbs-ish). It's also interesting to note the placement of Big Duck's hands, that would be a foul in today's NBA, as making an offensive player actually have to work to get their shot is big no-no these days.

Googs was one of my favorite players during the mid to late 90's, especially when he was paired up with KG in Minnesota. Dude could pretty much do it all, at 6' 10" he could put the ball on the floor, pass like a point, rebound, shoot the 3, and was a serviceable defender. One could say that Tom was a little ahead of his time, as his skill set would've been much more suited for today's game.

Frank Johnson was backing up Kevin Johnson (no relation) by this point, so it's kind of interesting to see that he was included in the set, especially since a) He was never a big name, and b) At 240 cards, this was only a medium sized set, and given how many recognizable names there were in the league at that time, it's bit surprising that he would've made the cut.

I didn't take note of the set, but at some point in the last few weeks I saw a cards of Vinny's on COMC that had either LEGEND or LEGENDS (I think?) printed across the top, and this struck me as bit odd, and thought that Panini (I'm assuming it was Panini since their only one's with an NBA license) might've been stretching just a tad on that one. He was alright in college, and pretty good overseas, but nothing about his NBA career screams LEGEND, or anywhere near it.

He's often overlooked, and probably mostly forgotten by today's fans, which may sound odd given that he is a HOF'er, but it's true nonetheless. It's unfortunate that most of his best years were spent in Sacramento, especially since the higher-ups at the time seemingly weren't willing to put any viable pieces around him, so his prime years were wasted being the best player for a terrible franchise.

Best photo in the pack? I would assume that most people would say yes, from a personal standpoint I like the Eaton/Duckworth more, but this one is really good too. Young Shaq was such a beast, and this photo captures that sentiment perfectly, as all The Admiral, J.R. Reid, and Lloyd Daniels can do, is stand back and watch him do his thing

Not in my house, hahaha!

Love me some Dikembe :)

Danny was an all-time great in college, and had he not suffered a torn ACL during his rookie season, might've been poised to do the same as a pro. Despite the injury, and it's subsequent complications, he still managed to carve out a very respectable 14-year career for himself, which included two All-Star selections, and a Sixth Man of the Year award.

This pack was a perfect example of why I like this set, and just the Jam Session brand in general, so much, yes, they're difficult to store safely, but even at 240 cards strong, you're pretty much guaranteed to get a couple of big names (i.e. Hall of Famers) in every single pack -- or at least that's been my experience anyway, I've yet to open a Jam Session pack from any year and think "Wow, that was a stinker!". I just don't think that it's possible, but feel free to try and prove me wrong, as packs can still be had on the cheap.


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