{"id":467624,"date":"2025-12-11T22:07:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/467624\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T22:07:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:07:18","slug":"top-karl-malone-basketball-cards-of-the-1980s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/467624\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Karl Malone Basketball Cards of the 1980s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"1988-89 Fleer Stickers #8 Karl Malone<\/p>\n

\"\"1988-89 Panini Stickers Spanish #179 Karl Malone<\/p>\n

The 19-year Hall of Fame NBA career Karl Malone<\/a> delivered to fans began in 1985 with the Utah Jazz, wrapping up after one year in Los Angeles with the Lakers in 2004. Along the way, the 14-time All-Star became one of the most decorated power forwards the game has ever seen, winning two Most Valuable Player awards (1997, 1999). And his cards are still a must-have for collectors.<\/p>\n

Karl Malone<\/p>\n

A second-team All-American in 1985, Malone was the 13th overall pick in the \u201985 draft out of Louisiana Tech. The \u201cMail Man\u201d hit the ground running as a rookie, averaging 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Malone made first-team All-Rookie, finishing third in ROY voting behind runner-up Xavier McDaniel and winner Patrick Ewing.<\/p>\n

For the next 15 years, Malone received regular season MVP votes, showcasing his place and longevity in the game. The other thing that started in Year 2, 16 consecutive seasons averaging 20 or more points per game and nine consecutive seasons averaging 10 or more rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

In addition to being part of the NBA 50th and 75th Anniversary teams, Malone was a two-time US Olympic Gold Medal winner (1992, 1996), and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of the 1992 US Olympic team and in 2010 for his NBA career.<\/p>\n

1980s Karl Malone Basketball Cards<\/p>\n

1986-87 Fleer #68 Karl Malone RC<\/p>\n

What could be purchased for 50 cents at the time, a pack of 1986-87 Fleer Basketball cards can now be purchased for over $1,000 if in mint condition. The 132-card set has become an iconic set for multiple reasons: 1) Fleer\u2019s return to the basketball card industry after 25 years and 2) the set is loaded with rookies like Michael Jordan and Malone.<\/p>\n

In excellent condition, the 1986-87 Fleer #68 Karl Malone RC<\/a> starts around $15 working up to $100 in mint condition. Out of 2,967 #66 Malone\u2019s graded by Beckett, only two have been awarded Pristine 10s, and none have earned a Black Label. The most common grade, a 9 Mint (548).<\/p>\n

The other collecting side note, this is the only 1986-87 Malone card out there.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1987-88 Fleer #68 Karl Malone<\/p>\n

Fleer was king of the basketball card world for a second year in a row, producing another 132-card set. Like the \u201986-87 release, packs were complete with 12 cards, which included a sticker and piece of gum\u2026 all for $0.50.<\/p>\n

Excellent #68 Malone pricing begins around $5 with mint cards fetching $30.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1988-89 Fleer #114 Karl Malone<\/p>\n

Harder to find, but of good value, a 1988-89 Jazz Smokey #5 Karl Malone action photo. The 8\u201d by 10\u201d image was part of a fire safety promotion that included yearly statistics on the back. A complete eight-card set values at $115. The #5 Malone can bring $50 mint.<\/p>\n

Of the trading cards, not including Fleer or Panini\u2019s stickers, the 1988-89 Fleer #114 Karl Malone is the piece for the collection. Values range from $1.50 to $10 mint.<\/p>\n

Collecting note; Jazz teammate John Stockton gets his rookie card in this set with Fleer: #115 Stockton. Stockton\u2019s valuable XRC: 1984-85 Star #235 John Stockton.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1989-90 Fleer #155 Karl Malone<\/p>\n

The collector\u2019s choice (not Upper Deck) this year, per value is 1989 CAO Muflon Yugoslavian #49 Karl Malone. The 73-card set was released in Yugoslavia and is hard to find. Scarcity drives up prices for the #49 Malone. High end can be around $40 to $50 raw. There is also a tremendous picture of Hakeem Olajuwon blocking Malone on card #61 (nasty!) in the same set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The common card for fans to add to their PC: 1989-90 Fleer #155 Karl Malone. Most collectors can find a #155 in great condition for under $2.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Get your cards graded with Beckett<\/p>\n

Preserve and enhance the long-term value of your best basketball cards with\u00a0Beckett Grading Services<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 The Gold Standard in Grading.<\/p>\n

Protect Your Collection With:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1988-89 Fleer Stickers #8 Karl Malone 1988-89 Panini Stickers Spanish #179 Karl Malone The 19-year Hall of Fame…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3785],"tags":[7,423,10131,6,422,427,3972],"class_list":{"0":"post-467624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-utah-jazz","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jazz","10":"tag-karl-malone","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-utah","13":"tag-utah-jazz","14":"tag-utahjazz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115703214864297365","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}