For sale from this set
The 1984 Star Slam Dunk set has 11 cards: a group-photo checklist, the nine players in the first NBA Slam Dunk Contest, held January 28, 1984 in Denver, and a champion card for Larry Nance, who beat Julius Erving in the final. Basketball Gold calls it an extension of the 1984 All-Star Game set, and it shares that set's design.
The set at a glance
| Cards | 11 |
|---|---|
| Numbering | 1-11 |
| Released | 1984 ("STAR 84" on the fronts) |
| Packaging | One sealed bag of 11 cards, group photo on top |
| Sets printed (est.) | 5,000 (Basketball Gold) |
| Errors | 1 (#9 "Wilkens") |
| Rookie cards | None |
| Design | White borders, blue frame, 1984 All-Star Game logo |
Card by card
Names are as printed on the card fronts. Nance is the only player with two cards.
| # | Front | Team / note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1984 Slam Dunk Championship / Checklist | Group photo of the nine contestants |
| 2 | Michael Cooper | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 3 | Clyde Drexler | Portland Trail Blazers (printed "Trailblazers") |
| 4 | Julius Erving | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 5 | Darrell Griffith | Utah Jazz |
| 6 | Edgar Jones | San Antonio Spurs |
| 7 | Larry Nance | Phoenix Suns |
| 8 | Ralph Sampson | Houston Rockets |
| 9 | Dominique Wilkins | Atlanta Hawks (printed "Wilkens," front and back) |
| 10 | Orlando Woolridge | Chicago Bulls |
| 11 | 1984 Slam Dunk Champion / Larry Nance | Nance on the rim with the trophy |
How the set was made
Star, Robert Levin's small Pennsylvania company, held the NBA license from 1983 to 1986. For the 1984 All-Star Weekend at McNichols Arena in Denver it made two sets with the same design: a 25-card All-Star Game set and this 11-card Slam Dunk set for the contest held the night before the game. Both have white borders, a rounded blue frame, "STAR 84" at top right and the 34th All-Star Game logo at lower left. The backs carry only the number, name and team, no stats, with the NBA and NBPA logos.
Each set came in its own sealed polybag, this one with the group-photo checklist on top. Basketball Gold and starbasketballcards.com both estimate 5,000 sets (starbasketballcards.com also says "eleven contestants"; there were nine). No source gives a release date beyond 1984; the Nance champion card means it was finished after the contest.
The same player photos appear again in the 34-card 1984 Star All-Star Game Denver Police set, which combines the 25 All-Star Game cards with Slam Dunk #2-10 (no group photo, no champion card) over backs that carry police safety tips, handed out by local police.
Star printed several products on one sheet. Basketball Gold notes its sheets usually held 100 cards, and the uncut sheet in the gallery below, from collector Ryan Jessup, shows the 1984 All-Star Game and Slam Dunk cards printed alongside 1984-85 Star Knicks, Rockets and Pistons cards. We know of no published account of that sheet's layout.
What collectors should know
- Not rookie cards: eBay listings often call the Drexler, Wilkins and Sampson cards rookies. They are not: each player's rookie is his 1983-84 Star base card (#100 Drexler, #263 Wilkins, #73 Sampson), and Basketball Gold's rule is that a subset card can't be a rookie when a base card of the player exists. The same goes for #7 Nance (#115) and #10 Woolridge (#180).
- The "Wilkens" error: #9 misspells Dominique Wilkins's name on the front and back. No corrected version is known; BGS prints the right spelling on its label.
- Condition: Basketball Gold has no condition warnings for this set, and says the All-Star Game cards tend to be in better shape than the Denver Police cards, whose centering is a problem.
- Sealed bags: an original sealed bag proves the cards are original, not that they are mint; you can't see the centering or surfaces of the cards underneath. Resealed Star bags exist, and a GAI bag grade rates the plastic and seals, not the cards.
- Fakes: it is not one of the Type II sets (those are limited to 1985-86 #95-172, the 1986 Jordan set and 1986 Best of the New). Shop at Home remade the 1985 Gatorade Slam Dunk set in 1997 with white borders, but not this one.
- Grading: BGS has graded Star since December 2008 and labels the set "1984 Star Slam Dunk." PSA added it in March 2023 under the same name. CGC began grading 1980s Star in May 2025; its announcement publishes no set list.
The key cards
- #3 Clyde Drexler and #9 Dominique Wilkins: first-year subset cards, in Basketball Gold's term, of two Hall of Famers, both pictured mid-dunk, and the cards starbasketballcards.com ranks as the most valuable in the set with the Erving.
- #4 Julius Erving: the runner-up in the final against Nance.
- #11 1984 Slam Dunk Champion, Larry Nance: Nance sitting on the rim with the trophy; the card that makes this set more than a reprint of the Denver Police photos.
- #8 Ralph Sampson: a rookie at the time of the contest, and that season's Rookie of the Year.
Sources
- Basketball Gold: 1984 Slam Dunk (our primary source, including its card-by-card notes)
- Basketball Gold: 1984 All-Star Game
- Basketball Gold: 1984 All-Star Game Denver Police
- Basketball Gold: FAQs (our primary source)
- Basketball Gold: Common Misconceptions
- Basketball Gold: Glossary
- Beckett: "Star Crossed," a Star masterclass with authenticator Steve Taft
- starbasketballcards.com: 1984 Star Slam Dunk set (bag photo, card backs)
- Trading Card Database: 1984 Star Slam Dunk Championship (#9 error note)
- Wikipedia: 1984 NBA All-Star Game (contest date and field)
- NBA.com: 1984 All-Star recap (venue)
- Beckett: Rare 1984-85 Star uncut sheet with two Jordans (Star sheets)
- starbasketballcards.com: Unlicensed Shop at Home sets
- Sports Collectors Digest: PSA expands Star grading (March 22, 2023)
- All Vintage Cards: PSA grading Star basketball cards
- CGC: Now grading 1980s Star basketball cards (May 23, 2025)
Gallery
Uncut sheets
