1985 Star Last 11 Rookies of the Year

October 20, 2026

#6 Larry Bird (raw)

#1 Michael Jordan

The 1985 Star Last 11 Rookies of the Year set has 11 cards. It covers every NBA Rookie of the Year from 1974-75 through 1984-85. The cards run newest to oldest, so Michael Jordan, the 1984-85 winner, is #1. Basketball Gold names #1 Jordan and #6 Larry Bird as the key cards.

The set at a glance

Cards	11
Numbering	1-11
Michael Jordan cards	1
Released	1985
Packaging	One sealed bag of all 11 cards
Sets printed (est.)	5,000 (Basketball Gold)
Design	White borders, blue lettering, team logo, "STAR '85"
Type IIs	None

The key cards

Michael Jordan: #1 shows Jordan in his U.S. Olympic uniform, titled "1984-85 Rookie of the Year." Basketball Gold counts it among his first-year Star subset cards. It is also heavily counterfeited.
Larry Bird: #6, his 1979-80 Rookie of the Year card, is the set's other key card according to Basketball Gold.
#5 Darrell Griffith and #11 Keith Wilkes: these two read "STAR '86" at top right instead of "STAR '85." Basketball Gold says that is normal, not an error.

Card by card

Each card front names the player and his award season. Wilkes won the award as Keith Wilkes and is printed that way, though many checklists and BGS labels list him as Jamaal.

#	Player	Rookie of the Year
1	Michael Jordan	1984-85
2	Ralph Sampson	1983-84
3	Terry Cummings	1982-83
4	Buck Williams	1981-82
5	Darrell Griffith	1980-81
6	Larry Bird	1979-80
7	Phil Ford	1978-79
8	Walter Davis	1977-78
9	Adrian Dantley	1976-77
10	Alvan Adams	1975-76
11	Keith (Jamaal) Wilkes	1974-75

How the set was made

Star, Robert Levin's small Pennsylvania company, was the NBA's only licensed card maker from 1983 to 1986. It sold this set complete, all 11 cards in one sealed polybag. The bag pictured in the gallery has Jordan on top.

The fronts have white borders with blue lettering and a team logo at bottom left. The backs are numbered "of 11" and carry the player's NBA regular-season record. According to starbasketballcards.com, Jordan's back shows his college stats instead.

Basketball Gold estimates 5,000 of each card were made. It also says the set was printed on one sheet with Star's 1985 Coaches, 1985 Kareem and 1985-86 All-Rookie Team sets. Star's Dale Murphy and Rod Carew baseball sets shared that sheet too, as the uncut sheet in the gallery shows. Original Star dealers recall the All-Rookie Team coming out at the same time as this set.

What collectors should know

Fake Jordans: starbasketballcards.com warns that many fake #1 Jordans circulate. Its tells: a checkered, grid-like texture in the photo, darker navy text on front and back, and any gloss. Original Star cards have no gloss.
Shop at Home: in 1997 Levin had a new Last 11 ROY set printed and sold on the Shop at Home TV channel. Those cards have red lettering instead of blue, and some use different photos. They are fantasy issues, not reprints.
Not a Type II set: Type IIs come only from 1985-86 #95-172, the 1986 Jordan set and 1986 Best of the New.
Condition: Basketball Gold's card notes do not flag any condition problems for this set.
Sealed bags: an original sealed bag proves the cards are original, not that they are mint. Resealed Star bags exist, and a GAI bag grade rates the plastic and seals, not the cards.
Grading: BGS has graded Star since December 2008. PSA added the set in March 2023 as "1985 Star Rookie of the Year." CGC began grading 1980s Star in May 2025, though its announcement does not name this set.