For sale from this set
The 1985 Star Slam Dunk Supers 5x7 set has 10 oversized cards: a group-photo checklist, the eight players in the February 9, 1985 Slam Dunk Contest at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, and a champion card for Dominique Wilkins, who beat Michael Jordan in the final. It is the big-card sibling of the 1985 Gatorade Slam Dunk set, same contest, same players, different photos, and its #5 Jordan is, in Basketball Gold's words, one of "the best pictures of Jordan on any Michael Jordan card."
The set at a glance
| Cards | 10 |
|---|---|
| Numbering | 1-10 |
| Michael Jordan cards | 1 (#5) |
| Released | 1985 ("STAR '85" on the fronts) |
| Packaging | One sealed bag of 10 cards, group photo on top |
| Sets printed (est.) | 5,000 (Basketball Gold); 4,000 (starbasketballcards.com) |
| Rookie cards | None |
| Design | 5x7, red borders, NBA logo, no sponsor |
Card by card
Names are as printed on the fronts. Cards #2-9 run alphabetically; Wilkins gets a second card as champion.
| # | Front | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest / Checklist | Group photo of all eight contestants, printed sideways |
| 2 | Clyde Drexler | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 3 | Julius Erving | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 4 | Darrell Griffith | Printed "Darryl Griffith" |
| 5 | Michael Jordan | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 6 | Larry Nance | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 7 | Terence Stansbury | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 8 | Dominique Wilkins | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 9 | Orlando Woolridge | 1985 Slam Dunk Contest |
| 10 | Dominique Wilkins | 1985 Slam Dunk Champion, 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 1985 All-Star Weekend it covered the dunk contest twice: the regular-size Gatorade Slam Dunk set and this 5x7 set, with no sponsor and a different set of photos. The eight contestants were Wilkins, Jordan, Stansbury, Erving, Nance, Griffith, Woolridge and Drexler; Charles Barkley was replaced by Terence Stansbury before the contest, which is why the Gatorade set has an unnumbered Barkley and this set has none. Wilkins beat Jordan 147-136 in the final.
The fronts have red borders, yellow "STAR '85" at top left, the NBA logo in a white circle at lower left and the name over "1985 Slam Dunk Contest." The checklist card carries its group photo sideways. The backs, in red ink on cream, carry only the number ("2 of 10"), name, position and team, no stats or bio. The set came in a sealed bag with the group photo on top; the uncut sheet in the gallery below shows the ten cards printed with the Pistons, Rockets and Lakers Team Supers. Basketball Gold estimates 5,000 sets; starbasketballcards.com says 4,000. Every grader and reference dates it 1985; no source gives a month.
What collectors should know
- Condition: Basketball Gold says, of the Court Kings bag, that centering is less of a worry on the 5x7s than on the small cards, but the top card of a 5x7 bag often picks up surface marks and corner or edge damage, and that #1 "often has a white dot in the white border," the inner frame.
- 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) and was not remade for Shop at Home, but counterfeit #5 Jordans exist. starbasketballcards.com's tells: extra-wide left and right borders, skinny lettering in "STAR '85" and the name, fuzzy type on the back, and any regular-size copy is a fake outright. The 1997 Shop at Home Crunch 'N Munch Jordan borrowed this card's photo.
- Not a rookie: #1 is sometimes listed as a Jordan rookie because he is in the group photo. Basketball Gold lists that among improper rookie listings; it is a subset card designated to other players, and Jordan's rookie is 1984-85 Star #101.
- Grading: BGS has graded Star since December 2008 and labels the set "1985 Star Slam Dunk Supers 5x7." PSA added it in March 2023. CGC began grading 1980s Star in May 2025; its announcement publishes no set list.
The key cards
- #5 Michael Jordan: the one-hand cradle dunk from his rookie season. Basketball Gold ranks the photo with the 1984-85 Court Kings #26 as the best on any Jordan card, and notes Skybox reused it on his 1992 USA #38. It is one of Jordan's three Star 5x7s, after the Court Kings and alongside the Team Supers.
- #1 Group photo: Jordan, Wilkins, Drexler and Erving on one card; starbasketballcards.com calls it the second most valuable card in the set.
- #10 Dominique Wilkins, champion: Wilkins in his warm-up with the trophy; with #8 it gives him two cards from his second season; his rookie is 1983-84 Star #263.
- #2 Clyde Drexler and #3 Julius Erving: Drexler in his second season (rookie: 1983-84 Star #100) and the 34-year-old Erving.
Sources
- Basketball Gold: 1985 Slam Dunk Supers (our primary source, including its card-by-card notes)
- Basketball Gold: 1985 Gatorade Slam Dunk
- Basketball Gold: FAQs (our primary source)
- Basketball Gold: Common Misconceptions
- Basketball Gold: Glossary
- Basketball Gold: Michael Jordan
- Beckett: "Star Crossed," a Star masterclass with authenticator Steve Taft
- starbasketballcards.com: 1985 Star Slam Dunk Supers 5x7 (back photo)
- starbasketballcards.com: How to spot a fake Star Jordan Slam Dunk 5x7 #5
- Beckett: 1985 Star Slam Dunk Supers 5x7 (set description)
- Trading Card Database: 1985 Star Slam Dunk Supers
- Wikipedia: 1985 NBA All-Star Game (contest date, venue, field and final score)
- starbasketballcards.com: Unlicensed Shop at Home sets
- PSA: PSA expands grading to Star basketball (March 22, 2023)
- 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
