The Forgotten Oddity: 1991-92 Pro Set Basketball Prototypes
This Quirky, Rather Scarce Set From Pro Set Is A Hidden Gem From the Junk Wax Era
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In the early 1990s, Pro Set was riding high with its NFL and NHL trading card lines, and like many card companies during the junk wax era, they flirted with expansion.
One of the lesser-known projects? A five-card basketball card set that never made it past the prototype stage.
What Are These Prototypes?
In 1991, Pro Set produced a limited run of basketball prototype cards as a pitch to enter the NBA trading card market. The prototypes were never mass-produced and are now seen as oddball collectibles.
The front of the cards have that prototypical Pro Set look, a bold, serious design with limited risk, featuring the Pro Set logo in the top left corner. One oddity is that Pro Set used the middle name on four player cards (aka Michael ‘Jeffrey’ Jordan and Thomas ‘Doane’ Chambers).
The backs of the cards are full of dummy data, and they are the same for each card, absent the player’s name. In the top right corner of the back is a flag noting that these are ‘Prototype For Review Only’. The cards use full team logos and player likenesses, suggesting that Pro Set was pursuing full NBA licensing.
Only five cards exist, and they are pretty scarce:
The prototype cards include:
- Magic Johnson
- Michael Jordan
- Tom Chambers
- Karl Malone
- Patrick Ewing
Why Were They Never Released?
In 1991, the NBA card market was already crowded. Upper Deck was entering the market, joining Fleer, Hoops, and Skybox.
Our friend Steve Taft notes that Pro Set was using these cards to make a pitch to the NBA for a license to produce cards but was not successful in their bid:
The NBA’s decision to not accept Pro Set’s bid for Licensing Rights was a major reason for the fall of Pro Set, and, a key reason this is such a sought after set. We’re now fifteen (sic) or so years out from Pro Set going out of business and these cards have never appeared in any quantity, a good sign for those fortunate to own them. These cards were never sold into the market by Pro Set. Only a few major distributors and “friends” of the company were lucky enough to get a sample card or set.
Additionally, by 1992, Pro Set was in serious financial trouble, eventually filing for bankruptcy in 1994. The basketball prototypes remain as relics of an ambitious, abandoned expansion.
Rarity & Value
These prototypes are very scarce and, as Taft noted, are only provided to company friends.
Based on PSA data, PSA has graded 184 cards, with Jordan (53) being the most frequently graded.
Given the scarcity, it’s hard to get a completely accurate gauge of value, but for the non-Jordan or Magic cards, the value ranges from $250 to $500 for PSA 9 to PSA 10 copies.
Jordan’s most recent sale was a PSA 7 in 2024, which sold for $1900.
Complete prototype sets (if you can even find one) are rare and highly collectible among oddball or NBA completist collectors. I should note that Steve Taft has a complete set for sale ($7800) on eBay, which includes a PSA 9 Jordan and PSA 10’s on the other four cards.
Final Thoughts
The 1991-92 Pro Set Basketball prototypes are a fascinating “what could have been” from the overstuffed trading card boom era. With their unique design and short print run, they’re a fun chase for collectors who love obscure or defunct issues—especially from a company that helped define the early ’90s card scene.
