Early Stockton Inserts

I was flipping through my John Stockton binder and wondered which card is the earliest Stockton insert in my collection.

Turns out it is this kickass 1991-92 Upper Deck Hologram which scanned surprisingly well.

I'm pretty sure that I traded for this card with one of my friends or cousins, but however I got it, it's been in my collection for nearly 20 years.

The one word that most people associate with Stockton has to be "assist", and why wouldn't it be?  The guy was a stud when it came to distributing the ball.

But don't forget that he was an efficient scorer, as this 92-93 Fleer insert points out.

This picture might make one wonder how he could be considered a "Sharp Shooter" with such poor form (which makes me wonder why they chose this picture for this particular card).  On the back of the card, we learn that John was a "Jack of All Trades".

Not only is John a "sharp shooter" and a "jack of all trades" but he is also a "Playmaker".

I loved Fleer Ultra as a kid, and the above 92-93 Fleer Ultra insert above is a great example why.

This "Playmakers" insert set only has 9 other cards, which might be a fun set to complete.  Although, it always bothered me that every inset set don't come in groups divisible by nine, so that they could fit nicely into my binders.  Its a problem similar to the fact that brats come in groups of six and buns come in packages of eight.

My final pre-1994 insert (which seems to be about the time that inserts exploded onto the scene) is a 1993-94 Upper Deck All-NBA 2nd Team card.  (The card was released in 93-94, but the honor was given to John after the 92-93 season.)

It always bugged me whenever John wouldn't get the accolades I thought he deserved.  As a kid, I could never understand why people couldn't see that the was the greatest point guard in the NBA. 

Turns out, the All-NBA 1st Team for the 1992-93 season was:

• F - Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
• F - Charles Barkley, Phoenix Suns
• C - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
• G - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
• G - Mark Price, Cleveland Cavaliers

The second team was:

• F - Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
• F - Larry Johnson, Charlotte Hornets
• C - Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
• G - John Stockton, Utah Jazz
• G - Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons

If you switch Stockton with Price, I think both lists would have been about right for how I perceived these players when I was a kid.

Anyway, it was fun for me to take a closer look at some of my Stockton cards.  When I just flip through them in my binder, I sometimes can't see the tree for the forest.  Pulling them out really makes a difference and I think I'll continue this journey through my Stockton inserts year by year because after 1994 the inserts were almost as plentiful as the cards that were a part of the set.