Even though Michael Jordan was the marquee star and the most sought-after card in the set, Fleer put Larry Bird’s card on the box instead.
Back in 2006, Fleer introduced a 20th anniversary buyback program in which 23 numbered autographed were rereleased and shoved into random boxes. One of those cards sold in 2022 for a amazing 1.08 million dollars. Interestingly enough, that card was only graded a 9. If a pristine mint graded card ever does for sale, be aware it will probably sell for more than $2 million. 
Something interesting to note about Jordan’s rookie card is that he is listed as “Guard/Forward” on the front of the card. Now, everyone knows that Jordan played the shooting guard position, which makes this card one of the few places Jordan is officially also listed as a forward.
There are so many fake Michael Jordan rookie cards out there that experts recommend not purchasing a card unless it has been graded by a major authenticator like PSA or Beckett. Some auction sites will not even list non-graded Michael Jordan rookie cards due to the number of fakes out there. Those of you that are looking at a raw and ungraded card, there are many resources online that show the differences between the authentic and fake.
Fleer made their last set of basketball cards for the famed 1961-62 set that featured Wilt Chamberlain’s rookie as well as many other HOF’s (Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to name a few) rookie cards. Fleer did not produce any other basketball cards until the 1986 season.
Data from over the years has shown that most 1986 Fleer boxes yielded a range of anywhere from three to five Michael Jordan rookies with a mean of four. There have been reports of boxes that yielded more than five Jordan rookies in a single box, but that is extremely rare.
The second most valuable card in the set is the Charles Barkley rookie card. For years it was Patrick Ewing’s rookie card that was the second most valuable, but the Barkley card has since pulled ahead in the last few years. Those are just two of the many sought after rookies in the set.
PSA has graded around 19,000 Michael Jordan rookie cards since they first started graded cards. Of those 19,000 cards, around 312 cards over the last ten-plus years have been graded (10) Gem Mint.
The highest selling Jordan rookie to date (non autographed) happened in 2021. A pristine Michael Jordan rookie card (that’s a card graded for perfection) graded by Beckett was auctioned and sold for $500,000.
Back in 2021, an extremely rare unopened an PSA authenticated 1986 Fleer basketball case went for auction. That case was auctioned off and was sold to the highest bidder for an astonishing $1.8 million dollars! Don’t hold your breath, it will be either be a very long before another one goes for auction, or maybe that will be the last one to ever be seen.