How To Spot A Fake 1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk Michael Jordan #7

Fans who attended the 1985 All-Star Weekend Banquet in Indianapolis received a 9-card set of Star basketball cards featuring the Gatorade logo on them. It’s official name is the 1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk set. The set includes Checklist #1, Larry Nance #2, Terence Stansbury #3, Clyde Drexler #4, Julius Erving #5, Darrell Griffith #6, Michael Jordan #7, Dominique Wilkins #8, and Orlando Woolridge #9.

Technically there are (10) cards in this set. Terence Stansbury was a late substitute for Charles Barkley. Both cards were produced, but the Barkley card wasn’t released along with the others. Eventually the Barkley card leaked out, and collectors saw it surface on the secondary market.

Star cards are notorious for being counterfeited. That especially goes for Star cards of Michael Jordan. I can’t stress how many counterfeit Michael Jordan Star cards there are floating around. You can easily find them on eBay.

Counterfeit examples of the Michael Jordan 1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk card are all over the place. Some people advertise them as authentic, while others do the whole “reprint” or “RP” thing. People use the word “reprint” or the letters “RP” on their listings in an attempt to fool you into thinking that specific card came from a manufacturer like Star. Places like eBay don’t know how or just don’t care enough to learn how to distinguish between the two. The people making these homemade cards are fully aware that passing them off as the real thing could come back to haunt them. Calling them reprints might not bring in the same amount of money, but it still allows them to move their hoard of counterfeits. Its a horribly abused wording loophole.

When placed side-by-side the difference between an authentic example and counterfeit can easily be seen. One of the biggest red flags of a counterfeit is the lack of a line going through the letter “N” in “JORDAN” on the front. I’ve never seen an authentic version without this printing defect. Most counterfeits forget to include this element. Overall photo blurriness, and incorrect coloring can be other signs of a counterfeit.

Flipping the card over you’ll see more red flags. Counterfeit backs tend to have thicker/bold font. In some cases the font is a completely different color especially in Jordan’s bio. Its not uncommon for the text in Jordan’s bio to be broken too on a counterfeit.

If capable, compare the Jordan with another (less expensive) card from the same set. The printing techniques should be similar. Star did not print Michael Jordan’s card any differently.

Counterfeit front

Authentic front

Counterfeit back

Counterfeit back

Authentic back