Scottie Pippen is one of the best basketball players in NBA history, excelling at the small forward position over a legendary 17-year career.
Establishing himself as the perfect number 2 complementary star behind Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, Pippen would help the Bulls win 6 championships in the 1990s.
He was a great all-around player and superb defensive stopper, being named to the All-NBA 1st Team 3 times, the All-Defensive 1st Team 8 times, and the NBA All-Star game 7 times.
Due to his incredible career accomplishments and the recent attention his career has received over the critically acclaimed ESPN documentary, The Last Dance, Scottie Pippen’s basketball cards are highly desirable.
Below are the 5 different rookie cards featuring Scottie Pippen and some bonus memorabilia.
5. 1988-1989 Entenmann’s Scottie Pippen, #33
Approximate PSA 10 Value – $1,750
Approximate PSA 9 Value – $400
Although famous for making donuts, cakes, cookies, and other delicious bakery foods, Entenmann’s produced 2 different sets of Chicago Bulls basketball cards during the late 1980s.
Originally distributed at Chicago Bulls home games as a promotional event advertising Entenmann’s. These cards were only available in the Chicago metro area and were very rare.
The 1988-1989 Entenmann’s Scottie Pippen card marked the 2nd straight year that he was featured in this sports card series. Causing some collectors to question whether it is actually a rookie card.
However, many collectors still consider it a rookie card. Since it came out the same year of Pippen’s more famous Fleer rookie card.
The card itself measures 2.625 inches by 4 inches. Making it larger than traditional sports cards, which typically measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.
It only has printing on the front of the card, with the back of the card being completely blank. Its front contains a picture of Pippen dunking the basketball during a game. With his name, number, height, and position listed directly under the photo.
The bottom of the card contains Entenmann’s logo, with the company slogan “You Can’t Get Better Unless You Bake”.
4. 1987-1988 Entenmann’s Scottie Pippen, #33
Approximate PSA 10 Value – $2,000
Approximate PSA 9 Value – $450
The 1987-1988 Entenmann’s Scottie Pippen card marks the first time that Pippen was featured on a sports card.
The 1987-1988 version contains a picture of Pippen shooting a contested layout against Rolando Blackman and Sam Perkins of the Dallas Mavericks.
It contains the same design as the 1988-1989 set. With Pippen’s name, number, height, and position listed directly under the picture. And Entenmann’s company logo and slogan listed at the bottom of the card front.
Unfortunately, like the 1988-1989 version, the back of the 1987-1988 card is completely blank. Entenmann’s discontinued their promotional basketball card sets after two seasons. Helping to make them a rare and valuable piece of sports memorabilia that appeals to a broad range of collectors.
3. 1988-1989 Fleer Scottie Pippen, Card #20
Approximate PSA 10 Value – $2,750
Approximate PSA 9 Value – $175
The most famous Scottie Pippen rookie card is the 1988-1989 Fleer #20 card. The first time he was featured by a major sports card brand.
The 1988-1989 Fleer set is famous for its brilliant photography of players in action. And also the creative color schemes on the front of the cards.
The Scottie Pippen rookie card is no exception, showcasing a great picture of him attempting a layup. The card employs the black and red colors of the Chicago Bulls on the card’s setting. With gradient borders that are white at the top and bottom of the card, and darker near the middle.
The back of the card lists Pippen’s first-year stats, with an interesting green, orange, and white color scheme.
Ironically, Pippen’s name is spelled incorrectly on the back of the card, reading “Pippin” instead of “Pippen”. A mistake that Fleer never bothered to correct.
So, whilst this is technically an error card. There are no other versions with the correct spelling so there is no need to pay more to someone advertising it as a misprint.
2. 1988-1989 Panini Sticker (Spanish) Scottie Pippen, Card #77
Approximate PSA 10 Value – $3,000
Approximate PSA 9 Value – $600
The 1988-1989 Panini Sticker set. Which contains 292 different stickers of NBA players. Features one of the rarest pieces of Scottie Pippen sports memorabilia in existence.
The sticker employs a yearbook-style photo of Pippen in a basketball jersey, pictured from the shoulders on up.
Although Panini has since become the industry’s top sports card manufacturer. In the late 80s, they primarily only manufactured soccer cards.
Interestingly, the back of the card’s text is written entirely in Spanish, not Italian. One possible explanation for the Spanish text of the card is that Panini was seeking to expand its business to Spain.
Because Spain has historically contained one of the most vibrant basketball populations in Europe over the years, Panini may have been looking to market a new sports card set to appeal to a Spanish audience.
1. 1988 Kenner Scottie Pippen, Not Numbered
Approximate PSA 10 Value – $3,500
Approximate PSA 9 Value – $600
The 1988 Kenner Scottie Pippen rookie card is currently the most valuable Pippen rookie card in existence.
This card was originally included as a secondary bonus item in Kenner’s Sports Action collectible set. Which featured different plastic figurines of different athletes including NBA players.
For not normally being in the sports card-producing business, Kenner did a phenomenal job in producing a colorful, high-quality card.
The card contains a vibrant photo of Pippen dribbling the ball up the court, with the Chicago Bulls logo placed in the bottom left of the photo.
The top left of the card itself contains the words “Starting Lineup”, while Pippen’s name and number are listed below the picture.
The back of the card contains Pippen’s stats for the 1987-1988 season, a summary of his career up to that point, and a replica signature centered near the bottom of the card.
It is important to note that these cards damage easily and have not aged well, making them especially valuable at the PSA 9 and 10 levels.
Bonus Memorabilia Items
In addition to sports cards, Scottie Pippen has large amounts of valuable sports memorabilia available on the market for collectors. With many top items listed on sportsmemorabilia.com.
Collectors can purchase an autographed copy of Pippen’s book Unguarded, Pippen’s memoirs for his life and playing career, at a retail price of $146.99.
An autographed Spalding basketball can be purchased for $2,979.99.
While an autographed Wilson basketball can also be purchased for $1,772.99.
Finally, one of the crown jewels of Pippen sports memorabilia that only high-end collectors can probably afford is an autographed picture of Pippen, Michael Jordan, and Dennis Rodman, selling for $22,734
When I was just starting out with my card collection, I had lots of questions about authenticity, trading, and card conditions. But with not that much information available online, I felt quite alone in my queries. Some questions still haven’t been answered to this day.
This site aims to rectify this, and now, I am passing on my knowledge!
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