1988-89 Fleer #31 Sam Perkins
About Sam Perkins
"Big Smooth" earned his nickname honestly — a silky left-handed touch and an unhurried game that made everything look effortless for a 6-9 big man. The Brooklyn-born forward won the 1982 NCAA title at North Carolina alongside Michael Jordan and James Worthy, collected three All-America nods, and co-captained the gold-medal 1984 U.S. Olympic team before Dallas took him fourth overall in the 1984 Draft. An All-Rookie First Team pick in 1985, Perkins was squarely in his prime here, posting 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds a night for the 1988-89 Mavericks. This isn't a rookie card — he was a fifth-year veteran by this set — but it captures the front end of a 17-year run: 1,286 games and 15,324 points across Dallas, the Lakers, Seattle, and Indiana, three NBA Finals trips (1991, 1996, 2000), and a Game 1-winning three-pointer against Chicago in the 1991 Finals. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame called in 2018.
Sources: Wikipedia · Basketball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 1-6 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 74 | 133 | 47 | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-18. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). The graders do not break out the stickers, so sticker pages carry no table.
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Related cards
More Dallas Mavericks cards:
- #27 Mark Aguirre
- #28 Rolando Blackman
- #29 James Donaldson
- #30 Derek Harper
- #32 Roy Tarpley
- Sticker #1 Mark Aguirre
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1988-89 Fleer Sam Perkins card?
It is card #31 of the 132-card 1988-89 Fleer Basketball base set, picturing Sam Perkins with the Dallas Mavericks.
How many cards are in the 1988-89 Fleer Basketball set?
132 base cards - 119 players ordered by team, the All-Star subset #120-131 and a checklist - plus the 11-card Super Star Sticker insert, for 143 cards in a master run. There are no variations; three backs carry uncorrected errors (#20, #26, #100).
Sources: Trading Card Database, Cardboard Connection, the PSA price guide, Basketball-Reference, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-08-23.