On Tuesdays during the season, Suns.com will look at and judge a random trading card from the team’s history. The scores are given based on the scientific process of preference. Different tastes and player loyalties could come into play. Which marks meet your approval? Which scores are, in your opinion, way off base? Let us know in the comments field below or by tweeting at us. If you want to see more printed pieces of purple-and-orange history, check out the House of Cards, our exclusive and exhaustive look at the Suns’ history as depicted by trading cards over the years.
This week’s card: 1983-84 Star Company — Maurice Lucas
Ben York: This is my absolute favorite Trading Card Tuesday of all-time. I mean, look at this photo! It is a physical impossibility to look at this card and not have your day improve. This makes me want to be a better man. I want to take this card on a date. Score: 5.0
Matt Petersen: The photo makes the card, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that this epic shot shows Maurice Lucas doing what he did best: flying through the air trying to snag a rebound. Normally a shot like this without the ball in sight is a failure, but the well-placed spotlight action more than makes up for it.
Star Company didn’t just rely on photographic awesomeness, though. Their team-oriented color and simple-but-fun design in this season’s set was stellar. In fact, this is one of the best single-season series of the decade. Score: 5.0
Ben York: There’s not much to review here; it’s basically just a purple background with some stats. Having said that, I love it for some odd reason. Score: 5.0
Matt Petersen: I’ll never understand the old format of total stats for nearly every category except points, which is given the per-game treatment. There’s also no fun facts, just the cut-and-dry biographical facts up at the top. It’s hard to be too hard on Star since they were the only company printing basketball cards at the time, but lack of competition is never an excuse for lack of creativity. Score: 1.5
