Hakeem Olajuwon is among the players to be inducted into the hall of fame this year for basketball. He was a tremendous player and helped lead the Houston Rockets to an NBA title during his career along with his sidekick Clyde Drexler. His basketball cards should be in demand this year as the hall of fame ceremony will be a reminder to basketball fans all over the world of how great a player he was.

Some of his best basketball cards include Star Company cards from 1983 to 1986 and his Fleer rookie card from 1986-87. His Star Company Basketball rookie card from 1984-85 commands a book value of $250 according to the Spring 2006 Beckett Plus Price Guide. His Fleer rookie card from 1986-87 books at a more affordable $40 according to the same Beckett Price Guide. These are his two rookie cards, but Star Company sets are still adequately valued for his second year card from 1985-86 Star which still comes one year before his Fleer rookie card, and usually is priced a bit higher than his 1986-87 Fleer rookie card.

The basketball rookie cards from the 1980's are my favorite kinds of cards so I am biased when I say that I think they are great investments. It is commonly perceived, however, that production runs of the Star Company and Fleer sets from the 1980's were low and that the cards are scarcer than many sets issued even during the 1980's, let alone all types of cards in existence. Make sure when purchasing your cards from this era that you take precaution in regards to counterfeits, as it is said by hobby leaders that counterfeit cards do exist. It has been my experience that they usually stand out like a sore thumb in auctions though, for example a Michael Jordan Star Company rookie card that says "no guarantee that it is not a fake" or when the price is too good to be true. I would advise buyers of the cards to look for obvious fraud red flags such as those and also to buy from a reputable seller when purchasing, such as on Ebay. Sellers with a long transaction history and high feedback are not typically sellers you have to worry about when making purchases of these cards. Also, buying the sealed team bagged set of Star Company cards is another way to get factory sealed cards.