By the fall of 1986 Larry Bird had been the league's Most Valuable Player three years running, 1984, 1985 and 1986, and the Celtics had just won the 1986 championship, with Bird the Finals MVP for the second time.
Three straight MVP awards, then the set that brought basketball cards back.
That fall Fleer brought basketball cards back to the stores nationally for the first time since 1981-82, with a 132-card set and eleven stickers. The cards run alphabetically, and Bird is #9; his sticker is #2.
He is dribbling upcourt in the Celtics' green road uniform, number 33, framed in yellow on the red, white and blue stripes that the Jordan rookie made famous, with LARRY BIRD, CELTICS, FORWARD across the bottom.
It was the peak. The 1986 title was the third of his career and the last.
Like every card in this set, it chips along the colored borders and varies in centering, and the set has been widely counterfeited, so graded copies are the safer course.