1990's Dunk'N Go-Nuts and other Product-Inspired Basketball Cards

The 90s saw a massive transformation with both the NBA and basketball cards. While viewership started to soar in the NBA, basketball cards matured from junk wax to refractors, iconic inserts, and stunning on-card autograph cards by the end of the decade.

During this transformative decade, there were also a few product pun inserts that Upper Deck and Skybox incorporated into packs or sold alongside a product, including Crunch Time, Dunk’N Go-Nuts, and That's Jam.

Crunch Time

For the 1997-98 basketball season Upper Deck partnered with Nestle Crunch to create the 40-card Crunch Time set. These were not inserts but rather special 4-card packs paired with Nestle Crunch candy bars. These cards have a Sin City style vibe, featuring the player in full color with the rest of the card in shades of gray.

As this was the 1997-98 season the player checklist features some of the best to ever grace the hardwood, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Reggie Miller, Allen Iverson, John Stockton, and 35 others.

Crunch Time cards won't break the bank. Most raw copies sell for $10 or less, while the top sale to date was a Gem Mint Kobe Bryant card, which sold for $510 in 2020, according to Card Ladder.

1997-98 Upper Deck Kobe Bryant Crunch Time (#CT22) | Card Ladder

Dunk’N Go-Nuts

For the 1998-99 season Skybox E-X Century debuted the first and only Dunk’N Go-Nuts insert. Randomly inserted one into every 36 packs on average, these acetate cards leverage Dunkin’s brand styling, borrowing both the font and color scheme into the design.

This 20-card insert set has all the late 90s legends, like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan. This insert lineup also includes a rookie card featuring one of the most electrifying dunkers of all time, Vince Carter.

1998-99 Skybox E-X Century Vince Carter Dunk'N Go-Nuts | Card Ladder

Collectors have been thirsting after these cards since they debuted and recent sales have been heating up. In August, multiple PSA 10 Michael Jordan Dunk’N Go Nuts-cards sold for over $25K, including one that sold for $27.6K, the highest selling Dunk’N Go-Nuts card to date.

1998-99 Skybox E-X Century Michael Jordan Dunk'N Go-Nuts | Card Ladder

That's Jam

Skybox stayed with the breakfast theme in 1998 when they released That’s Jam for Skybox Premium, another one-and-done insert set. That’s Jam cards were very difficult to pull, with one randomly inserted in every 96 packs.

These cards look strikingly similar to Welch’s jam labels and incorporate popular jam flavors in the background. Notice also the “NET WT.” text in the lower right with player weights. Amazing.

1998 Skybox Premium Shaquille O'Neal That's Jam (#4) | Card Ladder

The 15-card insert doesn’t include Jordan, but you still have plenty of stars to choose from, including Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson. These cards are on a strong upward trend. Kobe Bryant’s card in particular has seen multiple sales this year clear $7.5K, including two PSA 10s that sold in for $7.8K and $8.2K (according to Card Ladder).

Will we see more Product inspired Inserts?

These punny inserts highlight the fun and playful risks Upper Deck and Skybox were willing to take, something the modern companies might want to revisit. Perhaps Panini and Amazon team up to release a Prime Time Player insert? Or maybe Windex gets in on the action with an acetate insert called Cleaning the Glass?

There are endless possibilities! What you think of these 90s product-inspired inserts and what would your ideal modern insert look like?