Michael Jordan’s retirement from the NBA in January 1999 sent worldwide shockwaves. At 34 years old and coming off three straight championships, it seemed like Jordan still had plenty to give, but he decided his time to step away from the game had arrived. “I don’t think anyone’s ready to take the baton,” said Doc Rivers, who played in the NBA from 1983 to ‘96. “Michael is the Babe Ruth, and that’s the truth. If we’re waiting for one guy (to replace him), we’re going to be waiting for a long, long time.” His announcement ended an era that saw Chicago win six championships. Writers at Fleer/SkyBox tried tempting Jordan out of retirement based on the brief biography on the flip side of his 1998 SkyBox Molten Metal Fusion offering: “So much class and so much game. Michael … keep coming back, again and again.” As if SkyBox could see the future, Jordan’s 1999 retirement did not stay final, but it did mark the end of his time with the Bulls.
1998-99 SkyBox Molten Metal Basketball, the brand's debut, featured base set three tiers—Metal Smiths, Heavy Metal, and Supernatural. Most of the league’s superstars fell into the last two tiers that made up the final 50 cards of the set. True to the set’s name, production for a partial parallel called Molten Metal Fusion included the final 50 cards in the set on die-cut metal cards, with hundreds of small holes creating an artistic design in the shape of a player’s face for the /250 parallel. An additional parallel—Fusion Titanium—gave the same cards a gold finish and a print run of /40. A production error, however, reversed 15 of the 20 cards in the Supernatural run, meaning this /250 example of Jordan’s Fusion features the “Titanium Supernational Fusion” stamp meant to go on his Gold parallels.
One of 11 copies of the card to receive a Mint PSA 9 grade, this card has also earned Fanatics Collect–A Eye Appeal designation.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 03/02/2026.
