NBA Rookie Signature (1985-1987)

By far my favorite Jordan autograph style.

After leaving UNC after his junior year, Jordan would not only get drafted by the Bulls, one of the worst franchises in the NBA, but would also be selected to the 1984 Team USA basketball team.

During this period, his signature style stayed similar to what his auto was at UNC, but as you can see from some examples, it started to become more flamboyant, possibly due to his growing on and off-court persona.

His signature styles changed significantly after this version and later in the 80’s as his popularity was continuing to rise. His signature became more rushed as he experimented with the single stroke style, and then at the height of his fame, the modern style came to be. It's too bad, as this Rookie Style signature was spectacular.

You’ll see that in many of the examples from this time period, his full name, both first and last are very clean and neat, which is impressive considering his soaring rise to fame during this time. Taking the time to sign these and being very deliberate is a hallmark of these years. These are my favorite of all Jordan’s autograph styles.

Of note, I have been able to research and discover that Jordan did a few public signings early in his NBA career (contrary to the belief he only had 1 public signing ever) I’ve been able to find photos and stories of 5 such signings, detailed on my signings page.

I am convinced this signed poster below that I was able to acquire recently was signed at one of these public signings, probably the Charlotte signing due to my acquisition location. This had to be signed on a table due to the neatness of the handwriting and the precise nature of the lettering on such a large poster. Even though this is personalized, it doesn’t negatively affect the value like it would any other athlete in history except for a select few (namely Babe Ruth).

Signed Jordan Dunk Poster (circa 1985-1986)

When studying the autograph, you’ll notice Jordan’s signature "M" figure 8 loop connecting directly into the “i”, then each and every letter written out to perfection. Of note, he did not finish off the “l” with the flare loop, as that part of the signature was sometimes less prominent, but would still be used in particular instances.

And the "Jordan" is spectacular. The giant looping and full "J" that crosses perfectly over the "M" and encompasses almost the entire first name, then the perfect figure 8 loop at the base, connecting again to the fully spelled out last name. Unique to this signature and only a few others i’ve come across, the “n” in Jordan is fully formed.

Signed Jordan Dunk Poster (circa 1985-1986)

In my opinion, this is the perfect Jordan signature, from the fully formed letters, to the flamboyant flare, silver paint pen on a dark background…in addition to the”Best Wishes” inscription and additional handwriting with the personalization.

Over the next couple of years, Jordan would have a few different elemental variations of the signature, but the main elements stayed the same. For a detailed look at the different signature variations from this time period, check out http://rareair23.com/jordan101/jordanchronology.html by Darren Shikina.

In his signature progression and towards the end of this time period and the beginning of the next, he would begin to leave off the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the initial “J” stroke (see the last photo at the bottom of this page), as you can see it start to resemble the modern day “J” he uses til this day.

Poster Signed by Michael and both his parents

The James Jordan signature from this poster is featured on the Early 80's Autographs page

NBA Rookie Signature Examples

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You'll notice in this example, the Jordan still has the full J, but the rest of the last name has been shortened. Signed in 1987 most likely, this is the pre-cursor to the Transitional Signature that would come next.

This Example from RareAir23.com showcases an autograph almost identical to the poster signature I featured earlier on this page, However, you'll notice the initial 1/4 of the "J" stroke has been eliminated and now starts just above the "M" in Michael. Again, this is an early, early version of the change from this style into the early 90's transition to the Modern Style.

Next Up: Transitional Signature (1987-1988)