The discrepancy reminds me of 2 other "rookie cards" from big, national issues, neither of which was actually the player's true rookie card.
Option #1) The 1938 Goudey cards were Joe DiMaggio's first cards in a major national set. They are, however, currently worth less than the 1934 Zeenuts Pacific Coast League cards and the 1936 Canadian World Wide Gum card, both of which obviously predate the Goudey.
Option #2) Mickey Mantle's true rookie was the '51 Bowman, which was in fact a national issue. However, that card doesn't come close in equitable value to the '52 Topps Mantle card. Chicken or the egg... this might be due to the overall popularity of the '52 Topps set, or conversely the '52 Topps set might owe so much of its popularity to this particular Mantle card's iconicity.
Regardless, same situation as the Jordan '86 Fleer vs. earlier Star rookie. Option #1 is LESS valuable, while Option #2 remains MORE valuable.
Which do you think the '86 Fleer Jordan more closely resembles... and more importantly WILL resemble moving forward? This is obviously a large part of predicting the '86 Fleer Basketball Set's investment value, but not the whole picture.
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