False:  The 1986 Best New (not to be confused with Best Old) subset was limited to 440 of each card produced.
Correct:  The notion that only 440 cards of each Best New card were issued is erroneous. Approximately 440 of each card were released via an original order option related to the sale of bags (dealers were given the bags for every five complete sets of 1985-86 purchased). However, not all Best New cards were released via this distribution method and were subsequently released unbagged. Because the 4 card Best New subset was printed on the same 100 card sheet as #95-172 1985-86 and the 10 card Jordan set, the quantity produced should be consistent with those issues. It is impossible to say exactly how many were produced but likely between 3,000-5,000.

False:  Star Co. cards from the 1986 Best Best and Magic Johnson subsets came out before the 1986-87 Fleer set, including the #57 Michael Jordan.
Correct:  Cards from these sets were not released to the public until the early 1990's after the original Star Co. auction in 1990.

False:  An original 1986 Best New bag has Michael Jordan on top.
Correct:  The Best New bags were not issued in any variations in terms of the top card and all original bags have Patrick Ewing on top. If you see a bag with Jordan on top, it was not an original sealed bag from the Star Co. However, that does not mean the cards in the bag are not authentic.

False:  Star Co. basketball cards that were released between 1983-86 were reprinted from the original plate.
Correct:  There is no evidence that any original Star Co. card that was released between 1983-86 was reprinted from the original plate. The FBI conducted an investigation and did not find any such evidence.

Misconception:  Star is controversial due to counterfeit and reprint issues.
Correction:  First, there are not any counterfeits of any original Star Co. cards that are of higher quality than other sports cards that have been counterfeited. It is quite easy to learn to authenticate the cards. Second, there is no evidence that any of the original Star Co. basketball cards produced from 1983-86 were ever reprinted. The fact that individuals are listing counterfeit cards on ebay as reprints to circumvent ebay rules does not mean that those counterfeit cards are reprints.

Misconception:  A seller listing a card as highest sub grades graded is necessarily correct.
Correction:  Since Beckett has been grading Star Co. basketball cards, sellers infrequently list a card erroneously claiming it is the highest subs wherein it is not. The population report on Beckett's web site also maintains sub grades.

False:  Many listings on ebay falsely list certain Star Co. cards as rookies that are not the first issued card of the particular player.
Correct:  If one wants to argue a Star Co. card is a rookie, each player can have only one rookie card issue by Star. Each player's Star Co. card cannot be called a rookie (perhaps pre-rookie). Unfortunately these selfish listings lead to confusion and make it difficult for people unfamiliar with Star Co. cards to properly learn about them.

False:  GAI/Global Authority bags that were graded mean the cards were graded.
Correct:  GAI did not take the condition of cards into account when authenticating and grading bags. The grade is an indication of the condition of the polybag and seals similar to grading an unopened cello pack. Notably, there were some resealed bags that got through GAI and are typically in the smaller GAI holders. The cause of this was that an unscrupulous individual who authenticated many counterfeit autographs for the company was assigned to grade Star Co. cards for several months without receiving any training. The larger holders are typically recognized for betting protecting the cards and not damaging the corners. The smaller cases might be fine for storing a 1985-86 Knicks bag with only seven cards but with more cards they were notorious for damaging corners. Global Authority graded bags in the same fashion but took the top card into account to some extent. Global Authority, however, did not have the larger cases available.

Misconception:  A sealed bag means that the cards inside are mint.
Correction:  An original unopened bag does not mean the cards inside are mint. One cannot in the very least view the centering and surface of the cards that are not visible. One can only partially view the corners and edges of the cards.

Misconception:  The population report of what has been graded is an indication of rarity.
Correction:  It only indicates at maximum what has hypothetically been graded. A card may be rarer than another card yet have more entries in the population report merely because more have been submitted for grading.

Misconception:  It is often written that Bob Lemke determined that he could not tell the difference between original Star Co. cards and those reprinted.
Correction:  Sportscard Counterfeit Detector by Bob Lemke and Sally Grace, Revised 2nd Edition (1993), was written as an FBI investigation into the matter of suspected counterfeiting of Star Co. basketball cards was being wrapped up. The book states according to the special agent assigned to the case there was no evidence of any counterfeiting which was consistent with the publisher's independent investigation. The authors did not discuss all Star Co. sets and showed photos of the 1985-86 series and Best New. The book noted that there are differences between the originals and another run and that they seemed to be printed from the same plate. The authors noted that these other cards, which we now refer to as "Type II's", are likely pre-production press samples and/or factory rejects - cards intended to be scrapped which were salvaged by unknown individuals and recycled into the market. Sportscard Counterfeit Detector by Bob Lemke and Sally Grace, Revised 3rd Edition (1994) included photos of counterfeits that surfaced after its prior edition, but failed to properly explain the 1985 Lite Jordan counterfeit. While the book noted that in early 1994 a large number of Star Co. basketball cards surfaced in unbagged team sets and singles, it left the door open as to whether or not those cards were Type II's. In fact, those cards were "Type II's".

False:  Shop at Home cards were printed in 1985. Here is a sale claiming those cards were printed in 1985:
http://vsaauctions.com/crunch-and-munch-basketball-card-set-lot14579.aspx#
Correct:  The Shop at Home cards were printed in 1997 and backdated. In addition, there is no evidence as to how many cards were produced.

False:  The original printing plates were stolen.
Correct:  As relates to the original Star Co. cards that had been released up to that point in time (which excludes Best Best and Magic Johnson subsets), they were sold after the Star auction in cracked form.

False:  PSA has refused to grade Star Co. cards since day one.
Correct:  When PSA was a young grading company, it graded Star Co. cards before it stopped after grading some Type II's.

Misconception:  The 1985 Lite Jordan Variation is rarer than the other version based upon the population report.
Correction:  This is generally stated by sellers trying to obtain more money for their cards who try to indicate an item is rarer than it is. Both Lite cards are considered variations even though only one version is designated as a variation. One version is not necessarily rarer than the other. Rather than go to variation A and B, only variation #4A was noted in the registry, but after a number of both variations were already graded as #4. One may own the hair/head touching border variation without the grading label indicating so or being reflected in the population report because some were graded before the variation was assigned a separate registry, and currently if one submits one for grading without requesting the variation label. It does not necessarily mean that the variation is rarer as one might misinterpret from the population report. Both variations have surfaced from sealed bags. There are differences other than the head cropping. The #4A will always have a light blue dot in the top left border area. The #4 has lettering missing in "NBA" on the back left edge and a small amount missing from the circle of the copyright.

False:  Team set panels were issued. 
Correct:  Team set panels were not issued, but appear to have been cut from 100 card sheets and from time to time surface for sale.

False:  The Star Co. had a factory where it produced basketball cards.
Correct: The Star Co. did not use a factory. Instead, it used two print shops on the Cherry Hill, New Jersey/Pennsylvania border.

Misconception:  Star Co. quality control improved over time.
Correction:  People sometimes misinterpret that Star had its own factory and did its own printing that improved over time by the third year. The quality of the 1985-86 set is actually not necessarily better than the 1983-84 set overall (realizing 1983-84 team sets such as the Mavericks often had issues). While the 1985-86 #117 Jordan grades well due to its location on the original sheet and without many cards in the team bag, there are other cards in that set notorious for surface issues. Similarly, the 1986 Court Kings set is prevalent with surface issues on cards other than Jordan.

This timeline may help clarify matters and misconceptions:

1981-82 - Topps released its basketball set and decided not to renew its contract with the NBA because it was no longer interested in producing basketball cards.

1982-83 - No company makes basketball cards via a contract with the NBA and no card of James Worthy, D. Wilkins, or T. Cummings, among others, was produced.

1983-86 - Star Co. maintains the sole contract with the NBA to produce basketball cards.

1986- Star Co. releases its last set, the Michael Jordan 10 card subset.

1986 - Star Co. does not renew its contract with the NBA.

1989 - Beckett releases its first Basketball Price Guide designating Star Co. cards as XRC's. This is done after the Star Co. is out of the basketball business and Fleer is again producing sports cards. Previously many people referred to the Star Co. cards as rookie cards.

Late 1980's - Type II's begin to surface.

1990 - Star Co. auction where Levin sold his extra inventory to three purchasers.

1990 - 1986 Star Best Best and Magic Johnson subsets were released some time after the Star Co. auction.

1991 - PSA forms a grading company.

1991- PSA grades the Wagner card a PSA 8 (NM-MT) with a serial number of 00000001.

PSA stops grading Star Co. cards after it learns it has authenticated "Type II's" as real.

1997 - Shop at Home Scandal

SCD grades Star Co. cards.

GAI grades Star Co. cards.

December 1, 2008- Beckett announces its decision to grade Star Co. cards.

December 16, 2008 - GAI files for bankruptcy, but its petition was ultimately dismissed. However, it still went out of business and sold the grading cards arm to Mike Baker in 2009 who started a new entity known as Global Authority. Mike Baker is the only one from Global Authority who would have been trained by Steve Taft directly with respect to Star Co. cards.