With the COVID-19 pandemic erasing pretty much everything in the sports world right now, ESPN's decision to launch The Last Dance early is a jolt of nostalgia that's fueling plenty of extra demand for some already legendary basketball cards from the past.

The eagerly awaited 10-part documentary arrives Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern and it tells the story of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls and their final championship run -- their third title in three years and sixth of that decade. It obviously keys upon the NBA's greatest player of all time and its biggest name on cardboard, Michael Jordan. But he's far from alone as the series will present original and new footage from that season as well as interviews from the players -- both on the court and beyond -- back then. We'll also hear from others from around the league who were on the court or covering the team as it commanded attention, won it all and then was forced to go their separate ways.

For Jordan, that meant a second retirement and return with the Washington Wizards three years later -- we probably won't hear a word about that (call it a hunch) -- but we'll be hearing plenty from many involved every Sunday night (two installments per evening) from here until May 17. If you're a new collector wanting to jump on the Jordan bandwagon it's not going to be easy -- you're about 35 years and 13,000 cards too late -- and the asking prices for many a Jordan gem are though the roof more now than ever. However, if you're a fan who missed some of the historic action back then there are still plenty of ways to dabble in cardboard from The Last Dance as it's ultimately a tale that's not just about Jordan.

Keep reading for 12 ways to explore the cardboard for The Last Dance ... both for Jordan and others who we'll see often every Sunday night.

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PSA will have a number of things for fans to check out and dig into at The National this year.

First, it will be giving away a graded Michael Jordan 1986-87 Fleer Rookie Card during three days of the show -- and if you aren't going you can still enter to win one of them by clicking right here. Up first will be a PSA 8 on the Thursday of the show, a PSA 8.5 on Friday and a PSA 9 on Saturday of the event that begins in Chicago on July 31.

There also will be show-exclusive promo cards and even more going on -- a card-grading contest for starters -- if you visit the authenticator's booth.

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