A pair of Michael Jordan's signed shoes worn during the 1998 NBA Finals has just become the most expensive ever sold.
The Nike Air Jordan 13 shoes were sold at a Tuesday auction for a record $2.2 million according to auction house Sotheby’s. The previous record was $1.47 million for a pair of Jordan's Nike Air Ships that were auctioned in 2021.
Although the $2.2 million sale is a new record for shoes, it should be noted that it was sold on the lower end of estimates with Sotheby's expecting them to fetch between $2 million to $4 million.
However, it's a record nonetheless and continues to demonstrate the everlasting demand for Jordan memorabilia — 20 years on from his official NBA retirement.
“Today’s record-breaking result further proves that the demand for Michael Jordan sports memorabilia continues to outperform and transcend all expectations,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, was quoted as saying (via CNBC).
Jordan notably wore the size-13 Air Jordan shoes during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. The Bulls legend scored 37 points in that game as Chicago went on to earn a 93-88 victory.
After the game, Jordan gifted the sneakers to a longtime Jazz ball boy as thanks for finding a lost jacket of his. Per Sotheby's they are the “only complete pair of sneakers worn by Jordan in an NBA Finals game to be authenticated.”
The Bulls would go on to win the 1998 NBA Finals to complete their second three-peat in what was Jordan's last season in Chicago. That particular season was given a heavy focus in Jordan's Netflix documentary The Last Dance.
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