This story has been updated with final sale price and other details after the auction.
Game winning shoes sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday, break the sneaker auction take note worth $1.47 million, set for 2021 by a pair of Nike Air Ships that Jordan wore earlier in his career.
The sale runs during “Jordan Year” – a reference to NBA star No. 23’s iconic jersey. In January, Air Jordan teamed up with Sotheby’s to auction 13 pairs of vintage sneakers. Dictionary designed in tribute to The Notorious BIG. high estimate is $5,000 in multiples, with a top selling price of over $32,000.
Jordan’s breakup with the Chicago Bulls is often referred to as “The Last Dance,” after the title of an ESPN and Netflix documentary documenting the season. Jordan announced his retirement (Monday) weeks before the final, resulting in the series against the Utah Jazz becoming the most-watched game in NBA history, based on Nielsen TV ratings. (Jordan later returned from 2001 to 2003 to play with the Washington Wizards, but did not win another championship).
Michael Jordan wears record-breaking sneakers during the NBA Finals at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 5, 1998. Credit: Jeff Haynes/AFP/Image/Getty File
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collection, said: “Michael Jordan’s in-game sportswear memorabilia have proven time and again to prove to be elite pieces. and most coveted on the market”. “However, the items from his ‘Last Dance’ season are of greater scale and magnitude as seen with our record sales of his 1st jersey sale in 2018. 2022.”
Sports shoes third sale was worn in Game 2, in Salt Lake City, the Bulls won 93-88 after losing Game 1, with Jordan scoring 37 points. They are the last black and red Air Jordan 13 Jordan has ever worn on the court during an NBA game, a press release from Sotheby’s notes.
After Game 2, Jordan signed and donated the worn-out boots to the ball boy in the guest dressing room, as he usually does, according to Sotheby’s.
The Air Jordan 13 sneakers are part of a sale called “Victoriam” sports memorabilia, which includes items worn by athletes including Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Roger Federer. Several other Jordan items were also included in the two-part auction, with a 1998 Bulls jersey worn in the game and a 1985 pair of Air Jordan 1s for $508,000 and $127,000 respectively. la.
Other top shipments include one of Kobe Bryant’s jerseys from the LA Lakers, which sold for more than $406,000, and a soccer jersey the late Pelé wore on his New York Cosmos debut in 1975, sold for more than $177,000.
Top image: Michael Jordan’s signature Air Jordan 13 sneakers.
