New YorkA series of shoes worn by superstar Michael Jordan when he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls raised $8 million at auction, setting a new record for sneakers, Sotheby’s reported.
Six Air Jordan models corresponding to the final games of the 1991, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97 and ’98 Championship Series were released on Friday. Sotheby’s named the works the “Dynasty Collection.”
“This is a reminder of Michael Jordan’s lasting impact on the world and a tangible expression of his recognized legendary status. This landmark result confirms its importance,” Brahim Wachter of Sotheby’s (Brahim Wachter) said in a statement.
Wachter heads the auction house’s modern collectibles department.
Sotheby’s did not disclose the identity of the buyer. Regarding the seller, he said only that he is “an American private collector” who obtained the shoes from an executive who has worked for the Bulls for many years.
According to Sotheby’s, Jordan first presented the executive with a pair of shoes after the 1991 championship game and has continued the tradition ever since. The auction includes photos of Jordan wearing the shoe while celebrating victories in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1998.
A five-time MVP of the league and a two-time Olympic champion, Jordan was such a unique player that then-NBA commissioner David Stern described him in 1992 as “ The measure of excellence in basketball.”
The NBA renamed the Most Valuable Player Trophy after Jordan in 2022.
Likewise, the basketball player transformed the sneaker industry, joining forces with Nike in the mid-1980s to create the Air Jordan brand.