Remembering Michael Jordan: The shoes he wore when he was crowned champion sold for astronomical amounts

A collection of sneakers worn by superstar Michael Jordan during his six-time NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls sold at auction for $8 million, setting a record for game-worn sneakers, Sotheby’s said. A new record for sneakers.

Six pairs of Air Jordans, one pair in each of the final games of the Championship Series in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998, were sold on Friday. Sotheby’s calls it a “dynasty collection.”

Sotheby’s auction house Brahm Wachter said in a statement: “This landmark result is further evidence of Michael Jordan’s lasting impact on the world and truly embodies his recognized legend. status.” Wachter oversees the auction house’s modern collection.

Sotheby’s did not reveal the identity of the buyer, describing the seller only as “an American private collector” who acquired the sneakers from a former Bulls executive.

According to Sotheby’s, Jordan first gifted the executive a pair of sneakers after the 1991 championship game and has continued the tradition ever since. The auction items include photos of Jordan wearing the shoe while celebrating victories in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1998.

Jordan, a five-time league MVP and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was such a unique player that then-NBA commissioner David Stern called him “basketball’s measure of excellence” in 1992. . The NBA renamed the MVP trophy after Jordan in 2022.

Last April, the pair he wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby’s, setting a record for a sneaker. The highest auction price for Jordan memorabilia was $10.1 million for a jersey from the first game of the series, which was sold in 2022, according to Sotheby’s.