Six pairs of Nike Air Jordan shoes worn by the 1990s basketball star of the same name sold for a record $8 million on Friday, according to auction house Sotheby’s.
Michael Jordan gave these shoes to Chicago Bulls Communications after his decisive games in helping the Chicago Bulls win six NBA championships from 1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998 Supervisor Tim Hallam.
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The price at Sotheby’s New York is an unusual auction record for this type of thing and is the second-highest price ever paid for a Michael Jordan collection.
In a statement that did not reveal the identity of the buyer, Sotheby’s boasted that the “Dynasty Series” prices “may never be replicated.”
“Today’s record-breaking price proves the GOAT,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collections, using the popular acronym for “greatest of all time.”
Last April, the company, owned by French-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi, auctioned off a pair of sneakers Jordan wore in his final championship game with the Chicago Bulls in 1998 for $2.2 million. .
This is a record for a player-signed shoe, the “Bred” (“Black and Red”) Air Jordan XIII.
He wore the shoes in the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, which was documented in the Netflix and ESPN documentary “The Last Dance.”
The six pairs sold on Friday were Air Jordan VI (1991), VII (1992), VIII (1993), XI (1996), XII (1997) and Air Jordan XIV (1998).
Since 2020-2021, collector demand has pushed up the prices of such items at auction.
The record for the most expensive jersey in auction history is Michael Jordan’s 1998 Finals jersey, which was sold for $10.1 million in September 2022.
The World Cup quarter-final jersey worn by Argentina legend Diego Maradona in his legendary match against England in 1986 easily earned $9.3 million in May 2022.