NEW YORK – A pair of sneakers worn by NBA celebrity Michael Jordan bought for $2.2 million on Tuesday, setting a document value at public sale for game-worn sports activities footwear, Sotheby’s introduced.
The basketball nice wore the “Bred” Air Jordan 13s throughout Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals on the way in which to his sixth and final NBA championship title.
The on-line sale cements Jordan’s place as essentially the most priceless athlete at auctions for sportswear memorabilia.
It broke his personal document of $1.5 million for sneakers, set in September 2021.
Last 12 months, certainly one of his jerseys bought for $10.1 million, essentially the most ever paid at public sale for any game-worm collectibles.
“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 trendy collectables, mentioned in a press release.
Jordan wore the sneakers for the second half of the Chicago Bulls’ 93-88 victory over Utah Jazz on June 5, 1998.
Jordan scored a game-high 37 factors as his Bulls facet tied the sequence 1-1.
The Finals featured within the hit 2020 ESPN/Netflix documentary “The Last Dance,” about Jordan’s last season with the Chicago facet.
Wachter mentioned nostalgia for a unique period was driving the recognition of Jordan memorabilia.
“We have clients in all different areas, from real estate, to finance to private equity. There are many people that are interested in this emerging market,” he instructed AFP.
The value, which incorporates charges and fee, got here in simply above Sotheby’s low pre-sale estimate of $2 million however nicely under the anticipated excessive of $4 million.
The public sale home mentioned Jordan had autographed the footwear and given them to a ball-boy after the sport.
Sotheby’s didn’t determine the vendor however mentioned it was not that unique recipient. Nor did it title the customer of the scale 13 shoe.
The sneakers are referred to as “Bred” for his or her black and crimson coloration, a mode Jordan wore all through most of his trophy-laden profession.
Jordan, now 60, spent the majority of his enjoying profession with the Bulls, with whom he received all six of his titles, however got here out of retirement in 2001 to play two seasons with the Washington Wizards.
The retired star now owns the Charlotte Hornets, positioned in his childhood house of North Carolina, and reportedly nonetheless earns hundreds of thousands in royalties every year from gross sales of Nike’s Air Jordan model of sneakers.
Tuesday’s sale coincided with the discharge this month of the film “Air,” about Nike’s pursuit of Jordan.
The $10.1 million sale of Jordan’s jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals in September 2022 beat a document held by Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” Argentina jersey. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
