Game-worn Michael Jordan sneakers sell for $1.47M
from Chelena Goldman, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
A pair of game-worn sneakers from Michael Jordan’s rookie season sold at auction over the weekend for $1.472 million, making them the most expensive game-worn shoes ever sold, ESPN reported Monday.
Jordan rocked the Nike Air Ships during his fifth-ever NBA game in 1984 when he posted 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists against the Denver Nuggets — although it is possible they were worn before that. The shoes were maintained and now sold by former Nuggets ball boy TJ Lewis, ESPN said.
The sneakers were sold on Sunday to high-end card collector Nick Fiorella during Sotheby’s Icons of Excellence & Haute Luxury auction in Las Vegas.
LATEST: Michael Jordan’s earliest known regular season game-worn Nikes sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas for $1.472 million, breaking an auction record for sneakers. https://t.co/yWayfdzn4z
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This isn’t the first time in recent history Fiorella has thrown down serious money for sports memorabilia. The well-known collector purchased a Luka Doncic card earlier this year for $4.6 million, making it the fourth-most expensive card sale of all time.
This also isn’t the first time a pair of Jordan’s game-worn kicks have set the record for biggest sale. The previous record was set by a pair of Air Jordan 1s the former Chicago Bull wore during a preseason exhibition game in 1985. Those shoes sold at a Christie’s auction for $615,000 in August 2020, eclipsing a pair of Air Jordan 1s that were sold in a Sotheby’s online auction earlier in the year.