Editor’s Note: This article was refreshed with the ultimate sale amount and additional specifics following the auction.
CNN
—
In 1998, Michael Jordan donned a pair of his legendary black and red Air Jordan 13s to secure a Bulls triumph during Game 2 of his last NBA championship — and they are now the priciest sneakers ever auctioned.
The winning sneakers fetched $2.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday, obliterating the sneaker auction record of $1.47 million, previously set in 2021 by a pair of Nike Air Ships that Jordan sported earlier in his career.
The auction comes in the midst of “Jordan Year” — a nod to the NBA superstar’s famed jersey number 23. Earlier this January, Air Jordan joined forces with Sotheby’s to auction 13 pairs of retro sneakers created in tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. Each lot significantly surpassed their high estimates of $5,000, with the highest individual pair going for over $32,000.
In the previous year, Jordan’s Game 1 jersey from the 1998 finals set a record as the most expensive piece of worn sports memorabilia ever auctioned when it sold for $10.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls is famously dubbed “The Last Dance,” inspired by the title of an ESPN and Netflix documentary chronicling that season. Jordan declared his (second) retirement shortly before the finals, which led to the six-game series against the Utah Jazz becoming the most-viewed in NBA history, according to Nielsen TV ratings. (Jordan would later return from 2001 to 2003 to play for the Washington Wizards but did not secure another championship).
“Michael Jordan game-worn memorabilia has consistently proven to be the most high-end and sought-after items available,” stated Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, in a press release before the auction. “However, pieces from his ‘Last Dance’ season hold an even higher significance, as evidenced by our record-breaking sale of his Game 1 jersey in 2022.”
The sneakers sold on Tuesday were utilized during Game 2, in Salt Lake City, where the Bulls triumphed 93-88 after suffering a loss in Game 1, with Jordan scoring 37 points. They are the final pair of black and red Air Jordan 13s ever worn by Jordan during an NBA game, as noted in a Sotheby’s press release.
After Game 2, Jordan signed the pair of shoes and presented them to the ball boy in the visitor’s locker room, a gesture he was known for, according to Sotheby’s.
The Air Jordan 13 sneakers featured prominently in a sports memorabilia auction titled “Victoriam,” which highlighted items worn by athletes like Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, and Roger Federer. Additional Jordan items were offered in the two-part auction, with a game-worn 1998 Bulls jersey and a pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1s selling for $508,000 and $127,000 respectively.
Other notable items included one of Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers shooting shirts, which was sold for over $406,000, and a soccer jersey worn by the late Pelé during his debut for the New York Cosmos in 1975, which fetched over $177,000.
Top image: The Air Jordan 13 sneakers autographed by Michael Jordan.
