Editor's note: This story was updated with the final sale price and other details after the auction.
cnn
—
In 1998, Michael Jordan donned a pair of his iconic black and red Air Jordan 13s to take home a Bulls victory during Game 2 of their last NBA championship, and they are now the most expensive sneakers ever sold in a auction.
The winning sneakers sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday, breaking the sneaker auction record of $1.47 million, set in 2021 by a pair of Nike Air Ships that Jordan wore early in his career.
The sale comes during the “Jordan Year,” a reference to the NBA star player’s iconic No. 23 jersey. In January, Air Jordan partnered with Sotheby's to auction off 13 pairs of retro sneakers designed in memory of The Notorious BIG. All lots sold for more than their high estimates of $5,000 by multiples, with the highest selling for over $32,000.
Last year, Jordan's Game 1 jersey, also from the 1998 finals, became the most expensive used sports memorabilia to sell at auction when it fetched $10.1 million at a Sotheby's sale.
Jordan's farewell with the Chicago Bulls is often referred to as “The Last Dance,” after the title of an ESPN and Netflix documentary chronicling the season. Jordan announced his (second) retirement weeks before the finals, leading to the six-game series against the Utah Jazz becoming the most-watched 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 win another championship.)
“Sports memorabilia worn by Michael Jordan has proven time and time again to be the most elite and coveted items on the market,” Brahm Wachter, director of streetwear and modern collectibles at Sotheby's, said in a press release ahead of the sale. . “However, the items from their 'Last Dance' season are of greater scale and magnitude, as seen with our record-breaking sale of their Game 1 jersey in 2022.”
The pair of sneakers sold on tuesday They were worn during Game 2, in Salt Lake City, which the Bulls won 93-88 after losing Game 1, with Jordan scoring 37 points. They are the last pair of black and red Air Jordan 13s that Jordan wore on court for an NBA game, a Sotheby's press release noted.
After Game 2, Jordan signed and gifted the worn pair of shoes to the ball boy in the visiting locker room, as he was known to do, according to Sotheby's.
The Air Jordan 13 sneakers starred in a sports memorabilia sale called “Victoriam,” which featured items worn by athletes such as Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Roger Federer. Several other Jordan items were included in the two-part auction, with a game-worn 1998 Bulls jersey and a pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1s fetching $508,000 and $127,000 respectively.
Other notable lots included one of Kobe Bryant's LA Lakers shooting jerseys, which sold for more than $406,000, and a soccer jersey, worn by the late Pelé in his debut with the New York Cosmos in 1975. , which sold for more than $177,000.
Cover image: The Air Jordan 13 sneakers signed by Michael Jordan.
