Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers fetch $8 million at auction
- Published By Jedida Barasa For The Statesman Digital
- 10 months ago
Basketball legend Michael Jordan won six NBA championships during his prolific sporting career – and a set of the six sneakers he wore when clinching those titles has sold for a record-breaking $8 million at auction.
Friday’s winning bid for “The Dynasty Collection” reached $8,032,800 (approximately Ksh. 1289264400) , setting a new global auction record for game-worn sneakers, according to auction house Sotheby’s.
The set consisted of Air Jordan VI (1991), Air Jordan VII (1992), Air Jordan VIII (1993), Air Jordan XI (1996), Air Jordan XII (1997), and Air Jordan XIV (1998).
“This set represents the most valuable and significant collection of Air Jordan sneakers ever brought to market,” the auction house said on its website ahead of the auction.
Before the 1991 NBA Finals, Tim Halland, executive director of PR for the Chicago Bulls, requested that Jordan give him one of his game-worn Air Jordan trainers if the team were victorious. Jordan, having won, fulfilled this request, signing and inscribing the shoe before gifting it to Halland – and, due to superstition, continued this tradition for the other five championships, according to Sotheby’s, who obtained the sneakers from a Private American Collector that had obtained them from Halland.
The auction lot included a set of signed limited photographs depicting a smiling Jordan wearing just one sneaker following the triumphant NBA Finals.
The gap between Jordan’s first three consecutive championships and his last three was due to a brief exit he made from the game of basketball in pursuit of professional baseball in October 1993. Although, by March 1995, he had made a stylish return – leading the Chicago Bulls to the most successful regular season in NBA history with 72 wins.
An exceptional player, Jordan earned the nickname “Air Jordan” because of his incredible leaping ability and acrobatic maneuvers.
The Air Jordan line has been coveted by sneakerheads ever since the ex-Bulls star wore them in his rookie year – with a buoyant resale market for his range.
These sneakers are not the first to have sold for a staggering sum.
Last year, a a pair of Jordan’s iconic black and red Air Jordan 13s – the kind he wore to bring home a Bulls victory during Game 2 of his final NBA championship in 1988 – sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York.
In October 2021, a pair of red and white Nike Air Ships sneakers, the type worn by Jordan during his fifth NBA game in his rookie season with the Bulls on November 1, 1984, sold for $1.47 million at auction.
Share on
SHARE YOUR COMMENT
MORE STORIES FOR YOU
Trending Stories
DJ Mo’s former illicit lo...
- Published By Jane
- January 15, 2024
Mapenzi! Zari and Tanasha...
- Published By Jane
- October 24, 2023
Zuchu Speaks on Diamond P...
- Published By Jane
- October 12, 2023
Hio Ni Upumbavu Wasituche...
- Published By Jane
- November 8, 2023
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
How to deal with a silent...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
How to set yourself up fo...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Postpartum Hemorrhage: Si...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Study reveals long term e...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Latest Stories
Kimani Ichung’wah calls f...
- Published By Jedida
- December 23, 2024
President Ruto announces...
- Published By Jedida
- December 23, 2024
EPL 24/25: Chelsea draw 0...
- Published By Jedida
- December 23, 2024
EPL 24/25: Liverpool beat...
- Published By Jedida
- December 23, 2024