If it seems like a major piece of Michael Jordan memorabilia hits the auction block — and sells for astounding sums — on a near-monthly basis, that’s probably because it’s true.
Jordan’s road jersey from the 1996-97 season — worn in at least 17 games across five months — sold for $4,680,000 at Sotheby's last month.
His shorts from the 1998 NBA Finals in the Bulls' "Last Dance” season sold for a record $216,000 last week at SCP Auctions.
Collectors and spectators alike can now mark their calendars for Dec. 16, when Sotheby’s will sell Jordan’s Air Jordan VIII’s from Games 4 and 5 of the 1993 NBA Finals. The pre-sale estimate is $200,000 to $400,000.
Photo-matching company MeiGray matched the sneakers to both games, in a letter of authenticity dated Nov. 11, 2024, noting each pair was worn in a single half of each game.
The 1993 Finals, which pitted the Bulls against the Phoenix Suns, saw Jordan average for 41 points per game in the series — the highest scoring average in Finals history.
In Game 4, during which Jordan wore the sneakers for a half, he scored 55 points, the most of his NBA Finals career. A single shoe from the title-clinching Game 6 sold, along with five other individual sneakers from Finals-clinching games, for a record $8 million.
Other pairs of game-worn and photo-matched sneakers from Jordan’s NBA Finals appearances have sold for massive amounts.
A pair from Game 2 of the 1998 Finals sold for $2.24 million in April 2023.
Pairs matched to the 1991 and 1996 Finals sold for $216,000 and $482,600 in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.