A jersey Michael Jordan wore to a 1998 NBA Finals game in Utah will be auctioned by Sotheby’s online September 6-14. With a pre-sale estimate of between $3 million and $5 million, it will be the most expensive price for a Jordanian jersey or any other Jordanian memorabilia, the auction house said.
Jordan wore the red “away” jersey on June 3, 1998, an 88-85 loss to the Utah Jazz. Jordan played for 45 minutes in the game, the most minutes of any contest in the series – and sent the game into overtime, scoring 33 points.
The Bulls, led by Jordan, would win their sixth NBA championship. The 1997-98 season has since been called ‘The Last Dance’ and was the subject of an ESPN/Netflix DIS 2020,
NFLX,
documentary series of the same name.
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The jersey offered for sale was prominently featured throughout Episode 10 of the series and made the cover of Sports Illustrated on June 15, 1998, Sotheby’s said.
“The season itself is his ‘magnum opus’ as an athlete, and a testament to him as a champion and competitor,” Brahm Wachter, head of streetwear at Sotheby’s, said in a statement. “Jordan finals shirts are remarkably rare, and the 1997-98 finals are arguably the most coveted of all.”
“The Last Dance” series has helped fuel the auction market for Jordanian memorabilia. In October 2021, a pair of Nike Air Ships sneakers worn by Jordan sold for US$1.47 million at a Sotheby’s auction, a record price for a pair of Jordan sneakers.
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The highest price paid for a souvenir from Jordan is $2.6 million for a rare 1997-1998 trading card, which sold through Goldin Auctions in October 2021.
Sneaker Con co-founder Yu-Ming Wu and Hayden Sharitt, a 21-year-old resale business owner, take us inside the industry where some sellers make millions on used shoes, while they attend a sneaker trade show in Cleveland. Photo/Illustration: Tyler Clark/Drew Evans
The most valuable jersey, or of all sports memorabilia at auction, is a jersey worn by Diego Maradona during the 1986 World Cup, which fetched $9.3 million in May at Sotheby’s in London.
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The Jordan 1998 Finals jersey will go on public display in Monterey, Calif., from August 17-20 to coincide with RM Sotheby’s flagship car auction. It will return to Sotheby’s New York for an exhibition from September 6 to 12.
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