Michael Jordan’s game-worn red jersey from the 1996-1997 basketball championship season with the Chicago Bulls sold for $4.68 million at Sotheby’s in New York on November 4 as part of the 'Colossal - The Ultimate Jordan Collection' auction.
Sotheby's sports specialist Brendan Hawkes had expected the "unicorn" item to sell from anywhere between $4 to $6 million before it was put up for auction in October.
"It's one of the most extensively worn Michael Jordan jerseys ever to come to market," Hawkes says, noting that it was worn "during the peak of Michael Jordan's power"
"We like to call it a unicorn."
Most extensively worn
Jordan wore the jersey during at least 17 games, most notably, the game on 12 March 1997 when then-rookie Allen Iverson crossed over Jordan, creating an iconic highlight in basketball lore, according to Hawkes.
"He was at the peak of his fame. And this was really one of the most popular items of clothing in the entire world at the time. You could see, you know, children walking around with the red Michael Jordan jersey, the championship logo."
The sports specialist explains that most of the time, Jordan would use a jersey for just one game.
"This is sort of one of the last of its kind in that he used this for five months. So, it was essentially half of the season, which is also an incredibly rare characteristic for a jersey like this.
"And it was from the [NBA's] 50th anniversary season. So, you can see on the jersey that there is a gold emblem on it, which is one of the only instances of this happening ever with NBA jersey. So, it's a very special jersey. It's one of a kind," Hawkes reckons.
In addition to the red jersey, Sotheby's also auctioned five other Michael Jordan "relics," including two white Chicago Bulls jerseys, which Hawkes says are among "incredibly rare artifacts" from throughout the basketball star's career.
Memorabilia
"We also have the flag that Michael wore when he was receiving his gold medal in the 1992 Olympics when he was part of the Dream Team. He famously covered up the Reebok logo with the flag during that ceremony because he was a Nike athlete and very loyal to Nike," Hawkes explains.
The 'Colossal - The Ultimate Jordan Collection' auction also featured a warm-up top and sneakers that he wore during his time in college at the University of North Carolina.
According to Hawkes, the star's relics are of significant sentimental and historic significance. Some fans particularly who grew those who grew up in the '90s "have a certain nostalgia for pieces like this.
"And as I said, you know, it's a sports artifact as much as it's a pop culture artifact. So, people who understand Michael Jordan's significance within pop culture will certainly be bidding on this."
In 2023, the hat that Michael Jackson wore just before performing his signature moonwalk dance for the first time sold at an auction in Paris for 77,640 euros ($82,170).
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