A pair of shoes sneakers worn in a 1984 game by the American basketball legend Michael Jordan were sold this Sunday in a auction of the house Sotheby’s‘s for a record price of almost $ 1.5 million.
“The Nike Air Ships that Michael Jordan wore in 1984 just sold for $ 1,472,000 during our luxury sale in Las Vegas. They are the most expensive sneakers ever offered.” the auction house stated in a statement posted on Twitter.
Record for Nike by Jordan
The shoes, in perfect condition and with the brand’s logo in red, were used by Jordan in the fifth game of his first season in the NBA as a player of the Chicago Bulls, in 1984. They are signed by himself.
This is the first time that a Jordan shoe at public auction has exceeded a million dollars, and was acquired by the collector Nick fiorella.
“This record result of the Jordan Nike Air Ships reaffirms the place of Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan franchise at the top of the shoe market, “said Brahm Wachter of the auction house after the sale closed.
The previous record
The previous record for some sneakers of the basketball legend was registered in August 2020 for about Nike air jordan 1 worn by the player in 1985, when he broke a basket during a game in an episode that remained in the memory of fans.
These were priced at an auction of Christie’s for $ 615,000.
However, the sales record in the world is currently held by a pair of sneakers Nike Air Yeeezy 1, belonging to the rapper Kanye west which he wore during the 2008 Grammy Awards.
These reached the $ 1.8 million in April at a private sale also organized by Sotheby’s.
Air Ship Model
The “Air Ship“, a model designed by Bruce Kilgore, they were the first shoes he wore Michael Jordan as an NBA professional.
In the preseason and in the first games of that first year as a rookie, Jordan wore the colors white and red. Nike He designed them especially for him and they were involved in controversy because the colors of the shoes violated the uniformity clause in the league’s clothing.
This auctioned pair was a gift from Jordan to Tommie Tim III Lewis ‘TJ’ – its owner until now – and was accompanied by a letter of authenticity and an accreditation from Lewis for the 1984-1985 season as staff of the Denver nuggets.
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