Editor's Note: This story has been updated with final sales prices and other details after auction.
CNN
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In 1998, Michael Jordan lace up his iconic Black and Red Air Jordan 13 pair to bring the Bulls' victory in Game 2 of his final NBA Championship.
The game-winning sneakers sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday, breaking sneaker auction records set by the Nike Air ship Jordan wore early in his career in 2021 for $1.47 million.
Sales arrive at Jordan Year. This is a reference to the iconic Jersey Number 23 of the NBA Star Player. In January, Air Jordan partnered with Sotheby's to work with 13 pairs of retro sneakers designed in memory of the infamous Big Lot to surpass its high estimate of $5,000 with a high priced sale of over $32,000.
Last year, Jordan's Game 1 Jersey became the most expensive sports memorabilia item to sell at auction, even from the 1998 final, when it won $10.1 million in Sotheby's Sale.
Jordan's farewell to the Chicago Bulls is often referred to as “The Last Dance,” after the titles of ESPN and Netflix documentaries that recorded the season. Jordan announced his retirement (for the second time) just weeks before the final, leading to a six-game series with the Utah Jazz, the most watched in NBA history, based on Nielsen's television rating. (Jordan later returned to 2001-2003 to play with the Washington Wizard, but did not win another championship).
“The sports memorabilia that continues Michael Jordan's game has proven many times to be the most elite and coveted item on the market,” Brahm Wachter, head of Sotheby's streetwear and modern collectibles, said in a pre-sale press release. “But his 'last dance' season items are of greater scale and size, as seen in record-breaking sales of his Game 1 jersey in 2022. ”
The pair of sneakers sold on Tuesday were sold in Game 2, when the Bulls won 93-88 after losing Game 1, and Jordan scored 37 points. They are the last pair of Jordan 13 in black and red that Jordan has ever worn on the coat for the NBA game, a press release from Sotheby's.
Following Game 2, Jordan signed and gave a set of shoes worn to the ball boy in the visitor's locker room, as he is known.
Air Jordan 13 sneakers appeared at a sports memorabilia sale called “Victoriam.” It featured items worn by athletes such as Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Roger Federer. Several other Jordan items are included in the two-part auction, with a pair of 1998 Bulls Jersey and 1985 Air Jordan 1 winning $508,000 and $127,000, respectively.
Other top lots included one of Kobe Bryant's La Lakers Shooting Shirts for over $406,000. Additionally, the soccer jersey worn by the late Pele in his debut at the New York Cosmos in 1975 sold over $177,000.
Top image: Air Jordan 13 sneakers signed by Michael Jordan.