NEW YORK — A pair of Air Jordans worn by Michael Jordan during his final championship run with the Chicago Bulls has sold at auction for $2.2 million, surpassing the record for the most valuable sneakers ever sold, auction house Sotheby's announced on Tuesday.
The Air Jordan 13s, which Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, sold for the highest publicly recorded price for a pair of sneakers, according to Sotheby's.
"The historic sneakers were worn during the most recognizable season of Jordan's storied career, which helped secure his legacy as the greatest basketball player of all time," Sotheby's said.
The Air Jordan 13s – also known as the Bred Air Jordans as a shorthand for the black and red color scheme – were released in May 1998, right in the thick of Jordan's postseason run with the Bulls. According to Sotheby's, the sneakers were among the final public releases of the Air Jordan brand during his career with the Bulls.
After losing in Game 1 of the NBA Finals that year, Jordan wore the shoes in the second half of Game 2 and helped the Bulls beat the Jazz at the Delta Center by scoring 37 points, Sotheby's said. Following the game, he gave the sneakers to a ball boy who maintained the visitors' locker room and signed them as thank you for his services, according to the auction house.
Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth championship soon after. Jordan's final season with the Bulls was known as the "Last Dance" – and it was also the name of an ESPN documentary chronicling that time period of Jordan's career.
The sneakers are also among the most expensive Jordan items ever sold, trailing Jordan's game-worn jersey from Game 1 of the same finals series that sold for $10. 1 million. The sale of the shoes beat out Kanye West's Nike Air Yeezy 1s, which sold for $1.8 million, and Jordan's game-worn Nike Air Ships, which sold for $1.472 million in 2021.