(Reuters) – NBA great Michael Jordan’s autographed match-worn sneakers from his rookie season fetched a record $560,000 in an online auction, Sotheby’s said https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/the-one-mjs-air-jordan-1s/michael-jordans-game-worn-1985-player-sample-air?locale=en on Sunday.
The Air Jordan 1s, designed for Jordan in 1985 and the first ever signature sneakers, were expected to fetch between $100,000 to $150,000 in the auction that closed on Sunday.
Known for selling multimillion-dollar art, Sotheby’s held its first auction dedicated entirely to sneakers last year and had then set a world record of $437,500 for a pair of 1972 Nike running shoes known as the “Moon Shoe.”
Like most of Jordan’s basketball shoes, they are a mismatched pair in a size 13 (left) and size 13.5 (right).
The auction coincided with the 35th anniversary of the Air Jordan brand and the screening of the 10-part ESPN documentary “The Last Dance” about the Chicago Bulls and Jordan. The final two episodes of the show are set to air later on Sunday.
The shoes were sold by collector Jordan Geller, the founder of the sneaker museum Shoezeum in Las Vegas.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
