September 19th 2023.
Michael Jordan's autographed Air Ship shoes from his fifth NBA game have sold at auction for a staggering $624,000. The shoes were sold for $525,000 by Goldin Auctions, with a buyer's premium added to cover the costs related to the auction.
These shoes were worn by Jordan during his rookie season in 1984, while Nike was still working on the now iconic Air Jordan brand. Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin used a process known as photo matching to identify the shoes as the ones Jordan wore during a matchup with the Denver Nuggets on November 1, 1984. It is even possible that Jordan wore these shoes during his NBA debut.
In comparison, a pair of Jordan's game-worn shoes from his final NBA Finals appearance in 1998 were sold for an astonishing $2.28 million at a Sotheby's auction. Other pieces were also auctioned off, such as the shooting shirt Kobe Bryant wore before he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, as well as Tom Brady's uniform from the 2004 NFL Championship and Pele's jersey from his 1975 New York Cosmos debut.
The shoes were originally sold by a former Nuggets ball boy, TJ Lewis, for $1.47 million. He revealed the story of how he got the shoes from Jordan, who initially declined to give them away, telling Lewis they were too expensive. However, after the game, when Jordan saw Lewis, he not only gave him the shoes, but also autographed them. On one shoe, Jordan personally addressed Lewis by signing it "My Very Best To TJ Michael Jordan," and on the other, he simply signed his name.
Jordan was named an NBA All-Star during his rookie season, and later won Rookie of the Year. His Hall of Fame career is now firmly established as one of the greatest in NBA history, recently making him the richest NBA player ever after selling the Hornets franchise.
Don't miss this chance to own a piece of history! Goldin Auctions is running an auction for these 1984 Michael Jordan Rookie Game-Used/Signed/Inscribed Nike Air Ship Sneakers, the earliest known Jordan NBA season gamers. Bid now before the auction ends on September 11th: https://t.co/XRl6Lo2zgx.
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