KONTAN.CO.ID – Jakarta. American basketball player Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey sold for $10.1 million at auction, a record for any game-worn sports memorabilia, auction house Sotheby’s.
The No. 23 red jersey from Jordan’s “Last Dance” season with the Chicago Bulls garnered 20 separate bids, Sotheby’s said in a statement Thursday, prompting the price to double the $5 million estimate.
The sale also set a new record for a basketball jersey sold at auction, and the jersey is the most valuable piece of Jordan memorabilia ever sold.
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“The historic jersey was worn during the most illustrious season of Jordan’s legendary and storied career, as the superstar cemented his legacy as one of the greatest basketball players of all time,” Sotheby’s said.
According to the auction house, the jersey is one of only two NBA Finals Jordan jerseys to be auctioned.
Interest in Jordan’s 1998 season rekindled following the release of the 2020 ESPN/Netflix documentary, The Last Dance, which chronicled the Chicago Bulls’ quest to reach an unprecedented sixth NBA championship in eight seasons.
The 1998 NBA Finals led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, which saw the Bulls face the Utah Jazz, is the NBA’s most-watched Finals series.