Jordan ‘Last Dance’ jersey beats Maradona record
Michael Jordan can boast another world record after the sale of his old Chicago Bulls jersey made history this week.
Sotheby's auction house has revealed that a jersey worn by the 59-year-old in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals, as featured on the well-received documentary 'The Last Dance', had been sold for $10.1 million.
It is said that the popularity of the documentary has also re-triggered an interest in Jordan and the Bulls that has now stretched to memorabilia.
And though the Bulls lost the game in question 88-85 to the Utah Jazz, the jersey from the series which the Bulls won 4-2 – helping Jordan and the franchise complete their second 'three-peat' of NBA championships – eclipsed the $9.28 million recently paid for Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' jersey worn at the 1986 World Cup in a memorable win over England in the quarter-finals.
A record-breaking day. Michael Jordan's iconic 1998 NBA Finals 'The Last Dance' jersey has sold for $10.1 million, setting records for a basketball jersey, any game-worn sports memorabilia, and most valuable #MichaelJordan item ever sold at auction. pic.twitter.com/7t8G98N5pW
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 15, 2022
While the jersey has broken the previous record for game-worn items in sports, this stretches to memorabilia related to Jordan overall with the previous record held by an autographed 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey patch card that sold for $2.7 million in October last year.
A fortnight later, on October 25, Jordan's Nike Air Ships from his rookie season were also sold for $1.47 million.
As for the most expensive piece of sporting memorabilia, bragging rights in this aspect go to New York Yankees slugger Micky Mantle's 1952 Topps card sold for $12.6 million late last month.
