A pair of sneakers worn by NBA superstar Michael Jordan early in his career sold for nearly $1.5 million on Sunday, setting a record price at auction for game-worn footwear, Sotheby’s said.
The white leather shoes with the red Nike swoosh and soles were worn by the iconic player in the fifth game of his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, when Nike’s Jordan-affiliated brand was only just taking off as a sensation both on and off the court.
“The most valuable sneakers ever offered at auction — Michael Jordan’s regular season game-worn Nike Air Ships from 1984 — have just sold at $1,472,000 in our luxury sale in Las Vegas,” the auction house said in a statement on Twitter.
The astronomical price easily beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordans which sold for $615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction.
A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for $1.8 million in April, triple the previous record for sneakers — although that was a private sale.
Jordan’s autographed size-13 lace-ups were in good overall condition, with signs of court wear and tear, Sotheby’s said. The pair was a gift from the player to Tommie Tim III Lewis, who was a ball boy for the Denver Nuggets during the 1984-’85 season.
The market for rare sports shoes is soaring. The record price for sneakers has been broken several times recently as what was seen as a niche market a decade ago now attracts interest from the general public as well as leading collectors.
And the market value of objects identified with the retired basketball superstar have skyrocketed since the release of “The Last Dance,” an ESPN/Netflix documentary that chronicles the saga of Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.
The sneakers that went under the hammer Sunday predate the first Air Jordans, the now-classic line that quickly morphed from popular basketball gear to sought-after streetwear worldwide.
– A bankable star –
The Air Ship shoe that served as the genesis for the Air Jordan series was designed by Bruce Kilgore and originally released in 1984, and it was the first sneaker worn by Jordan as an NBA professional.
That year Jordan, already a bankable star given his college basketball heroics, completed a deal with Nike in which the company gave him his own signature line of shoes and clothing.
The deal was a first for Nike, and it paved the way for a proliferation of player-brand collaborations.
Jordan’s now-famous black and red Air Ships became a focus of controversy in 1984 when the National Basketball Association sent Nike a letter informing the company that the player’s colorful sneakers which he wore during an October 18 preseason game that year violated the league’s uniform clause.
Sunday’s auction also sold a pair of Nike Air Jordan 11 Retro x OVO “Gold” sneakers, designed under a collaboration between the shoemaker and rapper Drake, for $20,160. The model was never released to the public, making them a rare set of shoes.
Nigeria and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs with Bayern Munich reportedly ready to dole out over €100 million for the Nigerian striker who has caught the attention of Real Madrid with his early season form.
Osimhen managed just 10 goals in his debut season with Napoli, no thanks to a spate of injuries and a bout of Covid-19 that led many to think that the Italian side may have goofed in spending a club record €81.3 million to lure the Nigerian from Lille to Naples.
Now in his second year with the Blues, the 22-year-old has now scored nine times in just 11 appearances for Napoli, with his latest arriving in last Thursday’s 3-0 demolition of Legia Warsaw in the Europa League.
And, according to Spanish newspaper, AS, Osimhen has been in the crosshairs of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, with the German side ready to dole out over €100m to land the Nigerian international at the end of the season, possibly as a replacement for the ageing Robert Lewandowski, who is also on the radar of Real Madrid.
AS also reported that although Osimhen isn’t Real Madrid’s top transfer target, he could end up on the top of the list if the Spanish side fails in its bid to land its top-three targets – Kylian Mbappé, Erling Håland and Lewandowski.
The newspaper had earlier reported that the 33-year-old Lewandowski, whose contract expires in 2023, could request a transfer from Bayern Munich next summer as he seeks a new challenge away from the Bundesliga, where he has dominated for 12 seasons – first in the colours of Borussia Dortmund and now for Bayern.
With Bayern not likely to see the Polish striker run down his contract, they will be forced to listen to offers for him. It is for this reason that the Bavarians have lined up Osimhen as a replacement for Lewandowski and are willing to offer Napoli over €100m to land the Nigerian who had previously played in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg.
Mbappé continues to be the priority for Real Madrid though, even if in recent days the news has leaked that Barcelona have also signified an interest in the French striker. It is for this reason, according to AS, that Los Blancos continue to closely monitor Osimhen.
Scouts from these clubs were at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Sunday where Osimhen and Napoli were prevented from setting a record for the best start to a Serie A season as Roma held them to a goalless draw, thus preventing the Blues from wining a ninth straight opening league game.
It was the first time the Naples-based club had failed to score in the league this season after a 100 per cent winning record in their previous eight matches.
And AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho, in his post-match comments, credited his players for stopping the in-form Osimhen.
“The game had a lot of transitions in it – they tried to play really directly through Osimhen and then bring others into play around him,” Mourinho told Roma’s official portal.
“[On Sunday] I liked the organisation, and the way we controlled, in a certain sense, because controlling him is far from easy – Osimhen’s attempts to get into space.”
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