A pair of Air Jordan trainers worn in a game by NBA legend Michael Jordan sold for $560,000(Sh59 million) at Sotheby’s auction house – an all-time record for basketball shoes.
The autographed Air Jordan 1s were designed for Jordan – star of Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’ – during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls in 1985.
The first ever signature sneakers, they were expected to fetch between $100,000 to $150,000 in the online auction, which 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 shoes were sold by collector Jordan Geller, the founder of the sneaker museum Shoezeum in Las Vegas.
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 Last Dance chronicles Jordan’s career, with much of the series dedicated to his final season with the Bulls in 1997/98.
In 1998 Jordan won his and the Bulls’ sixth NBA championship, the NBA Finals MVP for the sixth time and his fifth NBA Most Valuable Player award, before announcing his retirement from the game.
The final two episodes of the show are set to air on Netflix later on Sunday. Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest basketball player of all-time, is reported to have a fortune of $2.1billion (£1.6billion), according to Business Insider.
Forbes reports that his salary earnings during his player career came to $90 million.
But where he has made eye-watering sums of money is through corporate partners.
His brand ambassador roles have included Nike, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, McDonald’s and Chevrolet.
