“The most precious sneakers ever to go up for auction, the 1984 Nike Air Ships worn by Michael Jordan during the regular season, just sold for $ 1,472,000 during our luxury sale in Las Vegas,” stated the auction house in a statement posted on Twitter.
Jordan wore these Nike “Air Ship” sneakers in Game 5 of the NBA on November 1, 1984. They were the forerunners of the Air Jordan 1 model.
The “Air Ship”, a model designed by Bruce Kilgore, came out in 1984, and were the first sneakers worn by Michael Jordan as a professional in the NBA.
In the preseason and in the first games of that first year as a rookie, Jordan wore the colors white and red, but also black and red (known as “Bred”) that Nike designed especially for him and that were involved in controversy.
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Size 13 in white leather with the brand’s logo in red and tied up to the ankle, in perfect condition despite use, were a gift from the player to Tommie Tim III Lewis ‘TJ’ – his owner until now – and were accompanied by a letter of authenticity and a 1984-1985 season accreditation from Lewis as a staff member of the Denver Nuggets.
The previous record for a basketball legend’s shoe was set in August 2020 during an auction at Christie’s for a Nike Air Jordan 1 worn by the player in 1985, when he broke a basket during a game in a memorable episode. of the fans.
They sold for $ 615,000.
However, the sales record is held by a pair of Nike Air Yeeezy 1 sneakers belonging to rapper Kanye West that he wore during the 2008 Grammy Awards. They reached $ 1.8 million last April in a private sale also organized by Sotheby’s.
The last such pair belonging to Jordan was sold in May 2021 also at a Sotheby’s auction for $ 152,500.