The jersey that basketball legend Michael Jordan wore in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold at auction for an impressive $12.26 million. This officially made it the most expensive sports item associated with the legendary athlete, reports the „Reuters“ agency.
The historic jersey is from Jordan's iconic sixth and final championship season with the Chicago Bulls - the campaign that gained worldwide popularity as „The Last Dance“. The item was put up for sale by entrepreneur Ryan Goff and was sold through Joopiter - the digital auction platform of music and fashion star Pharrell Williams.
The deal bettered Jordan's previous record for an item, which was $10.091 million - paid for his team in the first game of the same finals series. The auction house's preliminary estimates put the price in the range of $10 million to $15 million.
“Few items in the history of sports embody greatness as completely as Michael Jordan's team from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals“, Joopiter points out in the official auction description.
Despite setting a new record for the basketball icon, the amount remains in second place in the overall ranking for the most expensive sports item worn during a competition in auction history. Baseball legend Babe Ruth's team from the 1932 World Series, which was sold in 2024 for an astronomical $24.12 million, remains unattainable at the top.