A worn jersey from basketball legend Michael Jordan has been auctioned off for a historic sum. The red Chicago Bulls jersey from the 1996/97 championship season fetched 4.68 million US dollars (around 4.3 million euros), as the New York auction house Sotheby’s announced. Only three NBA jerseys have ever sold for more than that.
Jordan wore the shirt in at least 17 games. Including the famous game in which the six-time champion was spectacularly outplayed by then-rookie Allen Iverson with a crossover.
The record amount for an NBA jersey went to Jordan’s “Last Dance” jersey from the 1997/98 season ($10.1 million). In second and third place are jerseys from Lakers legends Kobe Bryant ($5.8 million) and Wilt Chamberlain ($4.9 million). The record for the most expensive sporting goods sold is 24.1 million US dollars (around 21.5 million euros), which was paid in August for a jersey of baseball legend Babe Ruth.
The jersey auctioned Tuesday was one of five Jordan collectibles on offer. Among them was the American flag that the superstar had carried when receiving the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992 as part of the “Dream Team”. In total, the auction brought in 8.5 million US dollars (around 7.8 million euros).
