- Sotheby’s this week will sell a collection of six Air Jordan sneakers.
- Each of the six sneakers was worn by Michael Jordan during a game in the NBA Finals.
- Sotheby’s called it “the most valuable and significant collection” of Jordans ever offered.
The “holy grail” of sneaker-collections is about to go on sale.
Auction house Sotheby’s on Tuesday will unveil a collection of six Air Jordan sneakers in Dubai. Each was worn by Michael Jordan during the NBA championship-clinching game for the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan made it to the NBA Finals six times. He won every time.
The collection, known as the “Dynasty Collection,” will be sold, not auctioned. Sotheby’s did not disclose the sale price. But it is expected to reach millions.
“The Dynasty Collection is the single defining ‘holy grail’ of sneaker collecting,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collections. “They check all the boxes a collector wants: championship history, Hall of Fame association, and style.”
For perspective, the jersey Jordan wore during the 1998 NBA Finals sold last year for $10.1 million. The previous record for a sneaker sale was $1.8 million for a pair of Nike prototypes worn by Kanye West, now known as the Ye.
The new collection should eclipse those marks. The Wall Street Journal recently said that the “Dynasty Collection” shoes are, “like the Mona Lisa, the David and some of Monet’s Water Lilies rolled into one.”
While the secondary market for sneakers has cooled, there remains a strong market for the most unique sports memorabilia with the most compelling stories. A piece of the basketball court from Kobe Bryant’s final game, for example, recently sold for $800,000.
“This set represents the most valuable and important collection of Air Jordan sneakers ever brought to market,” Sotheby’s said, in a listing.
“Simply put, no one has ever been ‘like Mike,'” said Sotheby’s.
Jordan originally gave the sneakers to Tim Hallman, a former director of communications for the Chicago Bulls, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The sneakers were on display last year at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City. Certified Sports Guaranty, part of the Certified Collectibles Group, certifies the collection.
“Even after examining the world’s most important collectibles for four decades, the Dynasty Collection has the power to take my breath away,” Mark Salzberg, founder of Certified Collectibles Group, said at the time, in a press release. . “For the role these shoes play in our collective consciousness, how they are associated with sports, fashion and celebrity, they are the contemporary Ruby Slippers, quite extraordinary.”
The collection will be on view in Dubai until March 3.