Auction company Sotheby said that a pair of sneakers worn by American professional basketball (NBA) superstar Michael Jordan early in his career was sold for nearly $1.5 million on the 25th, setting a record for the auction of shoes worn in the game.
These red and white sneakers were worn by Jordan, the "god of basketball," during game 5 of the Chicago Bulls rookie season. After that, nike launched all the Jordan accessories, both on and off the field caused a sensation.
In a statement on Twitter, Sotheby's noted: "The most valuable sneaker in history at auction, the Nike Air Ships worn by Mike Jordan in the 1984 regular season, just sold for $1.47 million at our luxury auction in Las Vegas for $1.47 million. ”
This astronomical price easily breaks previous records. The previous record, also set by a pair of Nike Air Jordan, fell at Christie's auction in August 2020 for $615,000.
A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for $1.8 million in April, three times the previous sneaker record, but that's a private sale.
The market for rare sneakers is soaring. The record price of sneakers has been broken several times recently, and was seen as a niche market 10 years ago, and now it has attracted the interest of the public and major collectors.