Sotheby’s Is Hoping for a Slam Dunk With a Pair of Game-Worn Michael Jordan Nikes That Could Fetch $150,000

Do you want to be like Mike? Sotheby’s is giving buyers the
chance to get a little closer to Michael Jordan with the sale of
the basketball star’s game-worn and autographed Nike Air Jordans from
1985, shortly after Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls.

The red-and-white kicks are on offer from collector Jordan
Geller, who from 2010 to 2012 ran the ShoeZeum in Las Vegas, which contained
a world-record 2,504 pairs of shoes. Sotheby’s is selling the
sneakers, estimated to fetch $100,000 to $150,000, in a single-lot
online sale that coincides with the 35th anniversary of the
Air Jordan. Bidding is open now through May 17.

“These are the most iconic and coveted sneakers of all
time,” Geller said in a statement. “Sneaker fanatics and collectors
from all over the world came to the ShoeZeum to admire them, and
they were the crown jewel of the museum. Owning this pair has been
a real pleasure, and with all the excitement surrounding Michael
Jordan and [the new documentary series] The Last
Dance, my wife and I decided that it’s time to let the shoes
find a new home.”

Widely lauded as the greatest basketball player of all time,
Jordan broke new ground both on and off the court. The Air Jordan,
too, was transformative in its world of signature sneakers, paving
the way for brand collaborations with other stars like Kobe Bryant
and LeBron James.

“Michael has two legacies: one on the court, and one on the
feet,” Jason Mayden, Jordan Brand’s former senior global design
director, told the Ringer.

Sneakers have become highly prized collectibles in recent years.
Sotheby’s tested the waters for kicks with its first-ever dedicated
sneaker sale in July 2019. Ahead of the online sale, Canadian
entrepreneur Miles S. Nadal snapped up
99 of the 100 pairs on offer for a cool $850,000.

The auction house reserved the rarest and
most coveted pair of sneakers for the auction: Nike’s historic
1972 “Moon Shoes”—also sold
by Geller—which raked in $437,500.

Crossing over into the sneaker market is a way for Sotheby’s to
attract a younger, but still affluent, clientele. “It’s really
becoming a prominent collecting category with very serious buyers,”
Sotheby’s global head of e-commerce, Noah Wunsch, told artnet News after
last year’s sale.

The Air Jordans on offer are a mismatched pair—Jordan typically
wore a size 13 on his left foot and size 13.5 on his right.

“The sneakers have beautiful details,” said Brahm Wachter,
Sotheby’s director of e-commerce development, in a statement,
citing the pair’s “red laces, markings from wear, and the iconic
coding ‘850204 TYPS’ being a reference to the year and month they
were made, as well as ‘player sample,’ indicating their manufacture
for Jordan.”

The post Sotheby’s Is Hoping for a Slam Dunk With a Pair of
Game-Worn Michael Jordan Nikes That Could Fetch $150,000
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