The sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during his “glass-breaking” move were sold for $615,000.
Basketball star player Michael Jordan’s pair of shoes set a new record. The Nike worn by the iconic athlete was reportedly the most expensive sneakers to be sold in an auction. Its price? An astounding $615,000.
Glass-Shattering Slam Dunk
The pair of sneakers that set a new high in the shoe auction records is the Nike Air Jordan 1 High with an origin story. The high tops were famous for being used by the star athlete during his unforgettable game in Trieste, Italy on August 25, 1985. The remarkable play saw Jordan do a powerful dunk which caused the glass in the backboard to shatter into thousands of pieces.
One piece of the broken glass is said to be embedded in the sole of the left shoe, per the description found on the online site of auction house Christie’s. A spokesperson for the auction firm told CNN: “It is the top price achieved for sneakers at auction.”
Record-Breaking Sneakers
The previous record was held by another Jordan-owned pair in May. The auction price amounted to $560,000 for the Air Jordan 1 worn during the athlete’s rookie days in 1984-1985.
Although the “Shattered Backboard” high tops have set a new record, Forbes reported that the price was still below the estimates of the amount the sneakers would fetch. Christie’s even estimated it between $650,000 and $850,000, according to their website.
Wide-Reaching Auction
The sneakers were part of a larger online auction, through the partnership of Christie’s and Stadium Goods, that highlights items of Jordan, also pegged by the National Basketball Association as “the greatest basketball player of all time.” The memorabilia for the six-time NBA champ consist of his shoes that were worn during his days with the Chicago Bulls.
As of Friday, the special online auction has garnered a sum of $931,875 in sales. Christie’s, through a press release, has mentioned that they saw more than 90,000 unique visitors in their site coming from over 120 countries.
“The new mark reached with the ‘Shatter Backboard’ Air Jordan 1 is special for Stadium Goods because that model occupies such a singular place in sneaker culture,” co-founder and co-chief of Stadium Goods, John McPheters, stated.
