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Michael Jordan rookie sneakers sell for $152,500 at kicks-only auction

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Robin Millard, Agence France-Presse

<p>A pair of basketball legend Michael Jordan&#x27;s famous Air Jordans from his rookie season sold at auction for $152,500 on Wednesday, the star item in Sotheby&#x27;s first international dedicated sneaker sale.</p><p>Seen as a niche interest 10 years ago, sneakers are now one of the fastest-growing markets at auctions, attracting attention from the general public as well as leading collectors.</p><p>The Gamers Only auction, conducted entirely online, featured 13 pairs of match-worn basketball shoes from some of the NBA&#x27;s greatest athletes, including Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O&#x27;Neal.</p><p>They went on show beforehand in Geneva and took their place alongside standout jewels, watches and handbags from Sotheby&#x27;s Luxury Week of sales in the lakeside Swiss city.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/29/21/nba-sneakers-from-michael-jordans-rookie-season-up-for-sale-at-sothebys">NBA: Sneakers from Michael Jordan&#x27;s rookie season up for sale at Sotheby&#x27;s</a></li></ul><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/COK91fWl9b1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COK91fWl9b1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 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style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COK91fWl9b1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Sotheby&#x27;s (@sothebys)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/18/20/game-worn-air-jordan-sneakers-sell-for-record-breaking-560000">Game-worn Air Jordan sneakers sell for record-breaking $560,000 </a></li></ul><p>Nike Air Jordan 1s &quot;not only changed basketball footwear forever but are also considered foundational to the development of sneaker culture&quot;, Sotheby&#x27;s said.</p><p>The pair sold — in the Chicago Bulls&#x27; red, white and black — were worn by Jordan during his stellar 1984-1985 debut season.</p><p>Jordan, now 58, went on to become a six-time NBA champion and is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time.</p><p>&quot;The Air Jordan 1s are one of the grails,&quot; Josh Pullan, managing director of Sotheby&#x27;s global luxury division, told AFP.</p><p>&quot;There&#x27;s a bit of wear on the toe and around the heels, and that gives us a feeling for what happened in the game when they were worn.</p><p>&quot;This pair is from someone who knew Michael Jordan personally, so they really come with that impeccable provenance.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/21/21/kobe-bryant-legacy-nike-partnership">Kobe Bryant’s estate ends 18-year partnership with Nike</a></li></ul><div><strong>- MVP pairs -</strong></div><p>The second-most expensive pair in the sale was Stephen Curry&#x27;s Under Armour shoes, both signed, from 2015-16 when the Golden State Warriors point guard was named the most valuable player, for the second straight season.</p><p>The yellow and cobalt blue sneakers, worn in four matches, fetched $20,800.</p><p>The other shoes that went for five figures were a pair of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&#x27;s Adidas Superstars worn during his 1979-1980 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, which ended with the NBA title and the center&#x27;s sixth MVP win.</p><p>The signed white sneakers went for $18,030.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/02/21/watch-vice-gandas-sneaker-collection-includes-nike-balenciaga-gucci-and-more">WATCH: Vice Ganda&#x27;s sneaker collection includes Nike, Balenciaga, Gucci, and more</a></li></ul><p>Sotheby&#x27;s says the sneaker market has brought a new, younger audience into the world of auctions.</p><p>Last month, Sotheby&#x27;s sold a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West for $1.8 million, triple the previous record for sneakers.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/27/21/kanye-west-sneakers-shatter-sale-records-at-18-million">Kanye West sneakers shatter sale records at $1.8 million</a></li></ul><p>The shoes, worn during the 2008 Grammy Awards, shattered the previous sneakers auction record of $615,000 set in August last year.</p><p>That sum, achieved by auctioneers Christie&#x27;s, was for the very pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s worn by Jordan when he famously shattered the backboard in a 1985 match.</p><p>Wednesday&#x27;s sale also included sneakers worn by NBA greats Charles Barkley, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson, Moses Malone and Isiah Thomas.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1683962" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Seen as a niche interest 10 years ago, sneakers are now one of the fastest-growing markets at auctions.</p>

Seen as a niche interest 10 years ago, sneakers are now one of the fastest-growing markets at auctions.

Michael Jordan rookie sneakers sell for $152,500 at kicks-only auction

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Michael Jordan rookie sneakers sell for $152,500 at kicks-only auction

Robin Millard,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 13, 2021 05:06 AM PHT

|

Updated May 13, 2021 05:07 AM PHT

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Michael Jordan rookie sneakers

sneakers auction

Air Jordans

Sotheby's

Gamers Only auction

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