You can jump, you can dunk — but do you have what it takes to own a prime piece of Michael Jordan’s legacy? More than guts and determination, it requires deep pockets.
A scarlet-red away jersey that the Chicago Bulls legend wore during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals — and during his final year with the team — will go up for auction in a single-lot Sotheby’s sale next month, the auction house told The Post. What’s more: The jersey, from the famed “Last Dance” season, carries a cool estimate of $3 million to $5 million.
That marks the highest estimate for any piece of Jordan memorabilia, according to the auction house.
“Finals jerseys from Jordan … they just don’t come around,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, told The Post. “Red is really the color that people think about when they think about Michael Jordan, and this is the only red Finals jersey to ever appear at auction.”
Wachter added that this game-worn jersey “reaches that top level stratosphere of the rarest collectibles,” especially because Jordan had it on during the Finals — as opposed to the regular season and the playoffs — and “that’s really what drives the price.”
Jordan wore this away jersey during the “Last Dance” season.Courtesy Sotheby’s
Jordan’s NBA Finals jerseys are rare.Courtesy Sotheby’sThis jersey, described by Sotheby’s as one of the most highly desired pieces of sports memorabilia, is one of two Finals tops ever to appear at auction from any of Jordan’s six championships. It came from a private collector — and the bulk of Jordan’s Finals jerseys are in the hands of private collectors. Jordan donated a white home jersey to the Smithsonian in 2016.
Jordan, 59, wore this soon-to-be-sold jersey June 3, 1998, during a game in Utah against the Jazz — one the Bulls lost 88 to 85. Jordan played 45 minutes in the game and helped send it into overtime. While wearing this jersey, he scored 33 points, putting him on the path to his sixth NBA Championship and his sixth NBA Finals MVP Award.
Jordan wearing the soon-to-be-auctioned jersey at the June 3, 1998, game against the Utah Jazz.AFP via Getty Images
Jordan scored 33 points while wearing the red top.NBAE via Getty Images
The Bulls lost to the Jazz 88 to 85.NBAE via Getty ImagesFollowing the Finals, the jersey was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Fans of ESPN’s popular 10-part “The Last Dance” docuseries from 2020 may even recognize this jersey from the 10th episode.
Named “Invictus Part 1,” the online auction will be open for bidding from Sept. 6 to 14 on Sothebys.com. Preceding the sale, the jersey will go on public view for the first time in the 20-plus years since Jordan wore it on the court. It will first be exhibited in Monterey, California, between Aug. 17 to 20, then head to Sotheby’s New York from Sept. 6 to 12.
The sale also comes on the heels of the record, $9.3 million auction sale of Diego Maradona’s Argentina jersey worn in the 1986 World Cup when the late star scored the “Hand of God” goal against England. Sotheby’s sold that in May at an auction in London; it had an estimate of $5 million to $7.5 million.
Though the estimate is lower for this Jordan jersey, Wachter says it still carries its weight in gold.
“I can’t think of an object … that means more to a fan than this,” he said. “You’re really taking home a piece of history.”
