Yahoo News Michael Jordan's Game-Worn AJ1s Could Be the Most Expensive Sneakers Ever Put up for Auction
Last week, Christie's, the historic British auction house famous for putting record-setting pieces of capital-A art on the block, officially announced it'd be teaming up with Stadium Goods in a landmark sale they're calling Original Air: Michael Jordan Game-Worn and Player Exclusive Rarities.
At the time, the two offered but a teaser of what they promised would be an extensive selection of valuable memorabilia sure to get even the least-savvy of sneakerheads salivating, and well, they didn't disappoint. The duo just revealed all 11 lots and whoo, boy there are some real bangers. If you're a diehard fan of NBA history, or just a really dedicated Jordan devotee, there's a lot to dig into here.
Anticipated to be the most expensive of the sneakers up for grabs—and the ones that'll likely stoke extreme levels of excitement among sneaker enthusiasts—are the OG "'Shattered Backboard' Origin Story" a shoe named for Jordan's literally backboard-shattering dunk during a Nike-sponsored exhibition game in Italy. (Though the Jordan 1s Nike released in 2015 to commemorate the moment are in a fan-favorite orange-and-black colorway, MJ was actually wearing red-and-black Chicagos during the game way back in '85.)
According to Christie's, a shard of glass is still stuck in the sole of the left shoe (!) and though it's hard to put a price on the added benefit of owning some of the (mostly metaphorical, but potentially litereal) blood, sweat, and tears of the GOAT himself, the auction house estimates the sneakers will go for as much as $850,000. For those of you keeping track at home, that'd make them the most expensive sneakers ever sold at auction, at nearly 300 grand more than the current record-holder, AJ1s that sold through Sotheby's for $560,000.
Christie's is giving the Shattered Backboards top billing, but the sale spans Jordan's historic run with the Bulls (ha!) from 1984 to 1998—from the proto-Jordan 1 Nike Air Ship MJ wore during his rookie season to the pair of Jordan 14s he wore during practice before his final Bulls appearance—and even includes some sample cleats from MJ's brief flirtation with minor league baseball in 1995.
It's also worth noting the auction house will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of a game-worn pair of AJ 11 “Concords” (expected to sell for up to $65,000) to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
If you're jonesing to get in on the action, the full catalogue of Jordan-related styles is available to view on the Christie's site now, and the online-only auction will run from July 30 to August 13.
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