Michael Jordan’s No. 23 Chicago Bulls jersey is iconic.
‘His Airness’ wore the number throughout his legendary NBA career, with the exception of the 1994-95 season, in which he returned to the league as No. 45 following a brief retirement.
In iconic Bulls red, MJ won six championships and cemented himself as the greatest ever player to step on the court.
His No. 23 jersey was retired by Chicago, allowing Jordan’s personal legacy – and connection to the number – to grow long after his retirement.
Now, a few of those famous jerseys are worth millions of dollars.
On Monday, November 4, Sotheby’s revealed that a game-worn MJ road jersey from the Chicago Bulls‘ 1996-97 season has sold for $4.68 million at auction.
The uniform was worn by Jordan over a five-month span in his fifth championship season, from December of 1996 to April of 1997.
It has been photomatched to 17 games in 15 different cities, and has been described by Sotheby’s as “one of the most stunning pieces that has ever surfaced from the greatest to ever play the game”.
One of the games in which Jordan wore the jersey was against the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers, when rookie sensation Allen Iverson crossed him.
Its $4.68m price tag makes it the fourth-most expensive NBA jersey of all time.
Only Jordan’s $10.1 million “Last Dance” jersey, a signed $5.8m Kobe Bryant jersey worn in his lone MVP season and a 1972 NBA Finals jersey worn by Wilt Chamberlain ($4.9 million) have sold for more money.
The latest auction is further written into NBA folklore as it is the only MeiGray Authenticated red jersey from Jordan’s first five championship seasons.
According to Sotheby’s, the jersey has remained in private hands since its sale from the team.
It was one of five lots from the “The Ultimate Jordan Collection” auction.
A game-worn and signed jersey from Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs during the 1998 “Last Dance” season sold for $840,000, while a University of North Carolina practice set – including a jersey and signed sneakers – made $132,000.
Meanwhile, a 1992 Summer Olympics “Dream Team” signed American flag, worn during the gold medal ceremony, was sold for $1.8m and a set of game-used jersey and shorts from the 1988-89 season went for $1.08m.
In total, Sotheby’s Jordan auction took in an astonishing $8.5m.
The “Dream Team” American flag, which Jordan draped over his shoulder to cover the Reebok logo on his uniform out of loyalty to Nike, alone sparked a bidding war of 45 bids.
