Sotheby’s is auctioning off six individual Air Jordan sneakers.
According to a Bloomberg report, The Dynasty Collection includes six pairs of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during his six NBA championships. The first Air Jordan model was produced in late 1984 for the basketball athlete during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, it adds.
The sneakers on private sale have been presented in Hong Kong, after a show in Dubai. They will also be shown in Singapore. The current record-holder for the highest price is a Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototype model that sold for $1.8 million in 2021, says the Bloomberg report.
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“The price for this collection will undoubtedly set records,” said Simeon Lipman, an appraiser and auction curator, states the Bloomberg report. “While sports memorabilia has been offered at major auction houses for more than thirty years, it’s only recently that it has received the type of white-glove treatment reserved for fine works of art.”
The collection has garnered interest globally, said Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles Brahm Wachter. Results of private sales are typically undisclosed, unless both the seller and buyer give their permission, adds the Bloomberg report.
Wachter added that the market for collectibles and items worn in games have grown rapidly, with an influx of millennial and Gen-z participants. About 62% of bidders at Sotheby’s for such items are under 40 years old, he added. Rival auction house Christie’s started a sneakers, streetwear and collectibles department in September to focus on this emerging sector, states the Bloomberg report.
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