A pair of sneakers worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan during his time in the NBA have fetched a record $560,000 in an online auction this weekend, Sotheby’s auctions announced in a press release.
Ten bidders from across the globe competed for the basketball legend’s autographed Nike Air Jordan 1 shoes before the online auction closed at $560,000.
Known for normally selling multimillion-dollar art, Sotheby’s held its first auction dedicated entirely to sneakers last year and had then set a world record of $437,500 for a pair of 1972 Nike running shoes known as the “Moon Shoe”.
The Nike Air Jordan 1s were made exclusively for Jordan, and featured red laces instead of black and white. “Produced between February to April 1985, Jordan wore the present pair of Air Jordan 1s during an early, pivotal point of his career and thus catapulted the sneaker’s popularity,” Sotheby’s said. “Wearing mismatched shoes most of his career, the pair is in a size 13 (left shoe) and a 13.5 (right shoe).”The right shoe features Jordan’s signature in permanent marker.