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A pair of Nikes worn by Michael Jordan has broken the record for the most expensive sneakers ever sold at auction, fetching $615,000.
The Nike Air Jordan 1 High shoes, which had an estimated sale price of between $650,000 and $850,000, were used by the basketball star during an exhibition game played in Trieste, Italy in the summer of 1985, according to Christie’s.
“It is the top price achieved for sneakers at auction,” a spokesperson at Christie’s told CNN.
The high tops were sold as part of a wider online auction of Jordan’s footwear from his days playing for the Chicago Bulls. And of the Jordan memorabilia up for sale, nine lots went for a combined total of $931,875, including buyers’ fees,on Thursday at the end of a two-week period of bidding.
The bulk of the total sales came from the signed 1985 shoes, which the auction catalog describe as “a one-of-a-kind Michael Jordan artifact.”
The shoes are unusual because the sole of the left one contains a shard of glass, which became lodged there when Jordan shattered the glass of the backboard while landinga forceful slam dunk.
Another pair of shoes, which the Chicago Bulls player wore in a match in 1992, went for $112,500 in the same auction, which was run by Christie’s in conjunction with sneaker consignment store Stadium Goods.
Thursday’s sale shatters the previous record, set just three months earlier when Sotheby’s sold some of the player’s Nike Air Jordans for $560,000.
“Just three months ago, a pair of Nike Air Jordans broke the world record for the most expensive shoes ever sold at auction — fetching just over half a million dollars,” Christie’s said on its website ahead of its own auction.
Interest in Jordan and his sports memorabilia has increased this year since the release of ESPN’s docuseries “The Last Dance,” which follows the legendary player during the Bulls’ 1997-1998 season.
Christie’s described its recent auction as “the most comprehensive footwear record of Michael Jordan’s era-defining career with the Chicago Bulls ever to be offered in one sale.”
