4 years after $615,000 sale, Michael Jordan's iconic game-worn "Shattered Backboard" Air Jordan 1 hits the auction block
The "Shattered Backboard" pair of Michael Jordan's game-worn Air Jordan 1s is up for auction. In 2020, the pair was bought for $615,000 in Christie’s "Original Air" and is now back in the auction market. The shoes are still in perfect condition and a small piece of embedded glass can still be seen.
The bidding for the shoes has started on Goldin's website. At the moment of this writing, the pair has gained 33 bids and the highest is $294,000. According to the website, bidding will end on June 2.
The Shattered Backboard came from Jordan's first season with the Chicago Bulls in 1985. The team played an exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, where MJ wore his "Chicago" Air Jordan 1s. The highlight of the game was when Jordan dunked the basketball so hard that the backboard shattered.
In 2015, Jordan Brand released a pair to honor that specific moment with black, white and orange colors. It also had an interesting shattered backboard on the insole. Because of the story and hype around the pair of shoes, resellers sold them for $1,000.
Fans flocked to shoe stores and pairs were immediately sold out. Watch the video below to see Jordan's iconic moment in Italy, which birthed one of the most in-demand Air Jordan 1 colorways.
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Michael Jordan's championship shoes sold for $8 million
No one can forget the iconic moments during Michael Jordan's championship runs with the Bulls. One of the most prized memorabilia a Jordan fan can acquire is the shoes he wore during the times when he was winning titles. Back in February, six Air Jordan shoes were sold.
The "Dynasty Collection" was purchased by a private American collector whose identity was kept confidential by Sotheby’s. According to them, the buyer was able to buy the shoes from a longtime Bulls executive. Brahm Wachter, a member of the auction house, released a statement regarding the sale of the shoes.
"Serving as both a reminder of Michael Jordan’s lasting impact on the world and a tangible expression of his recognized legendary status, its significance is further validated by this monumental result," he said.
The official price of the winning bid for the six pairs of historic shoes was $8,032,800. The collection features Air Jordan VI (1991), Air Jordan VII (1992), Air Jordan VIII (1993), Air Jordan XI (1996), Air Jordan XII (1997) and Air Jordan XIV (1998).
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