A highly valued piece from the Chicago Bulls’ “Last Dance” run has sold for a record price.
Michael Jordan’s game-worn jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals was auctioned Tuesday for a record-breaking $12,260,000. It was sold by Rob Gough via Joopiter, a digital marketplace and auction house curated by Pharrell Williams.
It was projected to sell between $10 million to $15 million and received one bid before closing, according to The Athletic.
The auction closed at 8:06 p.m. EST, with the final price marking a new record for an NBA jersey sale -- the previous being Jordan’s Game 1 jersey from the same 1998 series in September 2022 at $10.1 million at Sotheby’s.
Jordan’s jersey was registered in August, was authenticated by MeiGray in December 2015, and was photo-matched to two specific photos from Getty Images.
The jersey was in possession Gough, who purchased the jersey in 2023 according to Sportico. Before Gough, Bill Thoma of Chicago possessed the jersey, according to a March 2015 letter posted on Joopiter. In the letter, he wrote he purchased the jersey from Evan LaManna, a sales manager and partner in Upper Class Collectibles in New Jersey. At the time the letter was written, Thoma says the jersey transaction was completed “about 8 or 9 years ago.”
He also expressed that LaManna had a professional relationship with Jordan and obtained the jersey from a “close associate” of the Bulls legend.
The jersey features an NBA Finals logo patch at the top right chest, mesh material and an NBA Authentics tag with the size 50 tag at the bottom left of the jersey.
In that particular game, Jordan finished with 24 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 96-54 blowout to help Chicago advance to a 2-1 lead over the Utah Jazz. The Bulls won the 1998 Finals in six games, and Jordan announced his second retirement on Jan. 13, 1999. He finished his NBA career with six championships.
