Michael Jordan's 1998 Finals jersey sells for record $12.3 million

Michael Jordan's jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $12.3 million, setting a record for a piece of Jordan memorabilia, BBC Sport reported. The sale concerns a uniform worn during his final season with the Chicago Bulls, when the team secured the sixth and last NBA championship of his career.

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The jersey was sold through Joopiter, the digital auction house founded by Pharrell Williams. Its estimate had been between $10 million and $15 million, putting the reported result within that range. The previous Jordan memorabilia record was $10.1 million for his jersey from Game 1 of the same Finals, according to the BBC. The latest sale therefore raised that benchmark by about $2.2 million.

Joopiter's auction listing connects the jersey to Chicago's June 7, 1998 meeting with the Utah Jazz at the United Center. The teams had shared the first two games in Utah and arrived in Chicago with the series level at 1-1. The Bulls then won Game 3 by 96-54, taking a 2-1 lead in the championship series.

Jordan contributed 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in that victory, according to the auction house. Chicago went on to win the Finals 4-2. BBC Sport noted that Jordan was named Finals Most Valuable Player in each of his six championship campaigns, with the 1998 triumph completing his title-winning career.

The auction listing also sets out the documentation accompanying the uniform: a photomatching certificate from MeiGray and a provenance letter from Bill Thoma. Joopiter describes it as the only publicly known white jersey worn by Jordan in a winning game of the 1998 Finals to have surfaced, a rarity claim made by the seller's auction platform.

Despite establishing a new Jordan record, the price remains below the highest sum paid for game-worn sports memorabilia. BBC Sport identified that benchmark as the $24.1 million paid in 2024 for Babe Ruth's jersey from the 1932 World Series, associated with his famous called shot. That leaves the baseball uniform ahead of the latest basketball sale in the broader auction record.