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A pair of Air Jordan XI in 1996 would cost around $125.
That same pair, worn by Michael Jordan in Game 5 of the 1996 NBA Finals and then sold at auction 28 years later, is worth considerably more.
As sports business analyst Darren Rovell reported on social media, Sotheby’s sold such a pair for $482,600.
The Chicago Bulls lost Game 5 in Seattle, 89-78, but rallied at home in Game 6 to win the fourth of the franchise’s six NBA titles. Jordan was held to 22 points in the Game 5 loss thanks to stifling defense from Gary Payton and Nate McMillan.
The buyer has not been identified by the auction house and Sotheby’s spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for more information on Sunday.
However, the sellers are identified as two former SuperSonics ball boys, who each received one of Jordan’s shoes from Game 5 in Seattle.
As explained on Sotheby’s website, Jesse Sluyter and his fellow former ball boy “combined the shoes for this auction” giving the buyer the opportunity to own the complete pair.
Sluyter also told Sotheby’s an interesting backstory for the black sneakers adorned with red trim and the Hall of Famer’s autograph.
“From 1994 to 2008 I worked as a ball boy for the Seattle SuperSonics,” Sluyter wrote for Sotheby’s. ‘My best friend and I were lucky enough to work the NBA Finals game in the 1995-1996 season, when the Seattle SuperSonics played the Chicago Bulls.
“We worked every practice and in games 3, 4 and 5 of the Finals. Michael Jordan and I got along very well in the Finals and he was very humble and sincere in all his interactions.”
Jordan was apparently impressed with Sluyter’s ability as a ball boy and noted that the youngster had lost a considerable amount of weight from year to year.
“During one of the TV interviews in the locker room during Game 4, he turned around and asked me how much weight I had lost during the offseason,” Sluyter continued. ‘I responded that I had lost over 50 pounds and that my weight gain was due to the kidney transplant I had earlier in the year. All the steroids caused weight gain.’
Jordan, perhaps the most famous person on the planet in 1996, proved to be kind to the ball boys.
“During Game 5, Michael gave me two tickets to one of the NBA Finals games and told me to bring his mom and dad,” Sluyter wrote. “Later, after Game 5, the Chicago Bulls equipment manager asked Michael Jordan who they were going to get his shoes and he said, ‘That ball boy.’ [me] and my best friend.
“After Jordan dealt with the media, talked to the coaches and took care of a kid for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, I asked him if he would sign the shoes. He did it with a smile and said ‘Have a good night.’
“I wished him good luck and finished my work for the night.”
Jordan and the Bulls completed their dream 1996 season with a record 72 wins and lost only three postseason games on their way to the title. The team would beat the Utah Jazz in each of the next two NBA Finals, but that 1996 Seattle SuperSonics team may go down as the best Western Conference foe Jordan ever faced in that setting.
Jordan would average 27.3 points per game in the series, while Shawn Kemp led the Sonics with 23.3 points and 10 rebounds per night.
Jordan’s NBA Finals shoes have traditionally sold for six figures at auction. However, the pair he wore to Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals sold for $1.38 million at auction in 2023.