After returning to the auction block, Nike Air Ship shoes worn by Michael Jordan have sold for over half a million, according to Bleacher Report.
As AFROTECH previously told you, the autographed shoe was first worn by the basketball legend during the fifth game of his career in 1984. It landed in the hands of Denver Nuggets ball boy at the time, Tj Lewis.
“Once the game was over and the Bulls made it out of their team meeting I was able to enter the locker room to start cleaning to finish up the night,” Lewis said in recollection of the special day, per Goldin. “I looked over, saw Michael Jordan sitting at his locker and he was still in his uniform. I made my way a little closer so he was able to see me in hopes that he would change his mind about not giving me his shoes. To my surprise he suddenly notices me, looks down and grabs the shoes he wore in the game that night, looks back up at me and asks if I wanted them? Of course I said yes, found a pen and had him sign both shoes. One of the shoes he signed just his name and the other shoe he signed ‘My Very Best To Tj Michael Jordan.’”
Lewis held on to the shoe for 40 years before auctioning them for the first time in 2021.
This time around, the shoe sold for $520,000, per Goldin. The final price was marked at $624,000 with buyer’s premium.
“Perhaps the most significant, certainly one of the most significant pair of sneakers in the collecting hobby,” Ken Goldin said in a video. “These are the game used Jordan Airships produced right after he signed his Nike contract worn prior to the Jordan ones. We know for a fact that they were worn when he was a rookie during his fifth career, NBA game.”
He continued, “We have a likely photo match to that game, as well as a letter of provenance from the Denver Nuggets Ball Boy who got them specifically from Jordan after the game. However, it is also very likely that they were worn from multiple games prior to that, including possibly his first or second NBA game ever. It comes signed and inscribed by Jordan on the one shoe, and you see the vintage Jordan signature. Again, a true piece of history.”
