A white mesh jersey bearing Michael Jordan’s iconic number “23” is about to hit the auction block. The shirt was worn by the Chicago Bulls legend during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals – the decisive series that capped the team’s celebrated “Last Dance” era.
Why the jersey matters
The 1998 Finals marked the end of Jordan’s six‑year run with the Bulls, a period that produced six championships in eight seasons. In the pivotal Game 3 against the Utah Jazz, Jordan delivered a dominant performance that helped swing the series in Chicago’s favor. The jersey is the only publicly known white game‑winning jersey from that Finals series that is now available for sale, making it an exceptionally rare piece of sports history.
Auction details
Online auction house Joopiter is handling the sale under the banner “Driven to Greatness.” The auction will run from September 15 through September 29. Joopiter’s website estimates the final hammer price will fall between $10 million and $15 million. Caitlin Donovan, Joopiter’s global head of sales, called the item “an irreplaceable artifact that transcends basketball to become a piece of global cultural history.”
Potential record‑breaker
If the lot sells above its low estimate, it would become the most expensive basketball jersey ever sold, surpassing the previous record set by another Jordan jersey from Game 1 of the same Finals, which fetched $10.1 million in 2022. That earlier sale more than doubled its initial estimate, according to CNN.
Jordan’s memorabilia continues to dominate the high‑end collectibles market. In 2021, a jersey he wore during his sophomore season at the University of North Carolina set an auction record at $1.38 million. The current overall record for the most expensive sports collectible belongs to Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” jersey, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
Broader market context
Jordan remains a top‑selling athlete in the memorabilia world. Gemrate, a site that tracks trading‑card sales, reports that e‑Bay users have spent more than $88 million on Jordan playing cards this year alone, outpacing all other current and former NBA players and ranking only behind Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in overall sports‑card spending.
The upcoming auction underscores the lasting cultural impact of Jordan’s career and the enduring appetite among collectors for iconic moments from American sports history.
Original reporting: KOCO Sports (Oklahoma City) — read the source article.
