Michael Jordan may be the GOAT, but there was one moment where a rookie Allen Iverson famously got the best of him, and the jersey he wore when it happened is hitting the auction block.
Later this month, Sotheby's will bring five pieces of Jordan memorabilia under the hammer, in the "Colossal | The Ultimate Jordan Collection" sale. The highlight is a game-worn jersey from the legend's 1996–97 championship season with the Chicago Bulls, which is expected to fetch anywhere from $4 million to $6 million.
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"The population of pre-'Last Dance' jerseys is remarkably slim, with single-game jerseys from this era rarely appearing on the market," Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of modern collectibles, said in a statement. "Jordan often wore the same jersey for extended periods of time in this era, making them exceptionally rare and coveted. This jersey from the 1996-1997 season is truly a unicorn."
A signed American flag from the 1992 Olympics
One of just two red jerseys that Jordan wore that season, it's been authenticated by MeiGray and photo-matched to 17 games over the course of five months. While wearing the jersey, Jordan averaged a whopping 31.1 points per game, for a total of 528 points. And notably, he was wearing it on March 12, 1997, when the then-rookie Allen Iverson crossed over Jordan, a moment that has become iconic in basketball lore.
Since being sold by the Bulls, the jersey has remained in a private collection. That clear lineage isn't common when it comes to Jordan memorabilia, as pieces tend to be passed on from players to family, friends, or fans. The link here, meanwhile, can be traced almost directly from Jordan to whoever's about to buy the jersey next, when the auction takes place online from October 23 to November 4.
Along with the jersey, Sotheby's upcoming sale is featuring a handful of other Jordan items that collectors will likely be salivating over. There's the signed American flag that Jordan draped over himself during the 1992 Olympics gold-medal ceremony. The baller did so to cover up the Reebok logo on his jacket, in a nod to his strong and enduring partnership with Nike. And another jersey is expected to hammer down for the big bucks, too: Jordan's home jersey from the 1988–89 season, which is estimated in excess of $2 million.
The GOAT of the basketball world is getting a GOAT-level auction to honor his time on the court.
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