Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ jersey could sell for an absurd $15 million originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Someone is about to spend enough money to purchase a mansion, private island or entire collection of luxury cars. Instead, that person could walk away with one Michael Jordan jersey.
The white Chicago Bulls uniform Jordan wore during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals is headed to auction with a staggering presale estimate of between $10 million and $15 million.
Bidding through auction house Joopiter is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. The auction will run through Sept. 30, according to Joopiter’s listing.
If the jersey reaches the top of its estimated range, it will become the most expensive basketball jersey ever sold at public auction. That record already belongs to Jordan.
Michael Jordan jersey could break his own record
Jordan’s road jersey from Game 1 of the same 1998 NBA Finals sold through Sotheby’s for $10.091 million in September 2022. Now, another piece of Jordan’s legendary “Last Dance” run could surpass it.
The Game 3 jersey is believed to be the only publicly known white, game-winning jersey from the 1998 Finals. Joopiter called it one of the rarest Jordan uniforms in existence, while The Athletic reported that the auction house expects it to command at least $10 million.
The jersey carries the iconic 1998 NBA Finals patch and was worn during Jordan’s final home series with the Bulls.
Finals jerseys from that era are especially scarce because the NBA did not yet operate the extensive game-worn memorabilia programs that exist today.
“Jordan remains a very, very, very rare relic, certainly in comparison to the GOATs of today, the LeBrons, the Stephen Currys, because it was a different era,” MeiGray founder Barry Meisel told The Athletic.
“There were no game-worn jersey programs. Teams weren’t putting a jersey on a player’s back every game or every couple of games.”
That scarcity has turned each authenticated Jordan uniform from the 1998 Finals into a potentially historic collectible.
Bulls humiliated Jazz in Jordan jersey’s only game
Jordan wore the jersey June 7, 1998, as the Bulls returned to Chicago with their championship series against the Utah Jazz tied at one game apiece. What followed was not a competitive NBA Finals game. It was a demolition.
Chicago defeated Utah 96-54, holding the Jazz to the fewest points ever scored by a team in an NBA Finals game. Jordan scored a game-high 24 points in only 32 minutes, adding four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Utah shot just 30 percent from the field and committed 26 turnovers. Karl Malone finished with 22 points, but the rest of the Jazz combined for only 32.
No other Utah player scored in double figures.
Jordan did not need one of his signature fourth-quarter takeovers. Chicago led 49-31 at halftime before extending the advantage to 38 points entering the fourth quarter. The 42-point margin remains one of the largest blowouts in NBA Finals history.
More importantly, it gave the Bulls a 2-1 series lead and helped them seize control of their final championship run. Chicago eventually won the series in six games, with Jordan hitting his iconic championship-clinching jumper over Bryon Russell in the closing seconds of Game 6.
MORE: Shohei Ohtani shatters Michael Jordan record with staggering $440,055 auction sale
‘Last Dance’ history comes with massive price tag
Jordan’s 1997-98 season has become one of the most recognizable chapters in American sports. The Bulls entered the year knowing coach Phil Jackson likely would not return. Jordan had no interest in playing for another coach, while Chicago’s aging championship core was on the verge of being dismantled.
The season became known as “The Last Dance,” a phrase later used as the title of ESPN’s acclaimed documentary series about the dynasty’s final run. Jordan won his fifth NBA MVP award after averaging 28.7 points during the regular season. He then captured his sixth championship and sixth Finals MVP award before retiring for the second time.
The Game 3 jersey represents one of only four uniforms Jordan wore while earning victories during his final NBA Finals appearance.
Joopiter believes it could establish a new benchmark for basketball memorabilia. A $15 million final price would surpass Jordan’s Game 1 jersey by nearly $5 million.
It would not, however, break the overall record for a piece of game-worn sports memorabilia. Babe Ruth’s jersey from his famous “called shot” game in the 1932 World Series sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
The Jordan jersey still could make history by moving into second place. A collector will need an eight-figure bank account to take it home, but that is the price of owning a piece of the final championship run from one of basketball’s most iconic careers.
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