Michael Jordan.Photo:Andy Hayt/NBAE
Andy Hayt/NBAE
An “ill” piece of basketball history were sold at a steep price this week.The sneakersMichael Jordanwore during his famous “Flu Game” during the 1997 NBA Finals sold at auction for $1.38 million, according toESPN.The sale occurred on the 25th anniversary of Jordan’s iconic performance, in which he battled through a flu to score 38 points along with seven rebounds and five assists in the Chicago Bulls' 90-88 win over the Utah Jazz.
With 25 seconds left, Jordan hit a go-ahead three-point shot to give the Bulls the win, pushing them to the brink of their fifth of six NBA Championships during the 1990s.
It was later revealed during ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary that Jordan actually had food poisoning, but the NBA Hall of Famer’s performance that night stands as one of the most legendary in professional sports history.
Jordan, now 60, was “barely walking, barely able to stand,” the late Stuart Scott, who recapped the game on ESPN’s SportsCenter moments after it finished, had said.
“I always felt that Michael liked it best when it was the toughest odds against him,” NBA Hall of Famer Bill Waltononce saidin a documentary about the game. “And while it’s never any fun to be sick, it just added to the legend.”
Michael Jordan.Andrew D.Bernstein/NBAE/Getty
Andrew D.Bernstein/NBAE/Getty
Michael Jordan.Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty
“No other sneakers have such a historic pedigree as the actual shoes worn in the GOAT’s greatest game,” the auction housesaidin a video promoting the sale. “The Flu Game shoes are the most important shoes to hit the market, period.”
Initially, Jordan signed the shoes and gifted them to Utah Jazz ball boy Preston Truman, who in exchange had been providing the Bulls star with applesauce before games, according to ESPN. Preston held onto the shoes for 15 years before selling them in auction for $104,765, the outlet reported.
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That sale was record-breaking for game-worn shoes at the time, the outlet reported. And over the next decade, the sneakers jumped more than 1,200 percent in value, ultimately selling for $1.38 million this week. Bidding began at $500,000 last month, auction house records show, climbing to more than $1 million in two weeks.It’s one of the highest-earning sneaker sales of all-time behind, of course, another two other pairs of game-worn Jordans that he laced up during his rookie year and another pair he donned during the second half of Game 2 in the 1998 NBA Finals. Those title-worn shoes sold for $2.238 million, according to ESPN.
source: people.com
