Michael Jordan’s Game 2 ‘Last Dance’ Finals Jersey Sells for Record $14 Million
The game-worn, autographed Chicago Bulls jersey Michael Jordan wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold privately for $14 million, the most ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia.
The red Chicago Bulls jersey Michael Jordan wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals has been sold privately for $14 million, the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia.
Hunt Auctions announced the sale on Monday, saying the game-worn, autographed jersey was purchased by Miami real estate investor Ron Firman in a private treaty sale. According to the auction house, it is the second-largest sale ever among game-worn sports jerseys. The record across all sports remains the New York Yankees jersey Babe Ruth wore in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
The jersey dates to June 5, 1998, when Jordan and the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 93-88 in Salt Lake City to even the Finals at one game apiece. Jordan scored 37 points with five rebounds and three assists that night. Chicago won the series in six games, Jordan’s sixth and final championship with the Bulls, and he collected his sixth Finals MVP award nine days after Game 2. The 1997-98 season was later the subject of the 10-episode documentary series “The Last Dance,” released in 2020.
A third record from the same series
This is at least the third time a jersey from Jordan’s 1998 Finals has sold for $10 million or more. A Game 1 jersey went for about $10.1 million at auction in 2022, and a Game 3 jersey from the same series sold last month for about $12.3 million, according to the Associated Press. Hunt Auctions said the Game 2 jersey changed hands only once since, in 2003, passing from the original purchaser to the seller.
“While Michael Jordan’s importance within the sports memorabilia marketplace has long been established, it has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art,” said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions. Firman said in a statement released by the auction house: “Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world. I’m very excited about the purchase.”
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and NBC Sports.
