A rare piece of basketball history that once made an iconic appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, just sold for $2.6 million.
Michael Jordan’s game-worn Chicago Bulls uniform from the 1992-93 season, photo-matched to 17 games and that unforgettable 1993 magazine cover, set collectors buzzing and wallets burning as Heritage Auctions sold it to the highest bidder over the weekend.
Authentication experts say it's the only uniform known to be photo-matched from any season during the Bulls’ first three-peat during a year Jordan played all 78 games, averaging 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.8 steals, topping the NBA in scoring for the seventh straight time and earning First Team honors on both ends of the floor.
Then came the postseason and Jordan somehow got even better, averaging 35.1 points per game over 19 playoff contests, including a record-setting 41 per game in the Finals against the Phoenix Suns, earning his third straight Finals MVP.
However, just weeks later, he stunned the world by retiring from basketball (for the first time).
According to Heritage Auctions, Jerseys from this era are exceedingly rare due to Jordan's limited uniform changes before his first retirement.
“Some stars become legends, but only a handful of legends become brands, from Babe Ruth to Wayne Gretzky, from Muhammad Ali to Tom Brady. This club is as exclusive as it gets,” said Joe Orlando, executive vice president at Heritage Sports, in a video promo. “There is one name, however, that is arguably the biggest brand of all, Michael Jordan. For this reason, any high-quality collectible tied to this basketball titan garners a supreme level of interest.”
While $2.6 million is no small sum, Yahoo Sports noted that it doesn’t come close to the record-breaking $10.1 million fetched by Jordan’s “Last Dance” jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals — the most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia ever sold.