13-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams' auction house JOOPITER, which sold an "aftermarket" signed Michael Jordan rookie card for $2.5 million in June - a then-record paid for a Jordan rookie card - will auction off five pairs of Air Jordans made specifically for Jordan from November 6 through November 18.
Among the pairs are multiple sample pairs, three signed, and two worn in Chicago Bulls playoff games. One of the pairs are game-worn baseball cleats, Air Jordan IXs, gifted to then-Orlando Cubs utility man and future NFL tight end Ed Smith; another pair are Air Jordan VIIIs worn in Game 1 of the 1993 NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, and gifted to Jordan's curly-haired security guard of Last Dance fame John Michael Wozniak.
One of the signed pairs is a sample version of the Jordan Air 1s while the other two are sample Air Jordan XIs, one worn in the Bulls' historic 1995-96 regular season in which they went 72-10 and the other worn during the playoffs - in which the Bulls defeated the Seattle Supersonics, four games to two. Jordan was the NBA and NBA Finals MVP in the 1995-96 season, his fourth of each award.
"Each of these shoes reflect a chapter in Michael Jordan's evolution as not only an athlete, but as a global icon whose influence continues to shape culture," Caitlin Donovan, JOOPITER's Global Head of Sale, tells ESPN. "The world of sports collecting has become one of the most powerful ways we connect to greatness and preserve moments that define generations."
