Matt Varga Dipping back into Michael Jordan’s illustrious playing career to provide narrative backing to retro product is lucrative. The actual shoes worn in those iconic stories are where the truly insane price tags emerge. Sotheby’s has just announced their “Ascension” footwear auction collection, including a wide variety of notable pieces of sneaker history, but most attention-grabbing is the actual pair of the Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” worn in the legendary “Shattered Backboard” game.
Later flipped into an iconic colorway in its own right, the orange-and-black 2015 “Shattered Backboard,” the actual play in question took place during an overseas exhibition following the GOAT’s rookie year. Though obviously the shoe has taken a winding path in the time since, in the moment, Jordan gifted this exact pair to Gianni Bertolotti, temporary teammate on the Italian squad. Photo matching has ensured that this shoe is the exact one from that hand-off, but there’s a less intensive way to reach that conclusion. A shard of glass from the rim-cracking dunk has stuck with this pair, embedded in the rubber outsole.
The Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” from that shattered backboard moment is no doubt the centerpiece of Sotheby’s “Ascension” auction collection, but it’s far from the only gem. A double-signed pair of the Air Jordan 12 in the “Flu Game” colorway, worn earlier in the playoffs in the last matchup with the Washington Bullets before they rebranded, arrives with a collector’s rarity: a letter from His Airness attesting to its game-worn quality. Sticking with the Jumpman, a pair of the legendary Eminem x Air Jordan 4 “Encore,” a 1984 pair of the Air Jordan 1 “Neutral Grey,” and PJ Tucker’s sample pair of the Air Jordan 11 “Heiress” round out the brand’s contribution. Elsewhere on the hoops slate, a signed adidas Kobe 2, a trio of “Linsanity” Hyperdunks, and a SLAM Magazine sample of LeBron James’ Nike Air Zoom Generation are all on offer.
Selections from the “Ascension” collection will be on display at Sotheby’s global headquarters in New York from December 5th to December 12th. Check out some of the range included within the gallery below.
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