CHICAGO – When a collectible features “His Airness,” it almost always commands a high price, especially over the last few years after the release of “The Last Dance” documentary on the Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s.
That is once again the case for a Leland’s auction this month as a rare pair of Michael Jordan’s shoes is on the block.
There are the Jordan I’s from 1985 that are available in Leland’s Spring Classic Auction that were worn by the Basketball Hall of Famer in 1985.
Per Lelands, the shoes came from a relative of Carol Couch, the owner of Judge Cafe in Salt Lake City and a Utah Jazz season ticket holder. Jerry Sloan, a coach of the Jazz, former Bulls’ player & coach, along with a Judge Cafe customer, knew Couch collected game-worn shoes.
Using his connections from his days in Chicago, he was able to get a pair of the Air Jordans and presented them to Couch.
While wearing these Nike shoes, Jordan burst onto the scene in his first season with the Bulls as he won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award, averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game in 1984-1985. The guard would lose most of the next season due to injury, breaking a bone in his foot on October 29, 1985 in a game against the Warriors in Oakland.
The current top bid as of Monday night is $35,176 with bidding ending on June 11th.
Another item in the auction is fetching money as well as a Fleer Basketball signed Jordan rookie card currently has a high bid of $53,621 as of Monday evening.