Michael Jordan's iconic "Last Dance" jersey auctioned for staggering price

New York, New York - The Jersey worn by NBA icon Michael Jordan in the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for a staggering $10.1 million, breaking the record for game-worn sports memorabilia.

Michael Jordan's jersey worn in the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.1 million, breaking the record for game-worn sports memorabilia.
Michael Jordan's jersey worn in the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.1 million, breaking the record for game-worn sports memorabilia.  © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

The New York-based auction house Sotheby's confirmed the news, calling it "the most valuable Michael Jordan item ever sold at auction."

The jersey was worn by Jordan in his sixth and final NBA championship, which also brought him his record sixth NBA Finals MVP award, before he retired from the game for good. The achievement was made recently brought back into the spotlight by the ESPN docuseries The Last Dance.

Still the most-watched NBA final in history, viewers across the globe tuned in to watch Jordan's last stand along with fellow superstar athletes Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr.

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The jersey sale shattered the previous record for most expensive Jordan-related item, an autographed 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey patch card that sold for $2.7 million last October.

In fact, it's now the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever, surpassing the late soccer legend Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" jersey from the 1986 World Cup, which sold for $9.28 million.

Most recently, the Chicago Bull legend's ticket stub from his first-ever college basketball game as a UNC Tar Heel hit the auction block in June and was believed to be the only one in existence.

Cover photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP

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