Michael Jordan's 'Last Dance' jersey sells for £9.3m, setting new record

A jersey worn by Michael Jordan during his final season with the Chicago Bulls has been sold at auction for $12.3m (£9.3m), setting a new record for a piece of Jordan memorabilia.

The jersey was worn in game three of the 1998 NBA Finals, part of the season later chronicled in the documentary 'The Last Dance'. The Bulls won that series 4-2, giving Jordan his sixth and final NBA championship. He was named Finals Most Valuable Player in all six of his championship runs.

The sale surpasses the previous record for Jordan memorabilia, which was $10.1m (£7.6m) for his jersey from game one of the same 1998 Finals series.

The jersey had been owned by entrepreneur Ryan Gough, who put it up for sale through Joopiter, the digital auction house founded by musician Pharrell Williams. Ahead of the sale, the jersey had been given an estimated value of $10-15m (£7.5-£11.3m).

In its listing, Joopiter described the jersey as one of the most significant game-worn sports artifacts ever to reach the market, saying it embodies the culmination of an era that turned basketball into a global cultural phenomenon.

Despite the record price for Jordan-related memorabilia, it falls short of the overall record for game-worn sports memorabilia. That mark belongs to baseball icon Babe Ruth, whose jersey from the 1932 World Series — worn during his famous 'called shot' moment — sold for $24.1m (£18.2m) in 2024.