For all the sneakerheads out there, a top-of-the-line collector’s item just sold for close to $1.5 million in a Sotheby’s auction at Aria in Las Vegas. A pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn Nike’s that he played in early in his rookie year — before the Air Jordan 1 sneakers were ready.
Tommie Tim III Lewis was a ball boy for the Denver Nuggets in 1984 when Jordan rocked the white and red Nike Air Ships in his fifth NBA game on Nov. 1, 1984. The shoes were signed by Jordan then gifted to Lewis. Talk about a rare item. Most people think Jordan only ever wore his own signature shoe on the court. The Air Jordan 1 didn’t make its debut on Jordan’s feet until a couple of weeks later, on Nov. 17, 1984, against the Philadelphia 76ers. The first Air Jordan shoe wasn’t released to the public until the spring of 1985.
Most of the sneakerheads out there would pay a pretty penny to get their hands on these shoes, but I don’t know too many that would be able to drop $1.47 million for these autographed sneaks. Obviously, anyone throwing down that kind of money for collecter’s item sneakers, you aren’t exactly worried about income, as it’s likely rolling in hand-over-fist.
And in case you’re wondering, collector Nick Fiorella is that lucky bloke who now owns this rare pair of Michael Jordan shoes, according to Sotheby’s Auction house. For Fiorella, this is just business as usual. In March, Nick bought an extremely rare Luka Doncic rookie card for $4.6 million. Yeah, you read that correctly.
I hope Fiorella paid with cash and made it rain on sight. That’s the only way to celebrate a victory like that. Then you’ve got to play C.R.E.A.M. by Wu-Tang Clan to make it official. If it didn’t go down like that, I don’t think I can acknowledge this sale.
I guess this rare find of a sneaker will go into a glass case now for the next couple of decades, until it’s time for Fiorella or a family member to cash in on his investment. The things humans spend money on…
Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all.