A record sale for a Last Dance jersey
A white No. 23 Chicago Bulls jersey worn by Michael Jordan during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $12.26 million on Tuesday, according to auction results reported by multiple outlets. The sale took place through Joopiter, the digital auction platform founded by musician Pharrell Williams. The buyer was not publicly identified. The final price set a new record for the most expensive game-worn NBA jersey ever sold and for the most valuable piece of Jordan memorabilia, surpassing the $10.091 million paid in 2022 when Sotheby's sold the red road jersey Jordan wore in Game 1 of the same Finals series.[S1][S2][S3]
The jersey had been expected to fetch between $10 million and $15 million. According to Sports Collectors Daily, the auction closed with a $10 million hammer price and reached $12.26 million after the buyer's premium, with a single binding bid submitted. Joopiter described the item as the only publicly known white Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals to have surfaced, a rarity that auction representatives said helped drive interest. The piece carries the Finals logo patch along with NBA Authentics and size-50 tags.[S1][S2]
Game 3 and the final Chicago championship
Game 3 was played on June 7, 1998, with the Finals tied at one win apiece. Chicago returned home and beat the Utah Jazz 96-54, a 42-point margin that remains the largest in Finals history, while Utah's 54 points remain the fewest scored by a team in an NBA Finals game. Jordan scored 24 points in 32 minutes and added three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block as the Bulls took a 2-1 series lead. Chicago went on to win the series 4-2, giving Jordan his sixth NBA championship and sixth Finals MVP award.[S2][S3]
The 1997-98 campaign was Jordan's sixth and final championship season with the Bulls and was later memorialized as The Last Dance. It marked his last season in Chicago before his second retirement, though he later returned to the NBA with the Washington Wizards. Joopiter said the jersey represented the closing chapter of a Bulls dynasty that won six championships in eight seasons during Jordan's tenure. The 1998 NBA Finals was the most-watched championship series in basketball history, according to Robb Report.[S2][S3]
Provenance, authentication and the wider market
The jersey's documented history includes authentication by MeiGray in 2015, which photo-matched it to images from the game. Its ownership record includes Chicago collector Bill Thoma, who provided a 2015 letter of provenance, before entrepreneur and collector Rob Gough acquired the jersey in 2023. It was consigned to auction by entrepreneur Ryan Groff. Caitlin Donovan, Joopiter's global head of sale, said the company was honored to bring such an important piece of Jordan's legacy to market and described sports collectibles as being in an exceptionally exciting period of evolution.[S1][S2][S3]
Even at $12.26 million, the Jordan jersey ranks as the second-most valuable game-worn sports memorabilia item ever sold. The overall record belongs to Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey, associated with his famous called shot, which fetched $24.12 million at auction in 2024. Joopiter has expanded its sports and collectibles business, having auctioned a triceratops skeleton named Trey earlier this year along with Pharrell Williams's own Jacob & Co. jewelry and watches.[S1][S2][S3]
