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Jordan jersey with the legendary number 23
Photo: --- / dpa
When it comes to Michael Jordan, superlatives are the norm.
But the latest auction result is exceptional even for the former NBA superstar.
A jersey he wore in his last title win with the Chicago Bulls has fetched a record tens of millions at auction.
The jersey that the 59-year-old wore against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA finals changed hands for $10.1 million.
This was announced by the US auction house Sotheby's on Thursday.
Jordan had worn the jersey in the first game of the NBA Finals.
He scored 33 points, but the Bulls narrowly lost the game.
The season was covered in the Netflix documentary series »The Last Dance«, which should have guaranteed the auction even more attention.
Jordan and the Bulls had won the 1998 finals series 4-2 against the Utah Jazz.
It was the sixth and last championship for the legendary number 23.
According to the auction house, the shirt with the iconic shirt number fetched the highest price ever paid for a sports jersey worn in a game.
The final sum was twice as high as previously assumed by Sotheby's.
There were 20 offers in total.
The auction house did not say who the new owner is.
The Jordan jersey surpassed the amount paid last May for a jersey worn by Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals against England – the game in which Maradona scored with the so-called »hand of God« achieved.
9.3 million US dollars had become due here.
The previous record for a basketball jersey worn in-game was $3.7 million, according to Sotheby's.
That's what a jersey from the debut season of the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant brought.
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