Michael Jordan ‘Last Dance’ Game 3 Jersey Sells for Record $12.26 Million at JOOPITER
Michael Jordan’s white Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $12.26 million at JOOPITER, setting a new world auction record for an NBA game-worn jersey. The jersey comes from Jordan’s final championship run with Chicago, the 1997-98 season immortalized as “The Last Dance.” JOOPITER announced the $12,260,000 result after offering the jersey with a pre-sale estimate of $10 million to $15 million. The sale surpassed the previous NBA game-worn jersey record, which also belonged to Jordan. His red jersey from Game 1 of the same 1998 Finals sold for $10.091 million at Sotheby’s in 2022.
As CollectiblesNews.com reported when the jersey was announced for auction in August, JOOPITER expected the piece to become one of the most important Jordan jerseys ever offered publicly. The final $12.26 million price landed within the auction house’s original $10 million to $15 million estimate while establishing the new NBA jersey benchmark.
Jordan wore the jersey on June 7, 1998, when the Bulls returned to Chicago with their Finals series against the Utah Jazz tied 1-1. Chicago dominated Game 3, winning 96-54 and taking control of a series that would ultimately deliver Jordan and the Bulls their sixth championship in eight seasons. Jordan finished with 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in the victory.
The white home jersey is particularly significant because of its rarity. JOOPITER describes it as the only publicly known white game-winning jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals to have surfaced. Only four game-winning Jordan jerseys exist from that Finals, corresponding to the Bulls’ four victories over Utah, and JOOPITER says just two championship-winning 1998 Finals jerseys remain in private collections.
The jersey also carries the distinctive 1998 NBA Finals patch associated with Jordan’s final championship series. JOOPITER highlighted that patch as one of the most sought-after elements of the uniform, tying the jersey directly to the closing chapter of Chicago’s second three-peat and one of the most recognizable championship runs in basketball history. Authentication and provenance were also central to the offering. The jersey was accompanied by a MeiGray photomatching certificate and a letter of provenance from Bill Thoma, giving the winning bidder documentation connecting the uniform to Jordan’s Game 3 appearance.
The $12.26 million result moves the Game 3 jersey ahead of Jordan’s Game 1 uniform from the same Finals, which had held the NBA jersey record since its $10.091 million Sotheby’s sale in September 2022. That red road jersey was worn when Jordan scored 33 points in Utah. Four years later, another jersey from the same series has pushed the record even higher.
When CollectiblesNews.com previewed the auction in August, the possibility of a $15 million result made the jersey one of the most closely watched pieces of basketball memorabilia headed to market. It ultimately stopped at $12.26 million, but that was more than enough to establish a new world auction record for an NBA game-worn jersey.