NBA legend Scottie Pippen unloaded one of the most incredible collections of basketball memorabilia that’s hit the market in a long time, making multiple pieces available from his time with the iconic Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s. Pippen was also a member of the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team and made multiple All-Star games over the decade, collecting valuable pieces of memorabilia from these iconic events over his career.
Pippen’s collection generated a lot of hype after it was revealed that it included Michael Jordan’s game-worn sneakers from the 1992 Gold Medal game, as well as Larry Bird’s jersey from the Gold Medal game, which wound up being the final time Bird played professional basketball in his career. Naturally, this auction broke records, anchored by these two incredible pieces of basketball history.
Sotheby’s shared the details of the auction’s results on their social media, with multiple auction records being set. Key highlights of items sold include:
- Larry Bird’s game-worn and signed 1992 Olympics ‘Dream Team’ jersey: $896,000
- Michael Jordan’s game-worn and signed 1992 Olympics ‘Dream Team’ Sneakers: $640,000
- One-of-one personal set of Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophies: $640,000
- Scottie Pippen’s ‘Flu Game’ Chicago Bulls 1997 NBA Finals game-worn and signed jersey: $486,400
- Scottie Pippen’s ‘Last Dance’ Chicago Bulls 1998 NBA Finals Championship clinching game-worn jersey: $448,000
- Scottie Pippen’s game-worn 1992 Olympics ‘Dream Team’ jersey: $384,000
- Scottie Pippen’s Chicago Bulls’ 1996 NBA Finals Championship clinching game-worn jersey: $281,600
- Scottie Pippen’s Chicago Bulls’ 1996 NBA Finals game-worn jersey: $256,000
- Scottie Pippen’s 1996 NBA All-Star game-worn and signed jersey: $83,200
- Scottie Pippen’s 1994 NBA All-Star game-worn and signed sneakers: $83,200
“Yesterday, the Basketball Hall of Famer’s historic memorabilia collection achieved white-glove status, selling for a total of $6.2 million. Auction records were set for a Larry Bird game-worn and signed 1992 Olympics “Dream Team” jersey, which realized $896,000, and for Scottie Pippen’s game-worn and signed Chicago Bulls jersey from the 1997 NBA Finals “Flu Game,” which sold for $486,400.”
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While Jordan’s sneakers didn’t fetch the nearly $2.5 million price experts expected it would, the overall value of the collection is stunning. It includes moments from some of the most famous basketball events ever. Even Pippen’s own jerseys and sneakers fetched a pretty penny, as some millionaires now have pieces of basketball history in their homes, thanks to Pippen making them available.
Pippen’s own jersey wound up overperforming compared to expectations, as his 1998 NBA Finals jersey fetched more than the $250-300,000 valuation that was placed upon it. His flu game jersey fit within the estimate of $300,000 to $500,000, but made it towards the upper end of that bracket. His All-Star Game pieces were valued between %50,000 to $70,000, with both ultimately fetching over $80,000 at auction.
This auction shows that the demand for pieces from arguably the richest period of basketball history is still at an all-time high. While Jordan’s shoes had an unrealistic expectation around them anyway because he’s always achieved what’s considered unrealistic, the overall performance of the auction pieces is a great sign.
More NBA legends will likely take similar steps over the course of their career. Whether what they make available winds up being as valuable as these pieces remains to be seen, but there would be many who’d pay a lot of money for similarly valuable pieces of game-worn history for other NBA superstars from the past and present.
