Karl Malone, a Utah Jazz legend, has recently auctioned off 24 pieces of memorabilia from the 1992 Summer Olympics USA Basketball “Dream Team” through the collectibles marketplace Goldin. The sale amounted to a whopping $5 million, with the bulk of the earnings coming from Michael Jordan’s No. 9 white jersey. The jersey was worn during the 127-76 victory over Lithuania in the semifinals and sold for $3,003,000, setting a record for any game-used Olympics Jordan item. Jordan’s game-worn sneakers from the 1992 Tournament of the Americas were also sold for $420,000.
Malone had displayed the collection for years at one of his car dealerships in Utah. He invited Goldin’s executive chairman and founder Ken Goldin out when he decided to sell. The scene was captured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch.” Goldin expressed his excitement about working with Malone, saying, “It was truly remarkable to have been able to work with Karl Malone himself to offer this iconic collection to fans everywhere.”
The Records Broken
The Dream Team memorabilia sale included game-used jerseys and sneakers from all 12 members of the team. Larry Bird’s jersey, from the semifinal against Lithuania, sold for $360,000, setting a record for a Bird jersey. A pair of Bird game-used sneakers sold for $91,200, which also set a record for Bird sneakers. Magic Johnson’s semifinal jersey sold for $336,000, setting a record for a game-used Olympics Magic item.
Charles Barkley and David Robinson also set all-time records for their jerseys with their semifinal jerseys hitting six figures. Barkley’s jersey fetched $230,400, while Robinson’s sold for $116,400. Clyde Drexler’s semifinal jersey, which includes the inscription, “I enjoyed being your teammate!” was sold for $92,200, setting a record for any game-used Drexler jersey.
The sale of the Dream Team memorabilia broke records and allowed fans to own a piece of revolutionary sports history from some of the greatest players of all time.
Leave a Reply