Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®), a leading third-party sports card grading company, was entrusted to certify the authenticity and provenance of the sneakers in the Dynasty Collection. All six sneakers will now be showcased by CSG in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, taking place July 27-31, 2022.
After Jordan claimed his first NBA title in 1991, he gave away one of his sneakers as a celebration of the achievement. He continued the tradition through his last championship-winning game. Carefully stored for decades, the shoes are in a remarkable state of preservation, not unlike the day Jordan took them off in the locker room.
“Even after examining the world’s most important collectibles for four decades, the Dynasty Collection had the power to take my breath away,” said Mark Salzberg, Chairman of the Certified Collectibles Group, of which CSG is part, “For the role these shoes play in our collective consciousness, how they relate to sports, fashion and celebrity, they are the contemporary Ruby Slippers, only rarer.”
Nearly 25 years after his last NBA championship, Michael Jordan remains one of the most iconic and influential figures in the world. His daring and determination — the ability to make the impossible look effortless — galvanized a generation and continues to inspire. The last shot that brought “The Last Dance” to a close; the game that proved the Bulls were back three years after their first three-peat; the night Jordan won his first championship, announcing that the G.O.A.T. had arrived — Who can forget the thrill of witnessing greatness?
In 1984, long before his first NBA championship, the rookie Jordan inked a deal with Nike to release a new brand of sneaker: the Air Jordan. It became an immediate cultural phenomenon; more than $100 million in sales of the shoe were recorded in its first year alone. Today, the Air Jordan and its iconic Jumpman logo remain more relevant than ever, with billions of dollars in new sales recorded each year on top of an exploding secondary market.
The Dynasty Collection and its six Air Jordans are a direct connection to Jordan, his triumphs and the zeitgeist of the 1990s. When the G.O.A.T. arrived, winning his first title in 1991, he wore the Nike Air Jordan VI, modeled after his Porsche 911. For the Bulls’ return to championship form in 1996, he wore the “Bred” with a translucent sole. For his sixth and final NBA Championship in 1998, he wore an early prototype of the Air Jordan XIV known as “Last Shot,” fashioned to emulate the lines of his Ferrari 550 Maranello. All of these are in the Dynasty Collection, in addition to the VII from 1992 (the first without Nike branding), the VIII from 1993 (the “x-strap”) and the XII from 1997 (the first with Nike Zoom Air).
“I’ve had the privilege of handling some of the rarest sneakers in the world, and this group is truly a grail like no other. Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers are among the most sought after and valuable sneakers for collectors — Sotheby’s recently sold a pair of Michael Jordan’s earliest known regular season Nikes for a record-setting $1.5 million,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s Head of Streetwear and Modern Collectibles. “To have all six game-worn, championship Michael Jordan sneakers in one set is absolutely unbelievable and should not be missed by any Jordan fan or collector while they can see them.”
As sneakers have become one of the most high-profile collectibles categories, game-worn sneakers (some by Jordan), prototypes of famous shoes and other limited editions are selling for six figures and more regularly. Sneakers are now considered an asset class of their own, appealing to buyers seeking not only an investment opportunity but also something significant, both personally and culturally. Many find sneakers to be the ultimate culmination of function, fashion, history and celebrity.
“The six shoes from the six final games of Michael Jordan’s six championships in the Dynasty Collection are the pinnacle of Air Jordan game-worn collectibles,” said artist, entrepreneur and renowned sneaker collector DJ Skee. “The collection represents not only the moments that elevated Jordan into the zeitgeist as the most popular and maybe greatest athlete of all time, but also the moments that cemented the Air Jordan as the greatest sneaker line of all time.”
CSG confirmed that each shoe was worn by Jordan in the final games of the 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998 NBA championships. During the process of certifying the authenticity and provenance of the sneakers, in addition to working with other third-party photo-matching experts, CSG documented the shoes for posterity, taking thousands of professional, high-resolution images for 360-degree views of the shoes. CSG also obtained access to never-before-seen game photos to evaluate the shoes and establish that they are the ones worn by Jordan in his championship games.
These images will be made available on CSGcards.com so that the world can see the shoes up close and once again soar with Michael Jordan. Sign up at CSGcards.com/Jordan to get a first look at this virtual museum and receive exclusive content about the Dynasty Collection.
“CSG was honored and thrilled to be entrusted to certify the authenticity and provenance of the Dynasty Collection,” said Andy Broome, Vice President of CSG. “Evaluating the sneakers — the innovative designs, the quality of materials, the scuffs and scratches accumulated on the court — and pouring over the game photos took me back to that incredible era when Jordan and the Bulls ruled the sports world.”
CSG is an expert and impartial authentication, grading and encapsulation service for sports cards. It is the latest company formed by the Certified Collectibles Group® (CCG®), the world’s leading provider of services that add value and liquidity to collectibles. More than any other third-party sports card grading service, CSG uses advanced authentication and grading technology to make the certification process more precise and efficient. After a card has been certified by CSG, it is encapsulated in a display-worthy holder that provides superior long-term protection. CSG also offers the industry’s strongest guarantee, which adds significant confidence, liquidity and value to the hobby. To learn more, visit CSGcards.com
