What do you think you could get for a pair of your old gym trainers? £10? £5? A pint and a packet of crisps?
Probably nothing close to $50,000 - but that's how much a pair of Michael Jordan's old Nike game trainers are expected to fetch when they go up for auction on 8 April.
The battered, signed red and white high tops were worn by Jordan on 2 December 1984 when Chicago Bulls travelled to the LA Lakers. Spotting the opportunity of a lifetime, the Lakers' ballboy Khalid Ali approached Jordan during the warmup, asking the court legend if he could have the red, white and black trainers he was wearing. Jordan said he'd be changing out of the unknown shoes (they would later become the Jordan Air 1 model) to play in the red and white Swoosh high tops - which he duly signed and handed over to Ali after the game.
Ali told ESPN that he's been holding on to the shoes for the past 30 years with an eye to eventually selling them.
"They were in my mom's closet," Ali said. "I didn't really talk about them much. People who met me after my teenage years don't even know I have them."
SCP Auctions, a sports memorabilia specialist who will be handling the auction of the Nikes, could fetch as much as $50,000 (£33,700). "People obsess over game-worn Jordans and there's definite value to the fact that these are the earliest ones that have surfaced," said SCP Auctions vice president Dan Imler said.
If you fancy owning a piece of trainer and basketball history, be sure to point your browser towards the SCP site on 8 April, with final bids being taken on 25 April. And yes, we imagine they do smell a touch feisty.
(Image: SCP Auctions)
[Via: ESPN]
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