Sotheby’s sent basketball fans’ pulses racing when the venerable auction house announced it would be selling The Dynasty collection, which includes shoes worn by NBA legend Michael Jordan in the championship-clinching game for each of his six NBA titles. It was always expected the final price would be high, but $8 million is still eye-popping by any standards.
Many believe Jordan is the greatest player in NBA history, and he has the statistics to back their claims. Jordan’s career resume is full of individual accolades, including:
14-time NBA All-Star
10-time NBA Scoring Champion
Rookie of the Year
Five-time NBA MVP
10-Time All-NBA First team
Nine-time All-NBA Defensive First Team
The Dynasty Collection Represents Jordan’s Greatest Accomplishment
As impressive as those statistics and honors are, Jordan has one career accomplishment that stands head and shoulders above the rest. He led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA finals and won six championships. He also won six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player awards in those series, an accomplishment that marks him as the best player on the floor in every championship series he played in.
What makes this accomplishment more amazing is the list of players Jordan faced in the finals to get those six championships — Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone would all come up short against His Airness, and they are all NBA hall-of-famers on the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list.
Jordan’s undefeated record in the finals is unprecedented and it remains unmatched. The closest any player could come to Jordan’s undefeated finals record is Boston Celtics great Bill Russell, who won 10 out of 11 NBA finals before finally losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan’s record in the NBA finals is arguably his greatest achievement in a career characterized by over-achieving.
It’s Unlikely There Will Ever be Another Dynasty Collection
That’s what makes the Dynasty collection so special. These are the shoes that the greatest player in NBA history wore during his most historic moments. Another factor that adds value to the shoes is the improbability of Jordan’s undefeated streak in six NBA finals will ever be matched or exceeded. The finals are the ultimate test of a basketball team and its best player.
Except for the Denver Nuggets, which won its first championship in its first finals appearance last year, every all-star or potential hall-of-fame player in the NBA’s current crop of past champions has already lost an NBA finals series. That includes giants of the game like LeBron James and Steph Curry, who have won a combined eight championships but also inflicted losses on each other in the finals.
The Dynasty Collection Is The Ultimate Sports Collectible
Jordan’s record in the finals is the statistic that settles the debate about who is the greatest player in NBA history. Whoever won the auction for the Dynasty Collection now possesses what is arguably the ultimate trump card in sports collectibles.
Never before has such a collection of game-worn shoes been assembled, and it’s unlikely there will ever be a repeat of the Dynasty Collection. In over 75 years of the NBA’s existence, Jordan’s finals record stands alone. That means up is the only way the Dynasty Collection can go in terms of its value. Even at $8 million, the Dynasty Collection is good business and an unforgettable conversation piece for the auction winner.