Michael Jordan jersey from 1998 NBA Finals sells at auction for $12.26 million

A full 28 years after the "Last Dance" for the Chicago Bulls, people still want to be like Mike.

A collector paid a record $12.26 million for a jersey Michael Jordan wore during the 1998 NBA Finals. It was a white mesh jersey that Jordan wore during Game 3 of the finals against the Utah Jazz.

The item is the only publicly known white game-winning jersey from the 1998 Finals ever to be put up for sale.

It is also now the most expensive basketball jersey to hit the auction block, breaking a record held by another Jordan jersey.

The Bulls lost Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, but won Game 2 at the same stadium, where Jordan scored 37 points wearing a pair of Air Jordan shoes that went for $2.2 million at auction in 2023. The Bulls clobbered the Jazz in Game 3 back at the United Center, winning by a lopsided score of 96-54.

The Bulls won the 1998 NBA Finals 4-2 in six games, for their sixth NBA Championship in eight years. The 1998 Finals became known as "Last Dance," as it concluded the last season with the Bulls for Head Coach Phil Jackson and the dynasty featuring Jordan and Scottie Pippen — though Pippen later returned to the Bulls for the 2003-2004 season.

The 1998 NBA Championship is also the most recent the Bulls have won to date.

The 1997-1998 Bulls season, and Jordan's career more broadly, were the focus of a 2020 ESPN documentary also called "The Last Dance."