Michael Jordan's "flu game" sneakers, worn during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, sold for a record price $104,765 at auction on Thursday.
ESPN reports the shoes were brought to market by Grey Flannel Auctions and were consigned by former Jazz ball boy Preston Truman, to whom Jordan handed the sneakers as he walked off the court following a 38 point virtuoso performance in a critical Game 5 Chicago Bulls victory. Truman later told reporters he felt as if he and Jordan became close after he fetched the Hall of Famer's traditional pregame applesauce during the 1996-97 season.
Legend has it Jordan was feeling sick throughout the day of the Utah game and suffering from flu-like symptoms. Over the years, Jordan personal trainer Tim Grover has told reporters he actually thinks the Bulls' star was battling a case of food-poisoning brought on by bad pizza he ate the night the before.
"I think my photo that Jordan's bodyguard took with me standing there drove up the price because buyers didn't have to worry if they were real," Truman told ESPN. "I have looked at the shoes maybe four times since putting them in a safety deposit box 16 years ago. I would go years without even thinking about it. ... I just didn't see the point to something so cool and a part of NBA history sitting at my bank anymore."
The pair of size 13 shoes, which netted the highest auction price for a pair of game-worn shoes in any sport, are also autographed by Jordan,
Truman told ESPN proceeds from the sell won't go to anything "overly exciting," besides the usual college education fund for his children and car payments.
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