Michael Jordan's 1998 Finals Game 3 Jersey Is Going to Auction With a $15 Million Estimate
JOOPITER will offer the only publicly known white 1998 NBA Finals jersey in its Driven to Greatness auction, with bidding open September 15 through September 29. The estimate runs $10 million to $15 million, and the game it came from still holds the largest margin in Finals history.
The biggest number in the hobby this fall is not going to come from a card.
JOOPITER announced this week that it will auction a Michael Jordan game-worn jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, with an estimate of $10 million to $15 million. The sale, titled "Driven to Greatness," opens at 10:00 a.m. Eastern on September 15 and runs global bidding through September 29.
Why This Particular Jersey
Game 3 of the 1998 Finals is not a random pick from the Last Dance run. Chicago beat Utah 96-54 that night. The 42-point margin is still the largest in the history of the NBA Finals, and no one has come close since. Jordan played 43 minutes and scored 24.
The consignor is described as an advanced collector. The jersey carries a MeiGray photomatching certificate and a 2015 letter of provenance from its previous owner, Bill Thoma. JOOPITER states it is the only publicly known white 1998 NBA Finals jersey to have surfaced.
Photomatching is the whole ballgame at this level. A jersey with a documented match to specific broadcast footage and a clean ownership chain is a different asset than one sold on a team letter alone.
The Record It Is Chasing
The ceiling for sports memorabilia at auction sits in the $10 million range, and a small handful of items have reached it. Jordan's 1998 Finals Game 1 jersey is one of them. That is the comparison the $10 to $15 million estimate is built on, and it is why the estimate is a range rather than a number.
Two things push in favor of the high end:
- Scarcity of the colorway. Home whites from that series are far less available than the road reds that circulate more freely.
- The game itself. Record-setting margin, a documented Finals moment, and a title-clinching series.
Two things push the other way. Bidding is open for two weeks rather than concentrated into a live room, which changes the psychology of the close. And the top of the memorabilia market has been thinner in 2026 than the headlines suggest - a small number of buyers can carry an entire result.
What It Means If You Collect Cards, Not Jerseys
Most people reading this are never bidding on a $12 million jersey. It still matters, for one reason: high-end memorabilia results tend to pull attention and money into the adjacent Jordan card market for weeks afterward.
Watch the following if the jersey clears its estimate:
- 1986-87 Fleer #57 Jordan rookies in PSA 9 and PSA 10, the sport's benchmark card
- Jordan game-used and patch autographs from Upper Deck's premium lines
- 1997-98 and 1998-99 inserts tied directly to the Last Dance season
The pattern from previous megasales is that the ripple lasts roughly 30 to 60 days and hits mid-grade copies harder than the very top of the market. Sellers who list into that window generally do better than sellers who wait for the headline to fade.
The Practical Read
If you own Jordan material and have been thinking about moving it, the September 15-29 window is the most attention his name will get all year. If you are a buyer, that same window is the worst time to buy and the two months after it are usually better.
Auction estimates are not sale prices and nothing here is a prediction. Verify current comps before buying or selling. Use The Card Shop Finder to find a local shop that handles vintage basketball.