DALLAS, TX.- The basket and backboard that Michael Jordan scored his final points as a Chicago Bull on from the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz with a shot widely considered one of his greatest, will be sold by
Heritage Auctions on July 30, 2015, at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. It is estimated at $100,000+.
It was a transcendent moment in a basketball career brimming with incredible achievement; the sport's greatest figure clinched his sixth NBA Championship with his final incredible shot in a Chicago Bulls uniform. Bob Costas made the dramatic call: "Here comes Chicago. Seventeen seconds from Game Seven, or Championship number six. Jordan, open, Chicago with the lead! Time out Utah. Five point two seconds left. Michael Jordan, running on fumes, with 45 points."
Along with a sixth NBA Championship ring, Jordan claimed his sixth NBA Finals MVP Award. To top it off, the 1998 Finals remains the most-watched broadcast in history, with that Game Six the highest-rated NBA game ever televised.
"This is arguably the most recognizable basket and backboard in the sport," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. "The story of the greatest basketball player of all time effectively ended here, in the glass and metal of this special artifact. To own this is to secure ultimate bragging rights in the highly-competitive world of Michael Jordan collectibles."
Jordan had saved his best for last, swatting the ball from the hands fellow Hall of Famer Karl Malone in the low post, taking it the full length of Salt Lake City's Delta Arena court, then nailing a 20-foot jumper from the top of the key. Jordan held the follow-through, posing for posterity. The basket gave the Bulls a one-point lead with five seconds remaining. The Utah Jazz had one last shot to force a Game Seven, but John Stockton's three-point attempt rattled off the rim as time expired. Jordan had done it again, in spectacular fashion.
"This is everything the ultimate Jordan fan needs to recreate the magic in their own home," said Ivy. "There's no telling when an opportunity like this will come again."