'King of Collectibles – The Goldin Touch'
Netflix's special 'King of Collectibles – The Goldin Touch' premiered on April 28 with six episodes and features sports memorabilia veterans Ken Goldin and Dave Amerman with Goldin’s team. The viewers get an inside view of how the auction house Goldin operates, following their journey into making record-breaking sales. In the sixth and final episode, the audience is introduced to the 1992 'Dream Team' collection owned by the Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone. The collection consists of the entire Team USA’s game-worn jersey and shoes from the 1992 Olympics. There are 24 items in total, all of which would be a centerpiece in pretty much every sports collection in the world.
The 1992 'Dream Team'
Although the Team USA has dominated basketball in the Summer Olympics since its introduction in 1936, it was the Soviet Union who won the gold in 1988 – a loss made even more bitter by the existing tensions of the Cold War. The next Summer Olympics were held in Barcelona in 1992, and the twelve players who were chosen for the Olympics were called 'The Dream Team'. Not surprisingly, Team USA dominated all their games and won the gold medal.
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The Collection
The collection has been owned by Karl Malone and his family ever since 1992. Malone himself explained: "Believe it or not, after the game, we were throwing the jerseys on the floor. My wife then started picking them up like a groupie. And all of a sudden, about halfway back home… it set in." For many years, the collection has been on display at a car dealership in Utah owned by Malone, but now the time has finally come to offer it to the world. The importance of this collection cannot be overstated. Ken Goldin commented: "This is the most important team in the history of basketball… This brought basketball to the world!"
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The Auction
The auction ends on May 25, and includes a total of 24 lots. All twelve players are represented with their game-worn jerseys and pair of shoes. All items are fully authenticated, photo-matched, and also signed and personalized to Karl Malone. Even Malone himself inscribed his jersey 'To Karl'. The auction contains the following players, in lot order: Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, and Christian Laettner. The lots are in order of estimated hammer prices, and the jerseys are more valuable than the pair of shoes.
Related: Nine-Figure Sum for Michael Jordan's Jersey
Michael Jordan Memorabilia
Known as the greatest ever to play the game, Michael Jordan is also one of the world’s most famous celebrities – something reflected in the high demand for Michael Jordan memorabilia. The most recognizable basketball card is arguably the 1986 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan card. The record price for such a card in PSA 10 went for $738,000 in 2022 by Goldin Auctions. The all-time record for any Jordan card is a 1997-1998 Upper Deck Michael Jordan card that sold for $2,700,000 in a private sale.
Related: Michael Jordan's Game-Worn Air Jordans are the World's Most Expensive Sneakers
But it is not only Michael Jordan cards that are expensive. Pretty much everything connected to Jordan has a value, especially game-worn jerseys and shoes. In 2022, Sotheby’s sold Michael Jordan’s 'The Last Dance' jersey for a whopping $10 million, breaking the record for any sports jersey at auction by a large margin. Earlier last year, Maradona’s 'Hand of God' jersey sold for $7.1 million, though that record didn’t last for long. A few weeks ago, Michael Jordan’s game-worn shoes from the 1998 NBA finals, game 2, sold for $2.2 million, making them the world’s most expensive pair of shoes.
Predictably, Michael Jordan’s 'Dream Team' jersey is expected to become one of this year’s highest-selling sports items. Notably, the Olympics jersey does not have the 23 number Jordan is most known for, but rather the number 9, something rare to see on Jordan jerseys.
