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Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for a record $10.1 million at auction, Sotheby's announced. The jersey, which is mostly red with black writing outlined in white, sold Thursday in the auction house's organized sale. Sotheby's said in August that the jersey was expected to sell for $3 million to $5 million.
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It's actual sale price set a record for the most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia.
Bidding started Sept. 6 for the jersey, which Jordan could be seen wearing in the recent documentary The Last Dance. The jersey fetched 20 bids.
"In the weeks since we announced the auction, there's been palpable excitement from not only sports fans, but collectors alike who are eager to own a rarified piece of history," Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of streetwear and modern collectables, said in a news release.
"Yet again, today's record-breaking result, with an astounding 20 bids, solidifies Michael Jordan as the undisputed GOAT, proving his name and incomparable legacy is just as relevant as it was nearly 25 years ago."
Jordan averaged a league-high 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 1997-98. He went on to win his sixth -- and final -- championship and NBA Finals MVP honors that postseason.
The Utah Jazz beat Jordan's Bulls 88-85 in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Jordan scored a game-high 33 points in the overtime loss. He averaged 33.5 points per game, the most for any player, in the six-game series.
