Michael Jordan’s 1984 Nike Air Ship Sneakers Are Headed To Auction

Michael Jordan’s Nike Air Ship basketball shoes are headed to auction thanks to a fortunate ballboy who procured the game-worn sneakers from Jordan himself in 1984.

According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Khalid Ali decided to consign the sneakers to SCP Auctions after storing them away since that game. Ali, then a 15-year-old ballboy for the Los Angeles Lakers, claims Jordan presented him with the sneakers after the Chicago Bulls played the Lakers on December 2, 1984.

Ali says he asked Jordan for the red, white and black sneakers the Bulls rookie was wearing during warmups – assumed to be an early pair of Air Jordan 1 – but Jordan explained he’d be switching into a pair of what would turn out to be Air Ships. Ali sought Jordan for the nondescript white and red sneakers after the game and had Jordan autograph them.

SCP Auctions vice president Dan Imler said he expects the historic shoes to fetch upwards of $50,000 at online auction, active from April 8 to April 25.

Jordan wore pairs of the Air Ship High and Mid for approximately the first four months of his rookie season until his first Nike signature shoe, Air Jordan 1, debuted in March 1985. Jordan wore white/red, black/red and white/white colorways throughout that early interim.

While those with an eye on sneaker lore might mark Air Jordan 1 as the genesis of Jordan’s professional basketball career footwear, Jordan Brand indirectly acknowledged the unassuming Air Ship’s founding place in Jordan footwear history with a modest tweet in Fall 2014 – 30 years after Jordan began his NBA career in the shoe.

One small step for MJ. One giant leap for the game. pic.twitter.com/J3fwuCHZ8n

— Jordan (@Jumpman23) October 26, 2014

photos: SCP Auctions via ESPN, @Jumpman23, Getty Images