Coming off his first NBA Championship in 1991, Michael Jordan was just getting started on his run of six titles in eight years. During the 1991-92 regular season, Jordan led the league in scoring at 31 points per game as the Bulls finished atop the Eastern Conference with a 67-15 record. In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Miami Heat before getting through three challenging series—each lasting at least six games—to defend their title. MJ was voted league and Finals MVP for the second straight year. All in all, it was another quintessential campaign turned in by “Air Jordan” who sported his Nike signature model Air Jordan VII sneakers in doing so. Offered here is a pair of black Air Jordan VII shoes believed to have been worn by Jordan on April 29, 1992 at Miami Arena for his epic 56-point road performance in Game 3 of the Bulls’ first round playoff series against the Heat. The Bulls won 119-114 to complete the 3-0 sweep as MJ went 20-30 from the floor and 16-18 at the line along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. The consignor, a teenager in South Florida at the time, claims to have acquired the shoes from Jordan’s nephews after the game near the Bulls team hotel and has provided a detailed letter explaining how this went down.
Another Tinker Hatfield creation, the “AJ VII” had a more minimal, lightweight design than previous Air Jordans. It said goodbye to visible Air, the translucent outsole and the prominent Nike Air logo, except on the insole. The upper was similar to the AJ VI with minor alterations; the toecap design was a carryover from the VI. This lot features the black colorway version that Jordan wore throughout the 1992 playoffs. Style-matching photos from the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals as well as a possible photo-match from Game 3 at Miami are included for reference.
The shoes come in size 13 with a black and gray leather exterior and midsoles colored with a red and purple pattern. Accurate interior Nike tagging reads “920112FT2” denoting their 1/12/1992 manufacturing date. The outsoles are multi-colored (red, black, purple and orange) with a red Jumpman logo at the heel bottom. Both upper ankles have a stitched red Jumpman. The heel features a plastic black arrow-shaped piece with “23” in red and a purple pull tab used to lock the foot into the inner sockliner. “AIR JORDAN” is threaded in red on the outer tongues. The black laces appear to be the originals. The shoes exhibit appropriate wear, with signs of sweating on the insole and stretching in the upper ankle support sections. All structural elements are completely intact, which is not always the case with Air Jordan models from the late 80’s to early 90’s.
Includes detailed letter of provenance from consignor who acquired them on the evening of April 29, 1992 after the game.