Even Michael Jordan, considered by most the greatest basketball player who ever lived, had to admit in ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary that he won zero championships without Scottie Pippen. It's simply the truth. After failing to get past the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls finally dethroned the "Bad Boys" in the 1991 playoffs en route to their first title. The quiet, small-town Arkansas native made the difference, giving MJ a superstar number two on both ends of the floor. Together, they brought the city of Chicago six Larry O'Brien trophies in an eight-year span.
This pair of Nike Air Jordan XVIII shoes is the perfect piece to honor the Hall of Fame teammates. Coming in Michael's size 13, the unworn pair was originally released by his exclusive memorabilia dealer Upper Deck Authenticated in 2009, with only the left shoe signed by Jordan; number 6 in a limited edition of 23. Two years later, Scottie Pippen signed the right shoe, again under UDA's watch, to complete the unique pairing. Both autographs are neatly done on the outer toe in thick silver paint pen, with only MJ's signed shoe hand-numbered "6/23". The internal tagging indicates a manufacturing date between March and May of 2008, meaning the all-black nubuck suede sneakers with red accents were made five years after their original release date. For "Sneakerheads" or any collector who appreciates Nike's innovative design progression of the Air Jordan brand, the immaculate condition of each shoe only adds to the pair's aesthetic appeal.
In our research, we were unable to find another example of this LE/23 run with an AJ XVIII pair signed by both Jordan and Pippen. So this could very well be the only pair of its kind, making it potentially a 1-of-1 scenario. Includes two COA's from UDA and two LOA's from PSA/DNA, one for each player. In UDA's database, the Jordan signature (BAK40832) was witnessed May 11, 2009; while Pippen's (BAK49963) came on March 10, 2011.