'Dream Team' auction ships $5M to 'The Mailman'

Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone recently auctioned off 24 pieces of memorabilia from the 1992 Summer Olympics USA Basketball “Dream Team” — game-used jerseys and sneakers from all 12 members — to the tune of $5 million.

The bulk of those earnings from the auction with collectibles marketplace Goldin, unsurprisingly, came via Michael Jordan’s No. 9 white jersey — worn during the 127-76 dismantling of Lithuania in the semifinals. It sold for $3,003,000 — a record for any game-used Olympics Jordan item. Jordan’s game-worn sneakers from the 1992 Tournament of the Americas — the pre-Olympics event where the Dream Team debuted — sold for $420,000.

Larry Bird’s jersey, also from the semifinal against Lithuania, sold for $360,000, while a pair of Bird game-used sneakers sold for $91,200 — records for a Bird jersey and sneakers. In a 2023 addendum to “Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals,” Magic Johnson wasn’t far behind, as his semifinal jersey sold for $336,000 — a record for a game-used Olympics Magic item.

They weren’t the only Dream Team members whose semifinal jerseys hit six figures: Charles Barkley ($230,400) and David Robinson ($116,400) also eclipsed that threshold and set all-time records for their jerseys. Clyde Drexler‘s semifinal jersey — which includes the inscription, “I enjoyed being your teammate!” — fetched $92,200 but set a record for any game-used Drexler jersey.

Malone had displayed the collection for years at one of his car dealerships in Utah. He invited Goldin’s executive chairman and founder Ken Goldin out when he decided to sell, a scene captured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch.”

“It was truly remarkable to have been able to work with Karl Malone himself to offer this iconic collection to fans everywhere,” Goldin said. “Now a lucky few own a piece of revolutionary sports history from some of the greatest players of all time.”