1984 Type 1 Michael Jordan photo sells for record $175K at Goldin

A rare 1984 Type 1 Original Photo from Michael Jordan’s NBA debut sold for more than $141,000 in an auction at Lelands recently.

Another copy of the rare photo just eclipsed that mark, selling for $175,000 in a private sale brokered by Goldin. The sale is a record for the most expensive Jordan photo ever sold.

The PSA-certified Type 1 photo features Jordan during his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on Oct. 26, 1984. Jordan scored 16 points and added six rebounds and seven assists in a 109-93 win over the Washington Bullets. The image shows the six-time NBA champion and the game’s greatest player driving to the hoop in iconic Jordan fashion with his tongue hanging out.

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“Michael Jordan Type I photos are one of the hottest sectors on the auction block today,” said Khyber Oser, director of vintage memorabilia and photography at Goldin. “Only three Type I examples from MJ’s debut game have ever surfaced publicly — and this is the best one by far. I’m excited to see what such a landmark sale means for all Type 1 photo collectors, whether you collect Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali or Babe Ruth.”

The record price did not surprise longtime Type 1 photo expert Henry Yee, the principal authenticator of PSA Photo Authentication Services.

“True original Type I photos are still extremely undervalued when compared to other segments of the hobby,“ Yee said through Goldin. “This rare Jordan debut photo from the newspaper Chicago Sun-Times was never issued to the public. It was simply used for its practical purpose in the newsroom to tell a story. Compare that to a six-figure Jordan debut ticket stub in which all 13,000 fans in the building received one. In time I am very confident that the buyer made a shrewd purchase from Ken Goldin and his company.”

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