1984 Michael Jordan Game Worn Los Angeles Olympics Game Worn USA Basketball Sneakers....

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1984 Michael Jordan Game Worn Los Angeles Olympics Game Worn USA Basketball Sneakers. Eight years before the fabled Dream Team demolished the competition in the Barcelona Games, the greatest player in the history of the sport defended the American home court advantage in Los Angeles, standing atop the podium at the end of the tournament to receive the Gold Medal. We should remember that, in 1984, the rules requiring amateurism remained in place for the Olympic Games, so this was a Michael Jordan on the cusp of his ascension to the National Basketball Association. Fewer than three months later, he'd make his Chicago Bulls debut, forever changing the professional game for the better.

There has never in the history of sports been an athlete so inextricably tied to a brand of footwear, with the Air Jordan empire playing the primary role in elevating His Airness to billionaire status. But before Nike inked the most important athletic endorsement deal of all-time, the talented Tar Heel was a Converse man, the brand that enjoyed hardcourt supremacy for generations prior to the rise of Nike. Presented is a pair of low-top sneakers worn in 1984 Olympic competition by Michael Jordan and gifted to Hall of Fame coach Bobby Knight's son Patrick in the jubilant locker room after the 96-65 victory over Spain in the tournament Final.

It will surely come as no surprise that the winner of the 1984 Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year Awards was the leading producer for the American team in Los Angeles, averaging 17.1 points per game to outscore such fellow future Hall of Fame teammates as Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing. He led the team with twenty in the Gold Medal match.

While the included letter of provenance from Patrick Knight assures us that Jordan gifted these sneakers to the young ball boy after that Final victory over Spain on August 10, 1984, it is impossible to state with absolute certainty that these are the shoes Jordan was wearing in that specific game, as two other ball boys likewise were the recipient of identical sneakers from the budding young superstar during that patriotic celebration.

Strong game wear is clearly evident in these size thirteen (13) gamers, with the signs of sweat immersion at interior and a few scuffs to the uppers consistent with the tangling of feet in competition. The ultimate bragging rights for the devout Jordan sneakerhead, consigned to auction by Pat Knight through Kurt Divich/Integrity Media. Letter of provenance from son of coach Bobby Knight. LOA from Heritage Auctions.