Used sneakers for 10 million dkk.

Michael Jordan was a legend on the basketball court in the NBA. At 198 cm tall, he was a fearsome opponent, averaging 25 points a game. That was more than enough to secure him stardom and eternal fame. Last year, one fan paid nearly DKK 10 million. for a pair of his 1984 sneakers. By Claus Vesterager Martinus

November 1, 1984. In the locker room, 198-centimetre tall Michael Jordans sat down to lace up his Nike Air Ship basketball boots. It was just his fifth game in his debut season for his club the Chicago Bulls. He had scored 17 points of the 129-113 win over the Denver Nuggets. As a gesture, he gave the shoes to a ball boy named Tommie Tim III Lewis.

Although Jordan was well on his way to a glorious career, Tommie Tim had no idea that years later they would be worth millions. But fortunately, he didn't throw them out.

37 years later, the allure was too great - and last autumn they went up for auction at Sotheby's in Las Vegas. A special auction for Icons of Excellence & Haute Luxury. Jordan's Nike Air Ships were estimated to fetch the seller somewhere between one and one-and-a-half million dollars. It almost came true. For the auctioneer hit the hammer when bids had reached $1,472,000 - or just over 10 million Danish kroner in today's exchange rates.

The shoes are a pair of ordinary basketball boots in leather and with rubber soles - and with obvious wear after the game. It wasn't until the following year that Nike struck a deal with Michael Jordan to create his personal design line, Air Jordan.

It was the first time Nike made such a deal with a sports star. But since Air Jordan is still on the market, the deal has most likely been quite profitable for both Nike and Michael Jordan.

Jordan's sneakers aren't the only memorabilia to fetch spectacular hammer prices at auction. Last year, a jersey Jordan wore when he signed with the Chicago Bulls in 1984 auctioned for $320,000. That's the equivalent of about two million Danish kroner. The price was the highest ever paid for a jersey worn by the six-time NBA champion.

But Jordan's basketball boots aren't the most expensive shoes ever sold. In April, a pair of shoes worn by rapper Ye sold for $1.8 million - the equivalent of DKK 11.5 million. Ye was until recently known as Kanye West. The shoes were bought by Rares, a shoe investment marketplace. The marketplace allows users to invest in rare footwear. Thus, users can invest in shares of shoes, in the same way as investors can buy shares in a company.