Berlin, 28 January 2023 (STATS Perform/dpa/MIA) – LeBron James’ jersey from Game 7 of the Miami Heat’s triumphant 2013 NBA Finals has been bought in New York for $3.68 million, making it the third most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold by Sotheby’s.

The figure comes in behind Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Chicago Bulls jersey at $10.91m and Diego Maradona’s Argentina jersey from the 1986 World Cup game where he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England, at $9.28m.

The highest previous figure for a game-worn James jersey was $630,000 from the 2020 All-Star Game.

The Heat clinched the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 with James scoring 37 points with 12 rebounds and four assists.

James won his fourth NBA MVP crown during the 2012-13 season along with the 2013 NBA Finals MVP, the second of four in his career.

“Today’s tremendous result comes at a pivotal time in LeBron James’ career, where he is in arm’s reach of clinching the all-time points record,” Sotheby’s expert Brahm Wachter said.

James (38,210) is on track to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA all-time points scoring record (38,387) in the next fortnight.