Michael Jordan's '84 Nike Shoes Up for Auction

A pair of shoes that Michael Jordan personally wore during his rookie year will be put on the auction block on April 8.

Chicago Tribune reported that SCP Auctions got the shoes from a former ball boy of the Los Angeles Lakers. SCP will host the auction over the internet from April 8 to 25.

ESPN wrote that Jordan reportedly gave the pair to the ball boy, named Khalid Ali, after the Chicago Bulls played against the Lakers on December 2, 1984. Ali was only 15 years old at the time and approached Jordan while he was warming up and asked for the Nike sneakers that he was breaking into, which had red, white and black colors. Jordan did not give him the pair he asked for. Instead, the NBA legend went to the locker room and brought back the shoes that are now going to be featured on auction. The Nike pair were white and had a red outsole, swoosh and ankle collar. What made the pair special was that these are believed to be among the last few regular Nikes that Jordan wore before he moved to sporting the Air Jordans that have long since added to his claims to legendary fame.

The Bulls proceeded to win against the Lakers that night, with a final score of 113-112. Michael scored 20 points. Michael also autographed both shoes for the ball boy after the game. The signature is still visible in blue ink.

TIME wrote that Ali has kept the shoes for 30 years and that it was a difficult decision to finally let these go.

Ali said, "I didn't really talk about them much. People who met me after my teenage years don't even know I have them."

In the same report by Chicago Tribune, the pre-Air Jordan Nike shoes are expected to sell for at least $50,000. In 2013, a pair of shoes that Jordan wore during his rookie season sold for $31,070. More than a year ago, the original "flu game" pair of Jordan 13s that Michael wore during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals sold for $105,000.

Dan Imler, vice president of SCP Auctions, said, "We're thrilled to have it. Anything significant from Jordan's career is gold in our field. In our business, collectors are drawn items that are very early in a player's career."

Imler also said that the pair is well broken in, so Jordan might have worn it many times before Ali acquired it.