Michael Jordan’s game-worn Nike Air Jordan 1s from 1985 sold for half a million dollars at auction over the weekend — the most ever paid for a pair of sneakers. The amount underlines Michael Jordan’s status not just as the GOAT of basketball but also as one of the most marketable and admired people of all time, across all walks of life.
Over the past few weeks, Jordan has been the subject of ESPN and Netflix’s docs-series, The Last Dance — whose influence can’t be understated. The 10-part series introduced Michael Jordan the basketball player to a generation that never got to see him play. In turn, that has had a remarkable effect on the demand for Jordan and Chicago Bulls merchandise and memorabilia.
As StockX has shared with Highsnobiety, its data shows that The Last Dance has influenced consumer behavior in more ways than one. Since its premiere on April 19, The Last Dance has resulted in a spike in traffic on StockX’s Jordan products every Sunday. On average, there is 76 percent more traffic to Jordan catalog pages than a typical Sunday evening prior to April 19.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that pop culture has had an influence on consumer behavior like this. As Complex points out, Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA championship last year caused the now-Clippers star’s signature New Balance sneaker to soar in value on the resell market. A morbid example would be Kobe Bryant’s tragic death earlier this year and the ensuing spike in resell prices on his sneakers — something that was frowned upon by a vast majority of the community.
Diving deeper into the data, it becomes clear that it’s not only Michael Jordan’s signature sneakers and memorabilia that have benefited from The Last Dance. Scottie Pippen — who was heavily featured in the first two episodes — has seen sales of his sneakers and merchandise increase by 50 percent compared to the previous month. In the 24 hours after the episodes aired the effect was even greater, as sales of Pippen’s sneakers, collectibles, and merchandise increased 300 percent compared to a typical day.
The below chart outlines other consumer trends, such as Air Jordan sales being up 38 percent month-on-month and Chicago Bulls merchandise receiving 35 percent more bids than the month prior.
Highsnobiety
As Highsnobiety reported on earlier, the “Chicago” Nike Air Jordan 1 from 2015 jumped in value following the May 3 episode, which focused on that silhouette in particular. Before the series aired it was reselling for around $900. Over the past 10 days, the average sale price is over $1,400 — good for a 50 percent increase. Similarly, the “Banned” Nike Air Jordan 1 from 2016 has seen its average resale price increase by 33 percent.
Following the final two episodes, which aired on May 17 and heavily featured the Air Jordan 13 and 14, traffic to the catalog pages of both sneakers surged to their highest in StockX history. The “Flu Game” Nike Air Jordan 12 — another big subplot in the series — saw its average resell price rise to $400 immediately after the finale, a good 30 percent more than its 12-month average. The “Last Shot” AJ14 sold for 55 percent more than its 12-month average sale price of $225.
Another interesting development is that the OG 1985 “Chicago” Nike Air Jordan 1 sold three times over the past few weeks. Prior to the documentary airing, StockX had not seen a sale of that sneaker since 2017. Back then it resold for around $3,000, whereas the last three sales have had an average resale price of $7,123 — more than double.
In short, The Last Dance has basically been a 10-hour commercial for Nike and the Air Jordan line. To celebrate the premiere on April 19, Nike dropped its “Fire Red” Air Jordan 5s on its SNKRS app. The OG colorway had been long-rumored and hotly-anticipated before it promptly sold out on the platform.
Since then, though, Nike has not done anything to capitalize on The Last Dance. In the past, Nike has shown it has its finger on the pulse of pop culture by scheduling special-edition, limited drops around larger events. In 2018, the Justin Timberlake x Nike Air Jordan 3 was available on Nike SNKRS during the artist’s performance during the Super Bowl half-time show, while more recently, Travis Scott’s collaborations have dropped during his Grammy’s performances.
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has complicated matters, as supply chains — almost all of which run through China — have been impacted in one way or another and resulted in several delays. Comparing the resell market with retail might not be entirely fair either, as StockX numbers have shown that the secondary market is as robust as ever and has barely been affected by Covid-19 — the same can’t be said for retail.
Netflix / Andrew D. Bernstein
Additionally, Highsnobiety’s latest market analysis shows that a new generation of “immune shoppers” has been born, who are less affected by trends and hype and are reassessing their priorities when it comes to spending their money on fashion.
Those factors may have played a role in Nike’s decision (conscious or not) to refrain from dropping more product in conjunction with The Last Dance. Still, it feels like Nike may have missed the mark over the past month, as all eyes were on the docuseries and, as a result, Nike and Jordan Brand product.
The StockX numbers show that there were consumers out there that were influenced by what they saw on their screens. It would not be farfetched to think that these same consumers spending their money on Michael Jordan memorabilia and sneakers or Scottie Pippen and Chicago Bulls gear would have bought related product directly from Nike.
“MJ’s success on the court transcended beyond the game of basketball and ignited a culture. That culture became the foundation of the Jordan Brand and the Jumpman community,” says Jordan Brand president, Craig Williams. “The Last Dance has given us a chance to highlight the people, stories and sneakers that made basketball culture a global phenomenon. Seeing fans across different generations celebrate MJ’s success speaks to the impact MJ and Jordan Brand continue to have on basketball culture and the breadth of the Jumpman community.”
The Last Dance speaks to both a new generation of basketball fans and a new generation of consumers. By introducing kids today to Jordan’s accomplishments, unparalleled athleticism, and competitive drive, The Last Dance is providing a generation that never got to see MJ play live with the same “Like Mike” feeling kids had in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s.
In a way, by creating new Michael Jordan fans and providing access to his on-court dominance, it also strengthens peoples’ sentiments towards Jordan Brand and its products — something StockX’s numbers prove. Whereas over the years, Air Jordans have become synonymous with hype, limited-edition collaborations, and sold-out release dates, kids that watched The Last Dance now want Jordans for the same reason that kids 30 years ago wanted Jordans — because he’s the greatest basketball player of all time.
Perhaps Nike consciously chose to refrain from dropping products alongside the documentary, as it knew the effect The Last Dance would have on its viewers. Maybe Jordan Brand took a step back to let its most marketable asset ever do what he does best — make kids want to be like Mike.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
