Former US basketball star Karl Malone, a member of the legendary Barcelona 1992 Dream Team, has auctioned 24 memorabilia from the Olympic tournament for five million dollars. A jersey that Michael Jordan wore in the semi-final victory against Lithuania (127:76) brought in three million.
Auction house Goldin offered the collectibles, including Larry Bird’s jersey from the Lithuania game. It fetched $360,000. Malone (59), a longtime NBA professional at Utah Jazz, had exhibited the collection in one of his car dealerships for years.
The US national team had dominated the tournament at the Summer Games a good 30 years ago, and NBA professionals were at the Olympics for the first time. In the final, the Dream Team won against Croatia 117:85.
In addition to Malone, Jordan and Bird, there were also Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing.
