Key Points
- Michael Jordan’s Ferrari 550 Maranello inspired the Air Jordan 14’s design and connection to his driving passion.
- Jordan wore unreleased Air Jordan 14s during his decisive 1998 NBA Finals-winning shot.
- The Ferrari, driven by Jordan and customized for his height, is heading to auction for $700,000–$1.3 million.
Court Movement
On the evening of June 14, 1998, one of the greatest moments in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) was about to take place. It is game six of the 1998 NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and the then-reigning champion, the Chicago Bulls. The atmosphere in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City is electric, as the Jazz had a slim one-point lead in the final minute of the game. With less than 30 seconds left before the Jazz could force a possible game seven, the tides completely turned in a blink of an eye. After receiving a pass near the rim, big man Karl Malone had the ball stripped away from his hands by Michael Jordan lurking behind him and his peripheral vision.
In the span of milliseconds, Jordan not only secured possession for the Bulls, he shifted momentum and took control of the game. Eying his defender, Bryon Russell, he slowly brought the ball back onto his court as the remaining seconds ticked away. Driving hard to his right, Jordan abruptly crossed back to his left, flustering Russell and sending him to the ground, which created him enough space for him to step back and hit a perfect jumper that gave the Bulls an 87-86 lead. With just 5.2 seconds left on the clock, this legendary bucket would become immortalized as ‘The Last Shot.’ This historic moment not only clinched Chicago’s sixth NBA championship but also solidified Jordan’s status as the ultimate basketball icon.
The shoes on his feet were a pair of special Air Jordans that were not meant to be worn that day, but Jordan being Jordan, he wore them in defiance of Nike’s explicit request. They were the Air Jordan 14; a basketball shoe that not only reflected his unstoppable game, but his love for something he cherished off the court: cars.
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The Spoils of Greatness
If you have watched documentaries like The Last Dance or read any amount of the countless books written about the six-time NBA champion, it wouldn’t be hard to say that Michael Jordan had developed an affinity for some of the finer things in life. His years in the spotlight as the face of the NBA, as well as his prolific endorsements for Nike, Gatorade and McDonald’s had earned him the kind of high-end lifestyle depicted on the pages of Forbes, Robb Report and DuPont Registry.
Golf, cigars and private jets were a part of his personal brand like his signature slam dunks and jump shots. However, another passion he pursued was a part of him before his prolific basketball career: cars. Throughout his time on the Bulls, Jordan’s garage had been home to the kind of car collection that would make any car enthusiast blush. It included Chevrolet Corvettes, Range Rovers, Porsche 911 Turbos, an AC Schnitzer BMW 8-Series and a Lorinser-tuned V12 Mercedes S600, as well as countless Ferraris like the Testarossa, 512 TR and the F355.
This life-long love for cars also inspired another venture off-the-court — 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team he co-owns with Danny Hamlin. In an interview with Gayle King for CBS News Sunday Morning in March 2026, Jordan revealed alongside being a fan of the sport, his love for cars came from his father; the late James R. Jordan Sr. “My father […] he was a die-hard mechanic, he used to work on all the neighborhood cars,” he said. “I think I gravitated toward his love for cars, and he likes driving fast. My mom likes driving fast.”
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Nike
The Sneaker Connection
This aspect, as well as other bits of Jordan’s personality, life and career would be a major creative force for a major figure responsible for creating a major pillar of his image; a man by the name of Tinker Hatfield. As one of Nike’s best design talents, Hatfield was the designer who penned every iteration of the Air Jordan shoe that he wore during his time in Chicago.
While basketball shoes from both the past and present are a showcase in the advanced athletic shoe technology of the day, Hatfield brought a design philosophy to sneaker design that made Jordan a unique figure amongst players and fans. The sneakers he penned for Jordan emphasized the signature shoe concept; with Hatfield utilizing a combination of exotic materials, advanced technology and design cues to make pieces that reflected his ethos.
Nowhere is that more literal than with the Air Jordan 14, and the timing of the shoe’s public unveiling undersells just how big a deal it was. On October 27, 1998, the same week the shoe hit shelves, the U.S. government issued its 400,000th design patent — on the Air Jordan 14 itself. The Chicago Tribune marked the occasion with a short piece on the shoe’s origin, and Hatfield made clear the car connection wasn’t something he backed into after the fact; Jordan had pointed him toward it directly. “He actually suggested,” Hatfield told the paper, “that I come out and look at his Ferrari.”
Nike
Nike
Jordan asked Hatfield to look at his 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello, which was delivered new that May through Foreign Cars Italia in Greensboro, North Carolina, finished in Rosso Barchetta over tan leather with chrome Speedline wheels and an Illinois vanity plate reading MJ 5. It wasn’t a garage piece; during his final season, Jordan drove it regularly to Bulls games, practices and public appearances. In a 2015 interview with Highsnobiety, he described the 550 as “a powerful race car that doesn’t sacrifice grace and beauty,” and noted that, Jordan liked that Hatfield and the design team built the shoe’s story around his Ferrari, as he recognized his own game in it and treated the car-to-shoe translation less like a marketing angle and more like a fitting symbol for how he actually played.
If you actually encounter a Jordan 14 at a Foot Locker or JD Sports, pick one up from the display and examine that nods from the car show up all over the shoe. The detailed quilted leather upper is a nod to the Maranello’s cabin trim, while car-like “air vents” are featured by the midsole. Even the rubber on the outsole; the part of the shoe that gets beaten up as it provides traction on the basketball court, is textured like tire tread. Even the famous Jumpman logo got reworked for the occasion, reset inside a triangular shield shape that faintly looks like the Ferrari prancing-horse badge. While most of his shoes took inspiration from abstract ideas like aerospace, martial arts or big cats, the 14 borrowed from something that was actually part of Jordan’s life. In defiance of Nike’s embargo, he wore it for the game where he made the shot that closed out his career in Chicago.
The Missing Maranello
Jordan sold the Maranello in December 2002, and it spent close to a quarter-century out of public view before resurfacing this year, now heading to auction through Joopiter as the headline lot of “Driven to Greatness: The Michael Jordan Ferrari.”
What’s coming to market isn’t a garage queen. The car shows roughly 6,400 miles, consistent with one that was actually driven to games, practices and appearances rather than parked under a cover. It even carries something that really drives home the fact that Jordan owned it. Because he stood tall at 6-foot-6, Ferrari extended the seat rails and made the driver’s seat with slimmer-than-standard padding so the driving position could be pushed further back than a stock 550 would normally allow.
Every piece of it was built around the same person who sent Hatfield out to go look at it. The pre-sale estimate sits at $700,000 to $1,300,000. For a 550 without the provenance, that number would already be a stretch. For this one, it’s a discount — the estimate is for a Ferrari, and what’s actually being sold is the car that talked a shoe designer into building a championship sneaker around it.
Conclusion
Stories like these end up becoming an anecdote, or a fun fact that is only mentioned when the time is right. As someone who is both a devoted sneakerhead and a lifelong car enthusiast, I can confidently say that if I had a dollar for each and every time that I have heard about the Jordan’s own Ferrari 550 Maranello, I would be able to wear nothing but a fresh pair of Jordan 14s every day. However, recent events — namely the upcoming JOOPITER auction, as well as the conclusion of the decade-long search for the car by YouTuber and Curated co-founder John Temerian preceding it proves that sometimes, these kinds of stories are worth telling because they have actual weight to them.
Ultimately, this sale represents far more than just an old, expansive European grand tourer. This Ferrari is more than a Ferrari; it’s more than a spec sheet and options. It’s a real piece of sporting history — something connected to one of basketball’s most iconic moments, as well as the inspiration for a pair of shoes coveted by die-hard sneakerheads.
About the author
James Ochoa
Senior Editor, Autoblog