Account
Michael Jordan Gifted 'Flu Game' Shoes to Jazz Ball Boy Preston Truman in 1997
May 19, 2020
The ball boy for the Utah Jazz walked away with a piece of history after the Chicago Bulls beat the Jazz in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
That was Michael Jordan's famous "Flu Game," though Jordan said on The Last Dance and his longtime trainer, Tim Grover, confirmed years prior that the Hall of Famer was suffering from food poisoning. Jordan had 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Bulls prevailed 90-88.
According to ESPN's Wright Thompson, Jordan gave his game-worn shoes to Preston Truman, who worked for the Jazz and had previously asked for the kicks.
Truman recounted to Thompson how he saw Jordan connected to IVs in the locker room when an equipment manager for the Bulls went to pick up his shoes. Jordan waved the Bulls employee off and said he was "doing something with them" before pointing at Truman.
Truman held on to the shoes for 16 years before allowing them to be sold at auction in 2013. The sneakers, which were also autographed by Jordan, commanded a $104,765 price tag.
"I have looked at the shoes maybe four times since putting them in a safety deposit box 16 years ago," Truman said at the time to ESPN's Darren Rovell. "I would go years without even thinking about it. ... I just didn't see the point to something so cool and a part of NBA history sitting at my bank anymore."
