Authenticity of game-worn Jordan shoes questioned

He may have practiced in them, but he almost certainly didn't play in them.

That's what a student manager and statistician for Michael Jordan's freshman year at North Carolina said about a pair of game-worn shoes that were auctioned off this week for more than $33,000.

In a letter to Grey Flannel Auctions, Lindsay Reed spelled out a scenario in which the shoes couldn't possibly be legitimate because the team never wore blue shoes that year, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell. 

"The 1981-1982 UNC basketball team did not wear blue Converse basketball shoes at any point during the...season," Reed wrote. "I challenge anyone to produce a photograph of a 1981-82 UNC basketball game (home or away) in which any member of the 1981-1982 UNC basketball team is wearing blue Converse shoes. 

"No such photo exists."

Reed went on to say that it's plausible that Jordan received the shoes from a teammate who had worn them a season earlier. 

Grey Flannel executives admitted that photos of Jordan in his freshman season are scarce. In fact, they were only able to get their hands on photos of him wearing white shoes.