Barack Obama’s 1978-79 Punahou High School basketball jersey is up for auction at Heritage Auctions and is expected to fetch at least US$100,000. The bidding has started at US$25,000 and will run until 17 August.

Obama is a well-known basketball fan

The white jersey has blue letters of ‘Punahou’ on the front and the number ‘23’, the same number as Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Obama is a well-known basketball fan. During his time as the President of the United States, he converted the White House’s tennis court so that it could be used for both tennis and basketball.  

Barack Obama was a member of of the 1979 boys’ varsity basketball state championship team

“I’ve always loved basketball because it’s about building a team that’s equal to more than the sum of its parts. Glad to see this expansion into Africa because for a rising continent, this can be about a lot more than what happens on the court,” Obama tweeted.

According to the auction house, the jersey was worn by Obama during his senior year at Punahou school when he was a member of the 1979 boys’ varsity basketball state championship team.

The seller of the jersey is Peter Noble, who is three years younger than Obama and wore the 23 jersey while on the junior varsity team. The jersey will be sold together with a 1979 yearbook featuring photographs of Obama on the court and a letter of authenticity from Noble.

If the price is a bit too high for you, a replica of the jersey is also available on Amazon for US$20.79.