Walter Iooss Jr. is widely viewed as the world’s greatest sports photographer and called “the Rembrandt of sports,” due to his use of light, color, and composition, Walter’s images transcend his subjects’ fame and have come to represent modern sports culture. Over the past 60 years, Walter’s photographs have graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, including more than 300 covers. His work has changed the definition of what a “good sports photograph” should be, bridging the gap between sports photography and fine art.

Walter has photographed the most recognized athletes in sports history, including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and hundreds more. His catalog also contains the most iconic imagery of Michael Jordan in the world. These images have helped define sports culture over the years, portraying iconic athletes and their legacies in an inspired, artistic light.

Walter placed the same care and consciousness from his sports photographs to create Sports Illustrated’s now-legendary swimsuit issues. As in his action shots, his pictures for SI’s legendary swimsuit issues revealed his uncanny sense of graphics and Rembrandt-like reverence for light and shadow. His ability to truly connect with his subjects, athletes, and models helped make Walter the best in the game.

In The News

Notable Sales

One of the few sports photographers to ever be featured by a fine arts auction house, Walter Iooss Jr.’s print photos are highly coveted having realized prices of $37K and far beyond. Iooss’ foray into the NFT scene with the release of his iconic Michael Jordan, Detroit, MI 1987 shot resulted in a sale of over $55K.

The Drop: Basketball Icons

For his second NFT drop, Walter chose six stunning photographs that pay tribute to some of the most iconic superstars in basketball. 

The “ICONS” in these photographs do not need introductions. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kevin Garnett are some of Walter’s favorite basketball players to photograph. And the photographs of these athletes were shot for the ages. 

The pieces were created over a period of 17 years (1993-2010) and embody the unique intimacy, styling, and decisive moments that are the signature of Walter Iooss Jr.s work, standing together as a series or alone in their glory. 

Iconically Iooss. 

Basketball Icons.

Ten percent of the gross proceeds from the Kobe Bryant auction piece will be donated to The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports. Founded through the vision and loving memory of Kobe and Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.

Open Limited Editions

Michael Jordan, Highlands Park, IL 1998
“I made this portrait in a vestibule of Michael’s home in 1998. I was shooting on 4×5 sheet film, and the double exposure was actually a mistake. I wanted to try it again to see if I could do it any better. Michael said, “you’ll never do that again; you’re not good enough!” This was the kind of competitive banter we always had. I, of course, attempted, and it wasn’t very good, to which he said, “you see.” He was right. The big question is always why Michael is wearing a #5 earring—that is how many championships he and The Bulls had won at this point. Not long after this picture, they would win their sixth NBA Championship, Michael would retire, and management would dismantle the team. This is why they refer to their 1998 season as ‘The Last Bull Run.’ Everyone knew it was going to be over.” – Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th 2021

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $999

*Available for purchase for 24 hours from 5/18 3:30 PM to PT to 5/19 3:30 PM PT. If 35 editions are purchased a 15 minute timer will be initiated.

Shaquille O’Neal, El Segundo, CA 2002
“I was following The Lakers during the 2002 season when Sports Illustrated commissioned to do a portrait of Shaq. For this image, I had two different negatives printed onto one piece of paper. I always loved this image as it captures two sides of his many personalities. During the shoot, Shaq told me I was the second-best photographer he’d worked with, so I looked at him and asked, “who’s the best?!” He answered, “me.” Classic Shaq. He is one funny guy, always a lot of fun to be around, and takes up the entire room when he is there. He’s one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever seen!” -Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th, 2021

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $999

*Available for purchase for 24 hours from 5/18 3:30 PM to PT to 5/19 3:30 PM PT. If 35 editions are purchased a 15 minute timer will be initiated.

Kevin Garnett, Minneapolis, MN 1999
“We drove around Minneapolis all day in Kevin’s bulletproof car going to R&B music producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ homes. As the day slipped into night, all I could think about was when we would get to our shoot?! We finally got to the studio late in the evening. The studio was all white, and I laid a bare-headed strobe on the ground and asked Kevin to start jumping. Every leap he took was beautiful. This session was probably the single greatest shoot day I’ve ever had in terms of the number of good pictures. This image was made on a now long discontinued Kodak film called Techno Pan 25. It was the finest grain film ever made, with a very low rating of 25 ISO. It was also inherently quite contrasty, which helped make this image come to life.” – Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th, 2021

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $999

*Available for purchase for 24 hours from 5/18 3:30 PM to PT to 5/19 3:30 PM PT. If 35 editions are purchased a 15 minute timer will be initiated.

Fixed Editions

Michael Jordan, Deerfield, IL 1993
“I made this photograph of Michael after team practice at The Bulls’ training facility. I had someone hold up a 4×8′ foam core behind him while he shot free throws. One strobe. One foam core. And The King.” Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th, 2021 *********************************************** Artist: Walter Iooss Jr. Title: Michael Jordan, Deerfield, IL 1993 Location: Sheri L. Berto Center Date of Photo: March 21, 1993 NFT Mint Event For Image: #01 Release Date: May 18th, 2021

Editions: 15
Pricing: $1999

*Final edition will be auctioned

“This was the most over-the-top production I’ve ever worked on. Nike rented the entire arena, which was cordoned-off like Putin was meeting Biden. There must have been 18 security guards – one in each entry point into the stadium standing cross-armed. Before we started working, I met with Lebron in his trailer, and we looked at different dunk videos of him and determined that this was the specific dunk we wanted to capture. We warmed up with a few approaches to the hoop then quickly moved into the dunks. I knew I would only get so many attempts, and when LeBron did this specific dunk, I looked at the back of my camera and screamed. LeBron knew it was the one too. It wasn’t going to get better than that.” – Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th, 2021

Editions: 15
Pricing: $1999

*Final edition will be auctioned

Showcase 1/1

Kobe Bryant, San Pedro, CA 2000
“I made this photograph of Kobe for Adidas. Leading up to the shoot, our producer had scouted a group of locations, one of which was this great basketball court hanging over the Pacific in San Pedro, Palos Verdes called Angel’s Gate Park — which takes on a new context now. At this point in 2000, Kobe and I had already worked with each other many times and were comfortable together. He was like Jordan when it came to being photographed. He always looked good in pictures, was beyond handsome, graceful, and knew how to pose with effortless ability. I always liked this image for its simple formalities: the low angle, the basket’s shape, and the background. You don’t see that type of sky in Los Angeles too often. We got lucky. But more importantly, I always loved Kobe’s strength and confidence in this image. He feels heroic, and that’s what he was.” Walter Iooss Jr. May 4th, 2021

Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only

*A ~24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met.

**Ten percent of the gross proceeds from the Kobe Bryant auction piece will be donated to The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports. Founded through the vision and loving memory of Kobe and Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.

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Published by aisha_arif

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