Michael Jordan's 1982 National Championship North Carolina jersey found

Michael Jordan hit the game-winner to defeat Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Championship (Credit: Getty)

Sitting in a display in the Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a Michael Jordan jersey from his time in Chapel Hill.

Jordan, who is a native of Wilmington, has a display there with a pair of his shoes, Wheaties boxes, this jersey and more.

But there's nothing special about the jersey, or so you would think. The museum certainly didn't think so. Until now.

Michael Russo, creator of The Michael Jordan Archive, has successfully photo matched the jersey to the most important moment of Jordan's collegiate career, the 1982 NCAA Championship, where he hit the game-winning shot over Georgetown.

"That was the birth of Michael Jordan," Jordan told TNT's Craig Sager during a 2016 interview. "Before then, I was 'Mike' Jordan. All of a sudden I make that shot, I'm 'Michael' Jordan".

Russo, who collects photo negatives, which have become invaluable in his research identifying Jordan jerseys in museums, exhibits and more, knew in an instant, the white Tar Heel jersey behind the glass was much more than it seemed.

"I saw it right away," Russo said. "I said, 'this is the f****** jersey.'"

The jersey was found in the Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington, NC (Credit: The Michael Jordan Archive)

And that was without the negatives, simply with an image on Getty.

"The mesh holes were basically completely aligned," Russo said. "The mesh holes in between the North, in between the two and the three."

"The image I had at that moment in time, I had an image of the display case with the North Carolina Jersey in it, and it was the only image I had ever seen of that jersey in that display, that way."

Russo estimates the jersey is a $20 million jersey minimum, stating the only jersey from Jordan's career that would be worth more would be his game-winner over Bryon Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The shot that sealed Jordan's sixth championship.

Additionally, this jersey is part of a larger ongoing project that Russo is launching with his site, The Michael Jordan Archive. Russo is creating a resource hub for all things game-worn Michael Jordan, with population reports for all jerseys and shoes.

Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.