An Oregon teenager who bought a vintage basketball jacket at a thrift store for $3.07 sold it at auction for $89,600. The bright yellow warmup jacket belonged to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain and was worn during the 1972 NBA Finals.
Discovery at a Portland Goodwill
Quinn Brown, a teen who resells used clothing online, found the jacket at a Goodwill store in Portland in January 2025. He saw someone toss it into a clothing bin and retrieved it. The back featured Chamberlain's name, and the front had a Lakers patch.
Authentication process
Brown researched the jacket online, finding a photo of Chamberlain wearing a similar jacket during warmups for the 1972 Finals. He matched stitching details on the Lakers patch and compared measurements to a known Chamberlain jersey. "I really just wanted to make sure, because it was so hard to believe at the time," Brown told the Associated Press.
After posting a photo on social media, Sotheby's contacted him and sent an armored car to collect the jacket. The auction house confirmed authenticity by matching letter spacing on the nameplate.
Auction results
The jacket sold on Monday for $89,600, below Sotheby's estimate of $150,000-$250,000. The buyer's identity was not disclosed. Sotheby's described it as "an extraordinary piece of memorabilia from Chamberlain's final chapter in the NBA." Chamberlain retired after the 1972-73 season and died in 1999 at age 63.
Brown admitted, "I got very, very lucky." His previous best find was a $250 T-shirt from Sub Pop records.
