US teen buys Wilt Chamberlain jacket in thrift store that sells for $89,600

An Oregon teenager's lucky find at a thrift store has turned into a significant windfall after a jacket he purchased for pocket change sold at auction for nearly $90,000. Quinn Brown discovered the bright yellow jacket, emblazoned with the name Wilt Chamberlain, at a Goodwill store in Portland.

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I got very, very lucky.

Brown, who resells used clothing online, bought the item for just $3.07. He then dedicated himself to verifying its authenticity. His research included finding a photograph of Chamberlain wearing a similar jacket during warm-ups for the 1972 NBA championship series and meticulously comparing stitching details on the Lakers patch with the garment he had acquired.

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I didn’t even think that finding something like this was possible.

Further verification involved comparing measurements of the jacket to those of another jersey worn by the 7-foot-1-inch Chamberlain. Convinced of its legitimacy, Brown shared a photo of the jacket on social media, which led to Sotheby's contacting him. The auction house arranged for the jacket to be collected by an armored vehicle.

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Photomatching a piece of game-worn clothing to a specific finals series, for a player of this era, is genuinely exceptional.

Despite selling for $89,600, falling short of Sotheby's initial estimate of $150,000-$250,000, the sale represented a substantial profit for Brown. Sotheby's described the jacket as an "extraordinary piece of memorabilia from Chamberlain’s final chapter in the NBA," noting that items from a player's last active season carry unique historical weight. Chamberlain, a legendary figure in basketball, retired after the 1972-73 season.

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Items from a player’s last active season carry a weight that nothing else can replicate.