A teenager in Oregon discovered a rare, authentic warm-up jacket worn by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA Finals and later hit the jackpot.
The jacket was purchased for just over $3 at a Goodwill thrift store, before fetching $89,600 at a Sotheby’s auction on Monday.
Wilt Chamberlain Jacket Found at Thrift Store Sold for $89,600
In what turned out to be one of the most remarkable thrift store finds in recent memory, Oregon teenager Quinn Brown discovered the vintage Los Angeles Lakers jacket at a Goodwill in January. He went on to buy the jacket for $3.07, before posting a photo of it online.
Representatives from Sotheby’s then contacted Brown and conducted a thorough verification of the jacket. They found that the jacket was indeed worn by the legendary 7-foot-1 center when he led the Lakers to the NBA championship in 1972.
Sotheby’s further confirmed that the jacket was worn by Chamberlain on several occasions during the 1972 NBA Finals and the 1972-73 season.
The jacket went up for auction on Monday, and it was initially listed at an estimated value of $150,000-$250,000. However, after receiving more than 40 bids, the jacket was ultimately sold for $89,600.
“I didn’t even think that finding something like this was possible. I got very, very lucky… I really just wanted to make sure, because it was so hard to believe at the time,” Brown said via the Associated Press.
Chamberlain won his second NBA championship in 1972, leading the Lakers past the New York Knicks in five games in the Finals. He was also named Finals MVP for his performances.
The 1972 Lakers are regarded as one of the most talented teams in NBA history and featured several future Hall of Famers, including Chamberlain, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Pat Riley (who was inducted as a coach).
The 1971-72 season was also Chamberlain’s penultimate year in the NBA. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player retired after the 1972-73 season, when the Lakers lost to the Knicks in the Finals.
Regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, Chamberlain still holds several records to his name, including the feat of most points scored in a single game.
The 13-time NBA All-Star scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks in March 1962 and averaged a whopping 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season (the most in NBA history).
