{"id":5051,"date":"2026-07-21T05:06:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T05:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5051"},"modified":"2026-07-21T05:06:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T05:06:54","slug":"wilt-chamberlain-lakers-jacket-found-by-a-teen-at-a-thrift-store-fetches-over-89000-at-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5051","title":{"rendered":"Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store fetches over $89,000 at auction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By CLAIRE RUSH<\/p>\n

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) \u2014 A warmup jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA finals that was bought by a teenager for $3.07 at an Oregon thrift store sold for $89,600 at auction on Monday.<\/p>\n

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Quinn Brown had been eyeing a massive bin of clothes at a Goodwill store outside Portland in January when he saw someone toss a Lakers jacket with Chamberlain\u2019s name on it back on the pile. Brown, who resells used clothes online, quickly grabbed it.<\/p>\n

The jacket was auctioned by Sotheby\u2019s, which had estimated its value between $150,000 and $250,000 before bidding closed Monday. It received a total of 48 bids, according to the auction house.<\/p>\n

Described on Sotheby\u2019s website as an \u201cextraordinary piece of memorabilia,\u201d the short-sleeved yellow warmup jacket was worn by Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA finals, in which the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even think that finding something like this was possible,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI got very, very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chamberlain, an NBA Hall of Famer viewed as one of the all-time greats, played in the league from 1959 to 1973, including from 1959\u20131965 with the Philadelphia\/San Francisco Warriors. He won two championship rings \u2014 one with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967 (defeating the Warriors), and another with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. He holds the record for most points scored by a player in a single game, netting 100 points in a 1962 match.<\/p>\n

For the past three years, Brown has been reselling clothes online after finding them in thrift stores. The most expensive item he had sold previously was a T-shirt of Sub Pop Records, the indie label that signed Nirvana in 1989 and released the band\u2019s first album. It went for $250.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

After buying the Chamberlain jacket back in January, Brown searched online to see if it was worth something. He found a picture on Google of Chamberlain wearing such a jacket and compared it to the one he had.<\/p>\n

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In examining the Lakers patch on the front, he noticed certain small stitching details that matched the photo. He also looked up the measurements of a different jersey worn by Chamberlain, a towering figure at 7 feet, 1 inch (2.2 meters) tall, and discovered that they nearly aligned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really just wanted to make sure, because it was so hard to believe at the time,\u201d he said, adding that he had only ever read about such serendipitous thrift findings.<\/p>\n

When he posted a photo of the jacket on social media, Sotheby\u2019s contacted him about consigning the jacket to the auction house. Brown agreed, and an armored van came to pick it up.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Sotheby\u2019s then did its own photo verification and determined that the jacket was worn by Chamberlain during the 1972 finals, in which he was named the finals MVP.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhotomatching a piece of game-worn clothing to a specific Finals series, for a player of this era, is genuinely exceptional,\u201d Sotheby\u2019s website says. \u201cAs photomatched items worn by Chamberlain become exceedingly rare, this jacket is a piece of sports history.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not the first Chamberlain item from the 1972 finals to fetch a hefty sum under the hammer: A game jersey he wore during the series sold for $4.9 million at Sotheby\u2019s in 2023, the fourth most expensive NBA jersey ever sold by the auction house.<\/p>\n

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As for his thrifted find, Brown said: \u201cThat was as good as it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The jacket was auctioned by Sotheby\u2019s, which had estimated its value between $150,000 and $250,000 before bidding closed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store fetches over $89,000 at auction - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5051\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store fetches over $89,000 at auction - 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