Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store fetches over $89,000 at auction - AP News

What the report says

The Associated Press reported that a Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA Finals sold for $89,600 at a Sotheby’s auction that closed Monday. The short-sleeved yellow jacket had been bought for $3.07 at a Goodwill store outside Portland, Oregon, by 19-year-old Quinn Brown, a Portland resident who resells thrifted clothing online.

According to AP, Brown spotted the jacket in January after another shopper put it back into a clothing bin. Seeing Chamberlain’s name on it, he bought it and later compared details such as the Lakers patch stitching and measurements with online images and known Chamberlain apparel. Brown said he found it difficult to believe the item could be authentic until further checks supported the possibility.

Sotheby’s later contacted Brown after he posted the jacket on social media, and the auction house consigned the item. AP reported that Sotheby’s verified it through photo matching and described it as an exceptional piece of memorabilia tied to the 1972 Finals, when the Lakers defeated the New York Knicks and Chamberlain was named Finals MVP. The auction drew 48 bids, though the final price came in below Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $250,000.

The sale highlights the strong collector market for rare game-worn basketball items, especially those linked to all-time greats. Chamberlain, a Hall of Famer who played from 1959 to 1973, won two NBA titles and remains famous for scoring 100 points in a single game in 1962. AP noted that a Chamberlain jersey from the same 1972 Finals sold at Sotheby’s in 2023 for $4.9 million.