A gold-and-purple warm-up jacket, purchased for $3.07 at a Goodwill Outlet store, is expected to sell for between $150,000 and $250,000 at a Sotheby's auction. The jacket has been authenticated as belonging to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain and was worn by him during the 1972 NBA Finals and the 1972-73 season, his final year in the league.
Quinn Brown, a 19-year-old Portland resident, discovered the jacket in January at a Goodwill Outlet in Hillsboro. Another shopper had briefly handled the item before placing it back, at which point Brown picked it up. "He just threw it in front of me, and I immediately grabbed it," Brown told WLBT3.
Suspecting the jacket might be valuable, Brown posted a photo on Instagram. The image attracted the attention of Sotheby's, which arranged for the jacket to be sent to New York for authentication. "They said your jacket has been matched to the 1972 NBA Finals. I knew the NBA Finals jersey sold for $4.9 million. That’s the jersey he wore under my jacket," Brown stated.
Sotheby's also confirmed the jacket through photo matching to images of Chamberlain wearing it during the 1972-73 NBA season. The auction is scheduled to run through July 20, with bidding having opened on Wednesday.
Brown, who resells thrifted items as a full-time business, spends 15 to 20 hours weekly searching through Goodwill bins. He hopes the proceeds from this sale will allow him to retire early. "I got so lucky with my Wilt Chamberlain jacket, and it’s an amazing feeling to find something like this. I was just doing this because I enjoy it, never expecting anything like that," he said.
Hayley Platt, public relations manager for Goodwill Industries, called Brown's story "the perfect example of how hunting for treasures at Goodwill is thrilling and, in this instance, just magical."