Rumors

A Portland teenager found a random old Lakers jacket in a Goodwill bin in January. He paid $3.07 for it. Seven months later, the item sold at auction for $89,600. Turns out the old jacket wasn’t so random after all. Verified by Sotheby’s auction house, it was a warmup jacket worn by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain at least three times. That includes during the 1972 NBA Finals in which the Lakers defeated the New York Knicks in five games and Chamberlain was named the series MVP. “This is Truly a once in a lifetime find,” Quinn Brown wrote on Instagram in January. “I am so grateful this jacket has landed in my hands.”

Los Angeles Times

Brown, 19, has been reselling his thrift-store clothing finds online for the past three years. When he saw someone toss the short-sleeved Lakers jacket with “Chamberlain” on the back into a bin of clothes outside Goodwill, Brown grabbed it for his online shop. Then he did some research. Brown found an online photo of Chamberlain wearing a jacket that looked very similar. He also discovered that the four-time league MVP’s jersey measurements closely matched those of the jacket.

Los Angeles Times

After he posted a photo of the jacket online, Brown was contacted by Sotheby’s about consigning it for auction. He took the auction house up on the offer, and the jacket was whisked away in an armored vehicle. Sotheby’s photomatched the jacket to three images: an undated photo from the 1972-73 season, a photo from a January 1973 game and a photo from a 1972 home game against the Knicks that was determined to be from either Game 1 or Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Chamberlain had 12 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1, a 114-92 Lakers loss, and 23 points and 24 rebounds in Game 2, a 106-92 Lakers victory. “I didn’t even think that finding something like this was possible,” Brown told the Associated Press. “I got very, very lucky.”

Los Angeles Times

A Wilt Chamberlain warmup jacket originally found in a Portland, Oregon, Goodwill sold for $89,600 (including buyer's premium) at Sotheby's on Monday. In January, Quinn Brown, 19, raided a bargain bin, looking for a jacket he'd seen someone toss in that seemed like it bore Los Angeles Lakers colors. Brown had been buying vintage clothes to resell online for three years; his priciest resell had netted him $250. The warmup jacket says "Chamberlain" on the back and cost Brown $3.07.

ESPN

The jacket turned out to not only be legitimate but a significant piece of Chamberlain and Lakers memorabilia: The jacket was "likely" used throughout the 1971-72 NBA season but was definitively matched to the 1972 NBA Finals, Chamberlain's second title and the Lakers' first championship Los Angeles; Chamberlain also won Finals MVP, his first as the award wasn't introduced until 1969. The jacket was also matched to the 1972-73 NBA season, Chamberlain's last in which he set the single-season record for field goal percentage (72.7%) that wasn't broken until the 2019-20 season.

ESPN

Daniel Donabedian: Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell on the Jaylen Brown trade: “Jaylen has done everything possible for this city. He’ll be missed. But it’s the NBA. Wilt Chamberlain got traded after he averaged 50 points one year…I wish nothing but the best for Jaylen. He’s a hell of a basketball player.” He then spoke on Paul George: “He doesn’t have to try to be Jaylen Brown. He’s gotta be Paul George…We’ll be fine.”

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A thrift store find could now sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. A routine treasure hunt at a Hillsboro Goodwill store in January has turned into a find of a lifetime for 19-year-old Quinn Brown. The Portland resident said he discovered a Los Angeles Lakers warm-up jacket that has since been authenticated as one worn by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain.

wlbt.com

For just $3.07, the jacket was his. Brown said he had an inkling the jacket may be the real deal. So, he posted a photo of it on Instagram, where it caught the attention of Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest auction houses. Before long, the jacket was on its way to New York, where it was professionally authenticated through SIA Photo Match.

wlbt.com

“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 said. According to Sotheby’s, the jacket was also photo-matched to images of Chamberlain wearing it during the 1972-73 NBA season, his final season in the league. The jacket is currently up for auction at Sotheby’s with an estimated value of $150,000 to $250,000.

wlbt.com

Eddie A Johnson: Shaq. You are arguably next to Wilt. The most dominant basketball player ever in the paint, but Wemby has the ability to become a threat all over the court and be more dominant than you that way!

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While James won’t directly make the case that he’s the most influential athlete of the past half-century, on the barroom debate about the basketball GOAT, he doesn’t hesitate. “I’m not taking nobody over me,” says James. “There’s no question. But I think Mike will say the same thing. Rest his soul, Kobe will say the same thing. Magic will say the same thing. Bird will say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late great Wilt. Kareem. I don’t think none of us are going to take somebody else. If there’s a general manager and he’s eyeballing all of us on a baseline, with the No. 1 pick, it’s gonna be hard not to take me, champ.”

TIME

NBA: Victor Wembanyama (41 PTS, 24 REB)'s WCF debut masterclass! Joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to record 40+ PTS and 20+ REB in their Conference Finals debut Joins David Robinson as the only players in Spurs franchise history to record 40+ PTS and 20+ REB in a postseason game NBA Conference Finals presented by @Google

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You were a teammate of Kobe Bryant, who had an 81-point performance prior to your arrival. Bam Adebayo recently surpassed this with an 83-point game. How impressive was that? Metta World Peace: I was very happy for him. I was super impressed. As I read more articles and heard a lot of the noise around it, it kind of diluted the emotion and excitement around it. It seemed like everyone was just talking about the free throws and the and-ones. He had 31 points in the first quarter. That’s crazy. At that point, you have to go for it. Once you score 30 in one quarter, if you score another 30 soon after, you’re already at 60. The Washington Wizards could’ve done something about it, but they couldn’t stop him. You can’t blame Bam for going for it. I would’ve done the same. Foul me all you want and give me the free throws if I have a chance to pass Kobe Bryant and be right behind Wilt Chamberlain. That’s an incredible achievement.

Hard Rock Bet

ESPN Insights: LeBron James recorded his 20th career 20-point double-double when facing elimination, tying Wilt Chamberlain for most in NBA history 🔥

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