19-year-old buys a Lakers jacket at Goodwill just for $3, now it's worth $250,000

When Quinn Brown walked into the Hillsboro Goodwill, he was looking for the next find. In his line of business, this was the same as any other day. Only moments later, he spotted something he almost didn't get his hands on.

He bought the faded jacket for $3, but now it is worth $250,000! It belonged to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain!A rare findBrown, 19, a Portland resident, wasn’t looking for a payday when he entered the thrift store in January. It was one of his routine treasure hunts. As he was roaming through the store, he noticed a faded gold-and-purple jacket someone had put down. He knew it was valuable, so without a second thought, he picked it.

“He just threw it in front of me, and I immediately grabbed it,” Brown told K8 News.The jacket was selling for just $3.07. He didn’t know he was holding a piece of NBA history, but he was aware that the jacket was a real deal.

The Insta-twist

After the purchase, the teenager clicked a photo of the jacket and posted it on Instagram. The post caught the attention of Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest auction houses. Soon, things accelerated.

The jacket was carefully packed and transported to New York. The auction house got it professionally authenticated through SIA Photo Match. And soon came the good news. The Lakers' warm-up jacket matched the 1972 NBA Finals! Brown knew the NBA Finals jersey was sold for $4.9 million.

“That’s the jersey he wore under my jacket,” he recalled.Sotheby’s traced the photo back to Wilt Chamberlain!

Wilt Chamberlain’s jacket

Brown was surprised to know that he picked an NBA legend’s jacket from a thrift store! The jacket was worn by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972-73 NBA season, his final season in the league.

The jacket is up for auction at Sotheby’s with an estimated value of $150,000 to $250,000.“Quinn’s story is the perfect example of how hunting for treasures at Goodwill is thrilling and, in this instance, just magical,” Hayley Platt, public relations manager for Goodwill Industries, told the media house

When thrifting became a full-time career

Quinn Brown is only 19, he is not a newbie in thrifting. He started to pick thrifted items and resell them while he was still in high school as a junior.

He saw the market had potential, and he could make something solid out of it. After making a decent profit for three years, he turned it in a full-fledged career. So far, Brown has made more than 10,000 sales.His day would start with finding rare gems. Goodwill Outlet bins are always on his list. In a week, he would spend about 15 to 12 hours digging for hidden gems. He surely has an eye for valuable items, and this discovery was one among them.

But Brown likes to call this one purely luck. “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,” the teen said.The bidding for the Chamberlain jacket began on Wednesday and runs through July 20. Brown want to save the proceeds from the auction rather than spend them. He hopes the windfall will help him to retire early.Interestingly enough, the rare find has turned him into a Lakers fan! The youngster is leaning into a Lakers fandom he didn't have much reason to claim before this year. “I am a Lakers fan. I have a Wilt Chamberlain book on my dresser, a Wilt Chamberlain card that was a gift from my friend, and I’m hoping to find some vintage Wilt Chamberlain shirts to wear,” he said.Brown is set to make a fortune on a jacket someone decided to toss away! It is indeed true: One man's trash is another man's treasure!