Basketball Shirt Bought for $3 at a Thrift Store Could Be Worth a Quarter Million Dollars

A 19-year-old American teenager is on the verge of a life-changing payday. Quinn Brown from Portland, Oregon, bought a vintage warm-up jacket for $3.07 at a local thrift store - and it turns out to be a rare piece of basketball history.

The yellow short-sleeve jacket bears the name "Chamberlain." It belonged to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain of the LA Lakers. Brown saw another customer holding it at the store, but when that person put it back, he snatched it immediately.

Brown makes money selling vintage finds and knew immediately he had something special. After sharing his suspicions on Instagram, auction house Sotheby's reached out. An armored van picked up the jacket and brought it to experts.

By comparing tiny details with old photographs, they confirmed it was a training jacket Chamberlain wore during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. It appears in a photo from the 1972 playoffs, the year Chamberlain's Lakers finally won the title after 15 seasons, beating the Knicks. The game-worn jersey from that championship sold for $4.9 million three years ago.

Sotheby's calls it a unique item - Chamberlain retired in 1973, meaning no more game-worn garments would ever be produced. Bidding started at $12,000, but estimates suggest it could reach $250,000.

Brown hopes the sale lets him retire at 19. "I did this because I enjoyed it. I never expected anything like this," he says. The thrift store that sold it is happy for him, calling his story "the perfect example of treasure hunting."