{"id":2067422,"date":"2026-07-29T13:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2067422"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:34:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:34:04","slug":"valuable-lebron-james-wilt-chamberlain-finds-highlight-rewards-for-savvy-memorabilia-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2067422","title":{"rendered":"Valuable LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain finds highlight rewards for savvy memorabilia buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nothing beats finding a bargain. Doing so in the sports collectibles world these days, with more attention and money pouring into the industry than ever before, makes unearthing a deal particularly thrilling. And lucrative.<\/p>\n

Quinn Brown, a 19-year-old professional thrifter from Portland, Ore., spotted a Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket bearing Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>\u2019s name on the back in a local Goodwill store and knew it was worth buying at just $3.07. He then took the jacket to Sports Investor Authentication (SIA) Photo Match, which identified that Chamberlain wore it during the 1972 NBA Finals. Brown then turned around and sold the jacket through Sotheby\u2019s for $89,600 last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The discovery of a LeBron James 2022 All-Star Game jersey<\/a> interrupted the Chamberlain hubbub. Sold on eBay for $800<\/a>, the jersey was listed as \u201cused\u201d but made no mention that it was used by James himself in the actual NBA All-Star Game. After being photo-matched\u00a0 \u2014 a process wherein experts compare identifying details such as unique scuff marks or stitching imperfections to player photos from a particular event \u2014 to the jersey James wore in that All-Star Game, memorabilia experts told The Athletic<\/em> the eBay find should sell for at least in the $140,000 range, with the possibility of a $250,000 price point.<\/p>\n

For someone as seasoned as Chris Ivy, the director of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions, it\u2019s a lesson in always keeping your eyes wide open as a collector.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll get these stories from time to time where somebody gets something super cheap and has no idea what it\u2019s worth and then all of a sudden it\u2019s worth six figures, seven figures,\u201d Ivy said. \u201cThat\u2019s the fun part of collecting is that it\u2019s that treasure hunt. It\u2019s (the) thrill (of the) chase that\u2019s so fun for collectors, and there are deals to be had out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Brahm Wachter, head of modern collectibles for Sotheby\u2019s, said memorabilia discoveries like the Chamberlain and James items happen \u201cmore than you think, but not quite at that level,\u201d particularly the $3 Chamberlain piece.<\/p>\n

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Wachter pointed to an example of a pair of custom gold Air Jordans originally made for Spike Lee that were discovered at a rescue mission for the homeless in Portland (lesson: start searching for things around Portland!) then sold through Sotheby\u2019s for more than $50,000 in 2023 to benefit the charity. Ivy highlighted a West Point sweater worn by Vince Lombardi found at Goodwill and then sold at Heritage for $43,000 in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see a lot of stories of people buying something from an auction house and it\u2019s labeled as a certain date,\u201d Wachter said. \u201cBut maybe it was actually worn in a variety of other games, including an important game that they missed.\u2029Do I see an apples to apples where somebody spends $3.07 and that then (a Chamberlain jacket type sale) happens all the time? I don\u2019t see that a lot. But I do see situations where things are mislabeled and sold under market all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The description for the James jersey simply read: \u201cJordan NBA All-Star Game LeBron James #6 Basketball Jersey Gray Size 54.\u201d It sold for a buy-it-now price of $800 on June 10. There was certainly no guarantee that this jersey might have been one simply bought off a rack at a retailer somewhere and worn by a fan. The buyer then had the jersey photo-matched<\/a> to one James wore during the 2022 NBA All-Star game and now it\u2019s suddenly worth far more than $800.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a collector for the stuff that I\u2019m interested in and the material that I collect, I go through every auction that opens up because something could have been written that they weren\u2019t exactly sure what it was or what kind of significance it had,\u201d Ivy said. \u201cI certainly recommend all collectors go through and see what\u2019s available at every sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wilt and LeBron memorabilia<\/div>\n

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The circumstances surrounding the Chamberlain warmup jacket involve not one, but possibly two bargains.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s discovery of the jacket at Goodwill flashes as the headline-grabbing hook. A near $90,000 hammer price on a $3.07 buy wins the day. But the buyer of last week\u2019s Sotheby\u2019s auction may have walked away with his own steal, even though he paid for more than Brown did.<\/p>\n

The auction house estimated the Chamberlain jacket to be worth between $150,000 and $250,000. David Kohler, a Lakers super collector<\/a> who happens to be the president of his own sports memorabilia auction house, SCP Auctions, had the winning bid at less than $90,000.<\/p>\n

Kohler believes his purchase of the Chamberlain jacket was \u201cabsolutely\u201d a bargain. As for Sotheby\u2019s, the auction house basically said that\u2019s the nature of the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur market, it\u2019s really amazing, but it\u2019s just like any other market,\u201d Wachter said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like some days, the stock prices might go up or down. The same is true of Will Chamberlain\u2019s warmup. The reality is we see a wide variation in our market from sale to sale.\u2029It\u2019s just part of being in any market.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Kohler, this isn\u2019t the first \u201cfind\u201d of his Lakers collection he thought was a bargain.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was over 25 years ago and I\u2019m just searching eBay one day and someone had a Jerry West blue and white full (Lakers) uniform, with the shorts, from the mid \u201960s,\u201d Kohler said. \u201c\u2029I\u2019ve never seen another one. And they had it up on eBay for starting at like $100. I look at this thing and all the pictures. I\u2019m like, \u2018This thing is real. Even back then, I would have paid $50,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kohler saw the bid at $8,000 for the West uniform and placed a maximum bid of $30,000. He ended up unknowingly beating out a friend for the jersey, winning the auction at $18,000. The reaction when West himself visited Kohler\u2019s Lakers shrine seemed more than worth the price he paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cJerry visited a few times,\u201d Kohler said. \u201cHe came in the first time he visited, he saw the jersey that I\u2019m talking about. He looked at me and he goes, \u2018Where did you find that?\u2019 I said, \u2018On eBay?\u2019 He goes \u2018Really?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing beats finding a bargain. Doing so in the sports collectibles world these days, with more attention and money pouring into the industry than ever before, makes unearthing a deal particularly thrilling. And lucrative. Quinn Brown, a 19-year-old professional thrifter from Portland, Ore., spotted a Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket bearing Wilt Chamberlain\u2019s name on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2067422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2067422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2067422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2067422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2067422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}