Right, Born: Cherry says that Reed, a prolific mid-range shooter, was a bad matchup for Chamberlain. [71] Much like later center Shaquille O'Neal, Chamberlain would be fouled intentionally, and was a target of criticism because of it. [98][99] Chamberlain also recorded then the most points in a triple-double. [1] He was a frail child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years and missing a whole year of school as a result. [10][11], Chamberlain led the team to two city championships, and over three seasons Overbrook logged a 563 win-loss record. He did not have the patience. Many of those moments were in Philly, where he spent four seasons (1964-68), won regular season MVP three out of those four seasons and led the team . Chamberlain trained with Cus d'Amato but later backed out, withdrawing the much-publicized challenge,[119] by way of a contractual escape clause that predicated the AliChamberlain match on Ali beating Joe Frazier in a fight scheduled for early 1971, which became Ali's first professional loss, enabling Chamberlain to legally withdraw from the bout. He chose to attend the University of Kansas, making his college basketball debut in 1956 with the Jayhawks, and leading the team to the NCAA finals in 1957. The 1961-62 season is the greatest single season that didn't result in an NBA championship ever. [j] Chamberlain capped off his rookie season with a selection to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, winning the All-Star Game and the All-Star Game MVP award with a 23-point, 25-rebound performance. "Wilt was one of the greatest ever, and we will never see another like him," said basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jackson forced a jump ball on the rebound, and the Sixers won the championship. Do you have a sports website? Wilt has been retired for nearly 13 years now. When Chamberlain died in 1999, Chamberlain's nephew stated that Russell was the second person to whom he was ordered to break the news. 13 was retired by the Globetrotters. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? [14], During summer vacations, Chamberlain worked as a bellhop at Kutsher's Hotel. Both Hall of Famers would retire at the end of the 1972-73 season. Chamberlain's Lakers coach Bill Sharman said: "First he was a scorer. [52] In his fourth game, Philadelphia met the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics of Hall-of-Fame coach Auerbach, whose offer he had snubbed several years before, and Bill Russell, who was lauded as one of the best defensive pivots in the game. Now, over 20 years after his death in 1999 and almost 50 years since the end of his playing career in 1973, we're still trying to unravel the myths from the truth. "[187] Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 14.2 and outrebounded him 28.2 to 22.9 in the regular season, and he outscored him 25.7 to 14.9 and outrebounded him 28 to 24.7 in the playoffs as well. Peterson had stated that she had blamed herself and was almost "convinced that I was a very bad person for letting that happen", until the Me Too movement made her rethink the experience. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [19] Overbrook won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 7860; in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again. [87] Cherry is critical of Chamberlain because, while conceding he was the only Sixers player who performed in the series, he says his unprofessional, egotistical behavior set a bad example for his teammates.[86]. In Game 6, in which Chamberlain recorded 18 rebounds and 4 assists but only 8 points, the Celtics won 9990. Jack Ramsay recalled that Chamberlain regularly took walks in downtown Philadelphia and acknowledged honking horns with the air of a man enjoying all the attention. In Game 4, the shorthanded Lakers were no match for New York. [89] Jerry West called him a "complex very nice person",[208] and NBA rival Jack McMahon even said: "The best thing that happened to the NBA is that God made Wilt a nice person he could have killed us all with his left hand. What did Wilt Chamberlain average? College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. Then with our great Laker team in 1972, he concentrated on the defensive end." ", "Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Lakers recap", "ESPN's 'SportsCentury' Goes Back-Back-Back", "Top N. American athletes of the century", "Daily Dime: Special Edition The game's greatest giants ever", "Ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time: Nos. "[110], The lack of a second guard next to West, and the lack of speed and quickness, concerned coach Butch van Breda Kolff. [40] Because KU came second in the league and at the time only conference winners were invited to the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks' season ended. [137] Chamberlain claimed that at least part of the reason for leaving the Lakers was that he believed he had the right to renegotiate his contract after winning the 1971-72 NBA championship, and was upset that the Lakers did not contact him until September 1972, and in the meantime were trying to acquire UCLA star center Bill Walton, who ultimately decided to return to school for the 1972-73 season. [150] He had been working on the screenplay notes for over a year at the time of his death. [84] For the fifth time in seven years, Russell's team deprived Chamberlain of the title. Russell regularly feared being embarrassed by Chamberlain,[43] and Walt Frazier called his dominance on the court "comical". 13 retired by the Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers. He eventually reached his full height of a staggering 7'1" tall. [106] Prior to Game 5, the Sixers seemed poised to win the series, as no NBA team had overcome a 31 deficit before;[106] however, the Celtics rallied back, winning the next two games 122104 and 114106, respectively, powered by a spirited John Havlicek and helped by the Sixers' bad shooting. Kobe was able to score more points faster than Chamberlain because he's such a good outside shooter and had an opportunity to score more points per shot than Chamberlain did. Chamberlain ultimately won two NBA championships, four regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one Finals MVP award, and one All-Star Game MVP award, and he was selected to thirteen All-Star Games and ten All-NBA Teams (seven First and three Second teams). That Would Be An NBA Record By A Margin of 3.3 Blocks", "Wilt Chamberlain on Sidelines as Conquistadors win 121-106", "Until his dying day, Wilt was invincible", "Chamberlain biopic has Canuck coproducer", "Chamberlain Was Seeing Heart Specialist, Taking Medication", "STD's, Cardiomyopathy and Wilt Chamberlain", "The day Wilt Chamberlain, NBA legend, died at 63 in 1999", "Agent says Chamberlain had congestive heart failure", "Reaction to a basketball legend's death", "The NBA's true greatest player of all time, Wilt Chamberlain", "The Greatest NBA Player of All-Time: Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlain? After his retirement, Chamberlain explored other opportunities. [62] Because Chamberlain played in overtime games, he averaged more minutes per game than the regulation 48 and would have reached the 3,890-minute mark if he had not been ejected in one game after picking up a second technical foul with eight minutes left to play.[66]. He took the game so seriously that he threw up in the locker room before almost every game. [108], On July 9, 1968, the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sixers was completed, making it the first time a reigning NBA MVP was traded the next season. He is also the only one to average 50 points in a season, or to gather 55 rebounds in a game. Wilt Chamberlain, arguably the most dominant player in the history of basketball, . [38], Twenty-three teams were selected to play in the 1957 NCAA basketball tournament. In 1982, the Sixers tried to lure 45-year-old Chamberlain out of retirement after he was out of the league for nine seasons. According to Flynn Robinson, after the record-setting streak, Lakers owner Cooke sought to reward each of his players, who were expecting perhaps a trip to Hawaii, with a $5 pen set. Still sporting the trademark shaved head, wide smile and infectious laugh that made him a pop culture icon for decades, on Feb. 15, 2008, Curly became just the fifth Globetrotter in the team's illustrious history to have his jersey number retired, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Marques Haynes, Meadowlark Lemon and Goose Tatum. The matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar was hailed by Life as the greatest matchup in all of sports. [14] The Panthers comfortably won the Public League title after again beating Northeast in a game in which Chamberlain scored 40 points, and later won the city title by defeating South Catholic 7450. [134] In that series, the Lakers started off with a 115112 win, but the Knicks won Games 2 and 3; things worsened when West again injured his hamstring. Coach Hannum once suggested he shoot his famous fadeaway jumper as a free throw, but Chamberlain feared drawing more attention to his one great failing. After his . "[10] Gottlieb coaxed Chamberlain back into the NBA, sweetening his return with a salary raise to $65,000,[58][l], Chamberlain's 196061 NBA season started with a 42-point and 31-rebound performance in a 133123 road win against the Syracuse Nationals. Julius Erving had his no. Center [92] Chamberlain, who contributed with 17.7 points and 28.7 rebounds per game against Thurmond, never failing to snare at least 23 rebounds in the six games,[94] said: "It is wonderful to be a part of the greatest team in basketball being a champion is like having a big round glow inside of you. "My sergeant [vertical leap] was higher than Michael . Retired on November 9, 1983 in honor of Wilt Chamberlain, a member of the 1971-72 championship team that won an NBA record 33 consecutive games and a then-NBA record 69 . [38], Chamberlain was named first-team All-American. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point. In Game 5, the valiant but injured West and Hairston had bad games, and the Lakers lost the game 10293 and the series 32, despite Chamberlain scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. In the playoffs, the Sixers again battled the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals and held home-court advantage. [111], In the playoffs, the Lakers dispatched 42 Chamberlain's old club, the San Francisco Warriors, after losing the first two games, and then defeated the Atlanta Hawks, and met Chamberlain's familiar rivals, Russell's Boston Celtics. Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records, so many that it led former teammate Billy Cunningham to remark The NBA Guide reads like Wilt's personal diary." He holds numerous NBA regular season records in scoring, rebounding, and durability categories; and blocks were not counted during his career. He also holds the record for most points in a single game (aiming for a double-double), with 50. Wilt is easy to hate people came to see him lose. [32][e] Inbounding the ball over the backboard was banned because of Chamberlain. [10], The rookie Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. [152][153] His condition deteriorated rapidly in 1999 and he lost fifty pounds (23kg). [82] After defeating the Cincinnati Royals led by his fellow All-American Robertson in the playoffs, the Sixers met Chamberlain's familiar rival, the Boston Celtics. [117], After the playoffs, Chamberlain challenged heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali to a fight. As of 2019, he is the first and the only player in NBA history to record 50 points and 35 rebounds in an NBA playoff game. [110] While he was on cordial terms with West, he often argued with team captain Baylor, later explaining in regard to Baylor: "We were good friends, but [in] black culture you never let the other guy one-up you. [62][10] In addition, the formerly egotistical Chamberlain began to praise his teammates, lauding hardworking Lucious Jackson as the "ultimate power forward", calling Greer a deadly jump-shooter, and Jones an excellent defender and outsider scorer. [45] One particular Globetrotter skit involved captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground, and instead of helping him up, Chamberlain threw him several feet high up in the air and caught him like a doll. The Philadelphia 76ers followed in March 1991 and the Golden State Warriors retired it . In retrospect, Gottlieb remarked: "My mistake was not getting a strong-handed coach. 101", "The NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, ranked: Where 76 basketball legends check in on our list", "NBA 75: Top 75 NBA players of all time, from MJ and LeBron to Lenny Wilkens", "Chat Transcript: Celtics Legend Bill Russell", "Wilt was Philadelphia's greatest athlete", "N.B.A. [12] When million-dollar contracts became common in the NBA, Chamberlain increasingly felt he had been underpaid during his career. He was 50 years old at the time, and the New Jersey Nets were actually going to offer him a contract for the last few games of their season and postseason. "[38] KU won 7365 in overtime, after which police had to escort the Jayhawks out. [166][167][168] Decades after his record, many NBA teams did not even average 100 points.[t]. Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points a game in his career, including a record 50.4 in the 1961-62 season with Philadelphia. [154] After undergoing dental surgery in the week before his death, he was in great pain and seemed unable to recover from the stress. [10] Celtics forward Heinsohn said: "Half the fouls against him were hard fouls he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever. The two would later develop an intense rivalry and personal antipathy. According to sportswriter Roland Lazenby, a journalist close to the Lakers, Chamberlain was angry at Kosloff for breaking the alleged ChamberlainRichman deal. [i] In comparison, the previous top earner was Bob Cousy of the Celtics with $25,000, the same figure Eddie Gottlieb used to buy the Warriors franchise in 1952. [112] During the ninth game, he had a serious knee injury, suffering a total rupture of the patellar tendon at the base of his right kneecap,[113] and he missed the next several months before appearing in the final three games of the 82-game regular season, the first season in which he failed to reach 20 rebounds per game. Wilt was one of the greatest ever, and we will never see another like him. [26], In his 2004 biography of Chamberlain Wilt: Larger than Life, Robert Allen Cherry describes that Chamberlain wanted a change and did not want to be near Philadelphia, also eliminating New York City, was not interested in New England, and snubbed the South because of racial segregation; this left the Midwest as Chamberlain's probable choice. [12] In an April 1965 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chamberlain conducted an interview titled "My Life in a Bush League" where he criticized his fellow players, coaches, and NBA administrators. During his NBA career, Chamberlain committed few fouls despite his rugged play in the post, and he never fouled out of a regular-season or playoff game in his 14-year NBA career. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. [111] Going into the NBA Finals as 3-to-1 favorites, the Lakers won the first two games but dropped the next two. [34] Offensive goaltending, or basket interference, was also introduced as a rule in 1956, after Bill Russell had exploited it at San Francisco and Chamberlain was soon to enter college play. In 1959, Chamberlain played his first professional game in New York City against the Knicks, scoring 43 points. Find out more. In his first NBA season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds, convincingly breaking the previous regular-season records as a rookie. [163], The comparison between the two is often simplified to a great player (Chamberlain) versus a player who makes his team great (Russell), an individualist against a team player. Chamberlain was regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time as the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 points during his professional career. The last time being in 1989, when Wilt was 55 years old! He once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book. But Chamberlain didn't mind "The Big Dipper," or "Dipper," a nickname given to him by friends because he had to duck his head when passing through a doorframe. Jones. When he became a Laker, Chamberlain built a million-dollar mansion in Bel-Air named after Ursa Major, as a play on his nickname "The Big Dipper". [86], Off the court, Chamberlain's commitment to the team was doubted, as Chamberlain was a late sleeper, lived in New York City, preferring to commute to Philadelphia rather than live there, and he was only available during the afternoon for training. Coach Schayes called timeout and decided it would be unwise to pass the ball to Chamberlain, because he feared the Celtics would intentionally foul him. [10] He was listed as 7ft 1in (2.16m) tall and 258 pounds. He also twice made All-Defensive First Team. [56] The teams split the first two games, but Chamberlain got fed up with Heinsohn and punched him during Game 3. Go back in time and learn about Wilt Chamberlain's early years growing up, and early years in the NBA. Wilt Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [69][70] In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title. and "The tree will fall! He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot-putted 56 feet, triple jumped more than 50 feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight Conference track and field championships three straight years. On March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points;[67] he shot 36 of 63 from the field and made 28 of 32 free throws against the New York Knicks. He could talk on any subject. Chamberlain retired from the NBA after the 1973 season however he still remained very close to basketball. [210], During most of his NBA career, Chamberlain was good friends with Bill Russell. He also made several film and television appearances, as well as hosted his own talk show. Red Kerr set a pick on Sam Jones to free Chet Walker. home/away, monthly, etc More Wilt Chamberlain Basketball Reference pages, Compare Wilt Chamberlain to other players. [Johnston] wasn't ready for big time. In that year, Chamberlain set several all-time records which have never been threatened, as he averaged 50.4 points and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game. [95], In the 196768 NBA season, matters continued to turn sour between Chamberlain and Kosloff, the Sixers' sole surviving owner. [106], The loss meant that Chamberlain was 16 in playoff series against the Celtics. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. ", Chamberlain is regarded as one of the most extraordinary and dominant basketball players in the history of the NBA,[41][5][10] often being debated as the greatest NBA player of all time even ahead of Michael Jordan. 22 retired by both the Trail Blazers and Rockets. Returning to his hometown in 1965, Chamberlain joined the Philadelphia 76ers. [158] On-court rival and personal friend Bill Russell stated, "the fierceness of our competition bonded us together for eternity. After two years at Kansas, a frustrated Chamberlain wanted to go pro, but the NBA didn't allow players to join the league until their graduating class had been completed. [47], In 2015, a man named Aaron Levi came forward claiming to be Chamberlain's son based on non-identifying papers from his adoption and information from his biological mother. Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a family of nine children, the son of Olivia Ruth Johnson, a domestic worker and homemaker, and William Chamberlain, a welder, custodian, and handyman. Accessorizing: Supersize My Ride", "A Full-Court Press to Regain Late Basketball Great's Items", "Sexual claim transformed perception of Wilt", "A Giant Shadow: Did Wilt Chamberlain have a son? He had played in 1,045 games and achieved an average of 30.1 points per gamethe NBA points-per-game record until Michael Jordan broke it in 1998. 1936 Eventually he dropped her off at 6 am the next morning. The dimensions of the game are fixed and unchanging, comfortable and understandable. [80], Statistically, Chamberlain was again outstanding, posting 34.7 points and 22.9 rebounds per game overall for the season. . Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1-inch star of the . Levi may be living proof", "Elvira's Cassandra Peterson Accuses NBA Pro Wilt Chamberlain of Sexual Assault: 'I Kept That a Secret', "Elvira accuses basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain of sexual abuse", 4th-quarter radio broadcast of Chamberlain's 100-point game, How Chamberlain's 100-point game almost went unrecorded, Image of Chamberlain making a dunk during a Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks game in 1971, 1957 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, 1958 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Wayland Baptist Women's Teams (19481982), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilt_Chamberlain&oldid=1142545797, All-American college men's basketball players, American Basketball Association announcers, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, National Basketball Association All-Stars, National Basketball Association broadcasters, National Basketball Association players with retired numbers, Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Career statistics and player information from, Career statistics and coach information from, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 01:04. For Abdul-Jabbar, 75, the hubbub over his pursuit of Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record nearly 39 years ago was little more than a distraction in the final weeks of the 1983-84 regular season . His 76ers went 68-13 (in only an 81-game season then), and then his Lakers team broke it with 69-13 (as the NBA had added one game to make it 82 games a season), including a st. That March, he became the first NBA player to score 100 points in a game, setting a league record for the highest number of points scored in a single game (which he still holds today). Cherry notes that there was a certain tension within the team, as Greer was the formerly undisputed leader and was not willing to give up his authority, and Jackson, a talented center, was now forced to play power forward because Chamberlain occupied the center spot; however, as the season progressed, the three began to mesh better.