Russell's teams won all four series-deciding seventh games against Chamberlain's; by a combined margin of nine points. The man was 6-foot-8 and weighed 220 pounds. Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia Warriors, holding a sign reading "100" in the dressing room in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962, after he scored 100 points as the Warriors defeated the New York . At first, Chamberlain was not interested in basketball because he thought it was "a game for sissies". [207], Cherry says that although Chamberlain was an egotist, he had good relationships with many contemporaries and enjoyed a great deal of respect. Initially, Sharman wanted Chamberlain and West to share this duty, but West declined, stating he was injury-prone and wanted to solely concentrate on the game. Red Kerr set a pick on Sam Jones to free Chet Walker. He eventually reached his full height of a staggering 7'1" tall. Still, his feats as a player were not forgotten. 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. [56] Chamberlain broke eight NBA records, and he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season. In Game 2, which the Lakers won 10692, Chamberlain put Lucas into foul trouble, and the Knicks lost defensive power forward Dave DeBusschere to injury. Prior to Game 3, things became even worse for the Lakers when Erickson, West's stand-in, had an appendectomy and was out for the season. [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. With 10 seconds remaining, Tar Heels' center Joe Quigg pump faked then drove to the basket. Renowned for his strength, he appeared as the antagonist in the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Conan the Destroyer. [85] Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image. During his retirement, Wilt pursued various business ventures, such as a well-known chain of sports bars. 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. "[137] The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent but often indifferent and more occupied with promotion of his autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door than with coaching. He led the NBA in scoring seven times, field goal percentage nine times, minutes played eight times, rebounding eleven times, and assists once. He won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine durability, and nine field goal percentage titles; and he once led the league in assists. "[162] He was a scoring champion, all-time top rebounder, and accurate field goal shooter. [126], Jazz composer Thad Jones named the music composition "Big Dipper" after Chamberlain. After several Tar Heel turnovers, the game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation.[38]. In the 198081 NBA season, coach Larry Brown recalled that the 45-year-old Chamberlain had received an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers. . and "The tree will fall! [158] On-court rival and personal friend Bill Russell stated, "the fierceness of our competition bonded us together for eternity. [38] Leading a talented squad of starters, including Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, Ron Lonesky, and Lew Johnson, the Jayhawks went 131 until they lost a game 5654 versus the Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team holding the ball the last three and a half minutes without any intention of scoring a basket, which was still possible in the days before the shot clock (introduced 1984 in the NCAA). The 15-round bout would have taken place on July 26, 1971, in the Houston Astrodome. Before retiring, Chamberlain earned three MVP trophies, including Finals MVP and two NBA titles, in addition to MVP and Rookie of the Year. In all, he claimed 60 athletes with aspirations of expanding to 100. 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In addition to Chamberlain's regular-season accomplishments, he scored 42 points in the All-Star Game. Wilt was one of the greatest ever, and we will never see another like him. There is no way you can compare him to a pro like a Bill Russell or a Jerry Westthese are clutch competitors.[190], Chamberlain's main weakness was his notoriously poor free-throw shooting, a .511 career average, the third lowest in NBA history, with a low of .380 over the 196768 season. The Big Dipper participated in pickup games regularly, going well into his 40s and played against many of the . At the time of his final substitution, he had scored 18 points (hitting seven of his eight shots) and grabbed 27 rebounds, significantly better than the 10 points of Counts on 4-of-13 shooting. This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Outwardly, Schayes defended him as "excused from practice", while his teammates knew the truth and were much less forgiving. [88] Concerning basketball, he persuaded him to change his style of play. At the top of his game, Chamberlain was selected for the All-NBA first team for three consecutive years: 1960, 1961 and 1962. Wilt Chamberlain scored over 50 points a game in the '61-'62 NBA season and did not win the MVP, instead Bill Russell did. The Sixers won the first two games, with Chamberlain and Greer taking credit for defense and clutch shooting, respectively, but San Francisco won two of the next three games, so Philadelphia was up 32 prior to Game 6. [69][70] In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title. He could talk on any subject. "[86] In Game 3, he scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for the road win. What did Wilt Chamberlain average? 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. [18] He has been retroactively honored as Mr. Basketball USA for 1955, the earliest such selection. Teammate Monte Johnson stated that Chamberlain had "unbelievable endurance and speed and was never tired. He was also once league president, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. Winning the regular season with 66 wins, the Bucks were seen as favorites against the depleted Lakers; still, many pundits were looking forward to the matchup between the 34-year-old Chamberlain and the 24-year-old Alcindor. His intention was that the Celtics would throw the ball in so fast that the prolific shot-blocker Chamberlain was not yet back under his own basket, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. Philadelphia Warriors, 1st round (3rd pick, 3rd overall), 1959 NBA Draft (territorial selection), Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1979 (Full List), More Wilt Chamberlain pages at Sports Reference. Having never fouled out in his career, a feat that he was very proud of, Chamberlain played aggressive defense despite the risk of fouling out, and blocked two of Lucas' shots in overtime, proving those wrong who said he only played for his own statistics; he ended scoring a game-high 27 points. . Chamberlain was known to sportswriters by several nicknames during his playing career, calling attention to his great height since his high school days. [110] Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". "[111], In the 196970 NBA season, Chamberlain began the season under new coach Joe Mullaney strongly, averaging 32.2 points and 20.6 rebounds per game over the first nine games of the season. [130] West called it "the greatest ball-busting performance I have ever seen". Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Chamberlain had a history of cardiovascular disease, and was briefly hospitalized in 1992 for an irregular heartbeat. 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 . As Chamberlain's sister refused to provide DNA evidence for testing, Levi's claim is not conclusive. [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. [12] Specifically, according to the 2 year contract that Chamberlain had signed prior to the 1971-72 season, if he failed to sign and mail back his next contract his contract with the Lakers would be deemed to be renewed. He achieved an average of 30.1 points per game over his career and holds several records, including for most points scored in one season (4,029) and most points scored in a single game (100). [41] In that season, Chamberlain again dominated his opposition by recording 33.5 points and 24.6 rebounds a game, leading the league in both categories. [140], Barred from playing, Chamberlain mostly left the coaching duties to his assistant Stan Albeck, who recalled: "Chamberlain has a great feel for pro basketball the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball just bored him. [35], Chamberlain's prospects of playing under Allen ended when the coach turned 70 shortly after and retired in accordance with KU regulations. Scoring 35 points, Chamberlain led Overbrook to an 8342 victory. [111] Cherry comments that some journalists reported how Game 7 destroyed two careers: "Wilt's because he wouldn't take over and Van Breda Kolff because he wouldn't give in. Chamberlain also made history by becoming the only center in NBA history to finish the season as the leader in assists, his 702 beating runner-up point guard and future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens' total by 23. Standing at 6'11" tall at the time, Chamberlain physically dominated other players. Chamberlain spent the night before the game in New York, partying all night with a woman. Cherry doubts whether Chamberlain would have chosen KU if he had known that Allen was going to retire. [83] The two teams split the first six games and the last game was held in the Celtics' Boston Garden because of the better season record. [126] Furthermore, he told Chamberlain to use his rebounding and passing skills to quickly initiate fastbreaks to his teammates. He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, and elected to the NBA's 35th, 50th, and 75th anniversary teams. [65] Additionally, he was on the hardwood for an average of 48.53 minutes, playing 3,882 of his team's 3,890 minutes. Wilt didn't sleep the night before he scored 100. Although Abdul-Jabbar idolized him as a teenager and was once part of his inner circle,[79] the studentmentor bond deteriorated into intense mutual loathing, especially after Chamberlain retired. [114], In the 197071 NBA season, the Lakers made a notable move by signing future Hall-of-Fame guard Gail Goodrich, who came back from the Suns after playing for the Lakers until 1968. Wilt Chamberlain improved his previously dismal free throw percentage (barely 50%) by throwing underhand (granny) style, hitting 28/32 in the famous game where he scored 100 point. Chamberlain feared he might lose his cool one day. [40] In two seasons at KU, he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game, while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds,[9] and led Kansas to one Big Seven championship. "[110], The lack of a second guard next to West, and the lack of speed and quickness, concerned coach Butch van Breda Kolff. [181], Chamberlain's impact on the game is reflected in the fact that he was directly responsible for several rule changes in the NBA, including widening the lane to try to keep big men farther away from the basket, instituting offensive goaltending, banning dunking to convert free throws, and revising rules governing inbounding the ball, such as making it against the rules to inbound the ball over the backboard. "[131], In the NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks, a team that was shorthanded after losing the 6'9" Reed to injury, and undersized 6'8" Jerry Lucas had the task to defend against the 7'1" Chamberlain. 13 retired by the Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers. ", "Greatness Revisited: Why Wilt Chamberlain Was the Greatest NBA Player Ever", "11 Memorable Wilt Chamberlain Performances", "Are all sports records made to be broken? His former rival Bill Russell told the press that "he and I will be friends through eternity.". [114] Instead, the Lakers gave away their 13-point halftime lead and succumbed to the aggressive Knicks defense, as they committed 19 second-half turnovers, and the two main scorers (Chamberlain and West) shot the ball in the entire second half only three and two times, respectively. 5 in ESPN's list of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team,[180] and No. He said: "There's been a lot of conversationthat I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. [5][155][156] His longtime attorney Sy Goldberg stated Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure. [41] On November 10, 1959, Chamberlain recorded 39 points and a new career-high 43 rebounds in a 126125 win over the visiting Knicks. Chamberlain's Lakers coach Bill Sharman said: "First he was a scorer. Wilt Chamberlain was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1979 (Full List) Chamberlain had a bad relationship with Allen's successor Dick Harp fueled by this disappointment. [36] For many years following Chamberlain's departure from KU, critics also said that he wanted to leave the Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to win a championship. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! [111], After the game, many wondered why Chamberlain sat out the final six minutes. He also led the league in rebounds (24.2), was third in assists (7.8), and played strong defense. . By the time he retired in 1973, Chamberlain had amassed an amazing array of career statistics. [138] The Lakers sued their former star and successfully prevented him from actually playing because he still owed them the option year of his contract. 's western division title series with Milwaukee, he (Chamberlain) decisively outplayed basketball's newest giant superstar, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, eleven years his junior. [185] Chamberlain was named All-NBA First Team seven times to Russell's three, but Russell was named the NBA MVPthen selected by players and not the pressfive times against Chamberlain's four. [142] As a testament to his importance, the IVA All-Star game was televised only because Chamberlain also played in it; he rose to the challenge and was named the game's MVP. [3] However, according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport in 7th grade. He personally preferred "The Big Dipper", which was inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. The Philadelphia 76ers followed in March 1991 and the Golden State Warriors retired it . He once said that "no one cheered for Goliath," but the response to his passing proved that to be false. [147] A result of this resentment was the 1997 book Who's Running the Asylum? [10][11], Chamberlain led the team to two city championships, and over three seasons Overbrook logged a 563 win-loss record. 6 in a similar list by The Athletic. [89] Cherry adds several personal reasons, among them Chamberlain felt he had grown too big for Philadelphia, sought the presence of fellow celebrities, which were plenty in Los Angeles, and finally also desired the opportunity to date white women, which was possible for a black man in Los Angeles but hard to imagine elsewhere back then. [42] Frank Deford of ESPN said that Chamberlain was caught in a no-win situation: "If you win, everybody says, 'Well, look at him, he's that big.' . Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973. In Game 4, Boston won 114108. [26] After visiting KU and conferring with the school's renowned coach Phog Allen, Chamberlain proclaimed that he was going to play college basketball at Kansas. By 197172, at age 35 and running less, his game had transformed to averaging only nine shots per game compared to the 40 in his record-setting 196162 season. [62] He later acknowledged that he was a "psycho case" in this matter. The Midwest Regional was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. He also played for the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the NBA, where he played for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. [122][123] Cooke had offered Chamberlain a record-setting contract on the condition that he agreed to give up what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness". [204], In response to public backlash regarding his promiscuity, Chamberlain later emphasized that "the point of using the number was to show that sex was a great part of my life as basketball was a great part of my life. [106] In a game called "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 127118 on April 5. [42], After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player. [10] Celtics forward Heinsohn said: "Half the fouls against him were hard fouls he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever. 13 in ESPN's list "Top North American Athletes of the Century" in 1999. Because Schayes did not want to risk angering his best player, he scheduled the daily workout at 4 pm. - Celeb Answers; 2 2.Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipedia; 3 3.How a retired Wilt humbled Magic Johnson in a pickup game nearly 4 4.Wilt Chamberlain: Career retrospective - Yardbarker.com; 5 5.Wilt Chamberlain declined Sixers' invitation to come out of 6 6.Legends profile: Wilt Chamberlain . In 1982, the Sixers tried to lure 45-year-old Chamberlain out of retirement after he was out of the league for nine seasons. [189], Although Chamberlain racked up some of the most impressive statistics in the history of Northern American professional sports, Chamberlain was often called selfish and a loser because he won only two NBA championships and lost seven out of eight playoff series against the Celtics teams of his rival Bill Russell. Learn more and register. He retired at the age of 35 after 12 seasons in the NBA. 2 in Slam ' s top 500 NBA players of all time in 2011, In honor of Chamberlain, his jerseys have been retired six times, by Overbrook High . [a] Chamberlain had a natural advantage against his peers; he soon was renowned for his scoring talent, his physical strength, and his shot-blocking abilities. 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. . He led the Christian Street YMCA to the title in the national YMCA tournament in High Point, North Carolina, beating the local favorite and defending champion High Point team 8579. [129], In the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Chicago Bulls, then went on to face the Milwaukee Bucks of young center and regular-season MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor). [211] When Abdul-Jabbar broke his all-time scoring record in 1984, Chamberlain criticized his game and called on him to retire. " the Celtics' eight-year reign as NBA champion had ended. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The only other player to break the 3,000-point barrier is. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He then multiplied that number by the number of days he had been alive at the time minus 15 years. At the time, he stated he had only been beaten in the high jump once, by Olympic champion Charles Dumas, and that he had never been beaten in the shot put, including beating Olympic legend Al Oerter. [184] The two reconciled after two decades, but Chamberlain maintained a level of bitterness, regretted that he had not been "more physical" with Russell in their games, and privately continued accusing his rival for intellectualizing basketball in a negative way. He was named one of the top all-time 50 NBA players in 1996. Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1-inch star of the . [38], Twenty-three teams were selected to play in the 1957 NCAA basketball tournament. [158], Chamberlain is holder of numerous official NBA all-time records. Data Provided By Wilton Norman Chamberlain (/tembrln/; August 21, 1936 October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played at the center position. Chamberlain blocked Quigg's shot but was also called for the foul. Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university, so the Celtics could draft him as an NBA territorial pick, but Chamberlain did not respond. Chamberlain was criticized for his inability to dominate his injured counterpart but Cherry says that his feat, coming back from a career-threatening injury, was too quickly forgotten. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Just Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich share the honor to have their jersey retired by three different teams. The fact that Chamberlain scored 100 points without hitting a single three-pointer is so . [43] At that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed; he decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for a sum of $50,000,[10][12][g] The team enjoyed a sold-out tour of the Soviet Union in 1959. If Chamberlain started having sex at the age of 15, from then up to the age of 55 (when the book was published) he would have had 40 years to sleep with 20,000 women, or 500 different women a year . His impressive debut season netted him several prestigious honors, including the NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Most Valuable Player awards. [61], Chamberlain surpassed his rookie season statistics, as he averaged 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. [71], In the 196263 NBA season, Gottlieb sold the Warriors franchise for $850,000,[o] to a group of businessmen led by Franklin Mieuli from San Francisco and the team relocated to become the San Francisco Warriors under new coach Bob Feerick. The Lakers mounted a comeback, but then Chamberlain twisted his knee after a rebound and had to be replaced by Counts. This caused sports journalist Joe McGinnis to comment: "The Celtics played like champions and the Sixers just played. The two were fierce competitors on the court, but they developed a friendship away from the game. While blocked shots were not an official NBA statistic at that time and would not be officially counted until the season after Chamblerlain's retirement in 1973, reported data for blocked shots in 112 games played by Chamberlain in the 1970s shows he averaged 8.8 blocks per game. A feat matched only by fellow Hall-of-Famer. In the playoffs, the Sixers again battled the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals and held home-court advantage. One night, they got up to 25. He is also the only one to average 50 points in a season, or to gather 55 rebounds in a game. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. [73] With both secondary scorers gone, Chamberlain continued his array of statistical feats, averaging 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds per game that year. [40] Teammate Bob Billings commented: "It was not fun basketball we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth. Several players and publications have argued that Chamberlain is the greatest of all time.