Wilt Chamberlain

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Wilt Chamberlain
File:Wiltlargerthanlife.jpg
Personal information
BornAugust 21, 1936
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 12, 1999
Los Angeles, California
NationalityUSA
Listed height7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
CollegeKansas
NBA draft1959: 3rd overall
Selected by the Philadelphia Warriors
Playing career1959–1974
PositionCenter
Career highlights and awards
Four-time NBA MVP
Two-time NBA Champion
NBA Finals MVP
Rookie of the Year (1960)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American National Basketball Association basketball player. Known as Wilt the Stilt (a nickname he hated) or The Big Dipper, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most dominant basketball players of all time for the incredible statistical achievements he attained throughout his playing career.

Early life

Chamberlain drew national attention playing at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia (1951-1955), leading his school to City Championships in 1954 and 1955. He scored 90 points, including 60 points in a 10-minute span, against Roxborough High School. He scored 800 points in the first 16 games of his senior year and was named a high-school All-American. He totaled 2,252 points in his high school career.

In July 1954, he was showcased in a Paramount Newsreel, entitled Giant Basketball Sensation, which was exhibited nationally in theaters. The narrator was Marty Glickman, who can be seen with the 17-year-old Chamberlain. Footage of Chamberlain at a resort in Monticello, New York (he was working there as a bellhop for awhile) shows him making a couple of baskets in a small game. The newsreel ends with Glickman prophetically observing, "remember the name (Chamberlain), it will probably make big sports copy for years to come."

He played two years for the University of Kansas (freshmen were then ineligible to play NCAA varsity basketball), where he earned All-American honors twice and led the Jayhawks to the 1957 championship game (which they lost to North Carolina 54-53 in three overtimes).

After a frustrating junior year in which Kansas did not even reach the NCAA Tournament (at the time, teams that had lost their league championship were not invited), he decided to turn pro, citing that he wanted to be paid for being double- and triple-teamed every night. Chamberlain was contracted to the Philadelphia Warriors, who had picked him in 1955 as a territorial pick. However, he was ineligible to play in the NBA until his college class graduated in 1959. In the interim, he played a season with the Harlem Globetrotters. When Chamberlain played with the Trotters, coach Abe Saperstein had the dilemma of having two great centers, Meadowlark Lemon, the undisputed "Clown Prince" of the 'Trotters, and Chamberlain. Saperstein settled upon an original approach—playing Wilt as point guard, which allowed him to show off his shooting, passing, and penetration skills. The seven-foot-one Chamberlain was possibly the tallest starting point guard ever to play on such a high level. (Reference: Spinning the Globe, the book on the Trotters). After that season, he was listed as the third pick in the NBA Draft but was actually a territorial pick.

NBA career

Philadelphia Warriors/San Francisco Warriors

In his first year with the Warriors (1960), Chamberlain led the league in scoring, averaging 37.6 points per game, and rebounding with 27.0 per game. In the NBA All-Star Game, he was named Most Valuable Player after scoring 23 points and grabbing 25 rebounds during the East's victory over the West. He also became the first of two players (with Wes Unseld, 1969) to be named MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. With Chamberlain in the pivot, Warriors improved from a last place division finish in the 1958-59 season to the second best record in the NBA. The Warriors, however, would lose to the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals that year, in what would become a repeated occurrence in Chamberlain's career.

Since the Celtics were in the same Eastern Division as the Warriors, Chamberlain and his teammates could not even reach the NBA Finals without finding a way to beat them. The Boston Celtics were in the midst of their legendary run of winning 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons.

However, Chamberlain established himself as one of the greatest players of all time. In his first five years, his regular-season stats read 37.6 points / 27.0 rebounds per game (1960), 38.4 ppg / 27.2 rpg (1961), 50.4 ppg / 25.7 rpg (1962), 44.8 ppg / 24.3 rpg (1963), 36.9 ppg / 22.3 rpg (1964) and 38.9 ppg / 23.5 rpg (1965). As of yet, the closest player other than Chamberlain himself to average as many points per game was Elgin Baylor who averaged 38.3 in that same season. The next best rebounding performance from a player other than Wilt was Bill Russell with 24.7.

In 1963, the Warriors relocated to San Francisco, and in 1964 Chamberlain and the San Francisco Warriors lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. After that season, Chamberlain was traded back to Philadelphia, where the Syracuse Nationals had recently moved to become the 76ers.

Philadelphia 76ers

Back in the Eastern Division, Chamberlain and the 76ers' drive to the finals was thwarted by the Celtics' on-going dynasty. The Eastern Conference Finals that year came down to the final seconds of Game 7, when the Celtics won by one point with a legendary play: when the 76ers' Hal Greer attempted to pass the ball inbounds, John Havlicek stole it to preserve the Celtics' lead.

Chamberlain was the centerpiece of the formidable 1967 76ers team that included future Hall of Famers Greer and Billy Cunningham, as well as noted players Chet Walker and Luke Jackson. The team roared through its first 50 games at 46-4, en route to setting a (then) record 68 regular-season wins. In the playoffs, they finally knocked off the Celtics (to end their title streak at eight) before going on to capture the NBA title (Chamberlain's first) by defeating the San Francisco Warriors in six games. In that series, Chamberlain scored a relatively modest 17.7 points per game, but snared an incredible 28.7 rebounds per game. In fact, his worst rebounding game in that series was Game 6 with 23. His board-cleaning feat was made even more astonishing by the fact that the opposing center was top rebounder Nate Thurmond, who himself averaged 26.7 RPG over that series. Chamberlain and Thurmond became the 5th and 6th (and until today, last) players to grab 20+ rebounds in every game of the NBA Finals [1]. In 1980, that 1967 Philadelphia team was voted the NBA's best team of the first 35 years of the league. Chamberlain himself described the team as the best in NBA history. Chamberlain received his third MVP award that season.

In 1967-68, Chamberlain was selected league MVP for his fourth and last time, while becoming the only center to lead the league in total assists with 702 (8.6 assist per game). The 76ers owned the NBA's best record for the third straight season, but lost to the Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Division finals.

Los Angeles Lakers

The following year, Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was teamed with future Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, creating one of the most prolific basketball scoring machines of all time.

Baylor and Chamberlain, however, played only a handful of games as teammates because of career-ending and season-ending knee injuries. In Wilt's case, a hole was drilled through his kneecap, through which a tendon was passed, and the ensuing recovery was long and arduous. This injury sharply limited the number of games he played against young Milwaukee Bucks center Lew Alcindor. Chamberlain was the only player to ever block one of Alcindor's "sky-hook" shots [citation needed].

The Lakers were heavily favored to win the 1969 NBA Finals against the old, battered Celtics, but then Chamberlain became the victim of one of the most controversial coaching decisions in NBA history. In Game 7, Wilt hurt his leg with six minutes left to play, with the Lakers trailing by nine points. Lakers coach Bill van Breda Kolff took him out, and when Chamberlain wanted to return with three minutes left, Van Breda Kolff decided to bench him until the end. The Celtics won, 108-106. When Chamberlain had asked out of the game, the Lakers had been trailing by nine points, but then mounted a comeback to pull within one by the time he asked back in; this caused some to assume that Chamberlain had not really been injured, but instead had given up and "copped out" of the game when it looked as though the Lakers would lose. Because of this, some branded him a scapegoat and a quitter. Even Bill Russell ridiculed him, which almost caused Chamberlain to end their friendship. However, when Chamberlain's teammate Jerry West heard of Van Breda Kolff's decision, he was utterly disgusted, and passionately defended Chamberlain [2]. Furthermore, even Van Breda Kolff, who never got along with Chamberlain (a factor that some speculate may have played a part in his decision to not put Chamberlain back in—a desire by Van Breda Kolff to prove he could win without Chamberlain), has always himself defended Chamberlain's injury as being fully legitimate.

In 1970, the acquisition of the sharpshooting guard Gail Goodrich helped with the Lakers' offensive firepower with the loss of Baylor. In the NBA Finals, the Lakers were matched up against the New York Knicks, one of the best defensive teams of the post-Russell-Celtics era. Both teams fought a hard, grueling series, but in Game 5, Chamberlain's opposing center Willis Reed suffered a serious thigh injury. The Knicks won that game, but they were demolished in Game 6 with Chamberlain's strong offense, and they looked doomed in Game 7 without their starting center. However, Reed limped onto the court, won the opening tip-off against Chamberlain, and scored the first four points, inspiring his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time [3]. Although Reed was able to play only a fraction of the game, and could hardly move when he did play, Chamberlain still scored only 21 points (his season average had been 27.3) on only 16 shots, quite few in a Game 7. Further, he shot an abysmal 1-of-11 from the foul line, making the game perhaps his greatest on-court failure.[4].

In 1971, the Lakers made a notable move by signing former Celtics star guard Bill Sharman as the head coach. Sharman reinvented the veteran Chamberlain as a defensive stopper. This proved very successful, as Chamberlain was elected to the All-NBA First Defensive Team for the first time in his career, and the Lakers set a new record for most victories in a season, 69, including an astounding 33-game winning streak, the longest in any American professional sport. Chamberlain jokingly claimed to be unimpressed: "I played with the Harlem Globetrotters and we won 445 in a row," he said at the time, "and they were all on the road."

Chamberlain and West would win their first and only Lakers title in 1972, remarkably in the first season without Baylor. This team included the forwards, scorer Jim McMillian and rebounding and defensive specialist Happy Hairston. In the series against the Knicks, Chamberlain averaged 19.2 PPG and was elected Finals MVP, mainly for his incredible rebounding. In the final game, he scored 23 and had 29 rebounds, despite a badly sprained right wrist. Over the series, he averaged 23.2 rebounds per game, taking in almost a quarter of the series' entire rebound total—at age 36[5].

The next year, in what would be his final season as a player at age 37, Chamberlain still led the league in rebounding with 18.6 per game, while shooting an NBA-record 72.7% from the field.

I look back and know that my last seven years in the league versus my first seven years were a joke in terms of scoring. I stopped shooting—coaches asked me to do that, and I did. I wonder sometimes if that was a mistake.

—Wilt Chamberlain, speaking to the Philadelphia Daily News

San Diego Conquistadors

In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association, a league that had been founded to compete with the NBA, offered Chamberlain a $600,000 contract as player-coach, and Chamberlain accepted. The Conquistadors quickly circulated publicity photos of Chamberlain in a Conquistadors uniform holding an ABA ball. However, Chamberlain still owed the Lakers the option year on his contract, and they sued, arguing that this barred Chamberlain from playing for another team, even though it was in a different league. The case was arbitrated in the Lakers' favor, and Chamberlain was kept off the court. He never played another game in either league.

Chamberlain did coach the Conquistadors in that season, however, and he played on the court in practices and scrimmages with the team.

Legacy

He appears from afar
A giant Cimmerian statue
Contested for a goal
He shivers strong ebony beads
Of sweat from his body
Turns suddenly
From inanimate to animal
Coils and springs
Sending men like ripples
Into inevitable nonexistence.


Off the court
He is enigma
Tropical and dense
As the jungle
Of his forebears
White men fear
Black men genuflect
And once long ago
We argued
Over a fallen tear.

—Tom Meschery[1]

With an offensive repertoire that consisted of dunks, finger rolls, and a fadeaway jump shot, the 7-foot 1-inch (2.16 m), 275-pound Chamberlain holds nearly 100 NBA records, including the record for most points in a game: 100. He is still the only player to score 4,000 or more points in one season (it has been rare for anyone else to score 3,000). He also recorded a phenomenal 55 rebounds in one game, and averaged 27 rebounds per game that season, setting the all-time record for rebounds in a season, one that still stands and has never been threatened.

From 1959 to 1963 (5 seasons), Chamberlain had a spectacular run, recording 5 of the top 7 (including the top 3) scoring averages of all-time. In 1962, he averaged 50.4 points per game, following that with 44.8 in 1963. His closest rival in this category is Elgin Baylor, who recorded the 4th best scoring average (38.3 in 1962).

The 100-point game

Prior to the 1961-62 season, the NBA record for most points in a single game was held by Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, with 71 points. On December 8, 1961, the Warriors played the Lakers; Chamberlain scored 78, breaking Baylor's record, with the game going into triple overtime. Legendary Laker broadcaster "Chick" Hearn often told the story that he asked Baylor after the game whether Baylor was bothered that he'd lost the record in that manner, with Chamberlain having had 15 extra minutes of game time to score the points to reach and then surpass Baylor's previous record 71. According to Hearn, Baylor replied that he was not bothered by it because "one day, that guy is going to score 100."[citation needed]

Less than three months later, on March 2, 1962, in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points in a standard regulation game — 59 in the second half alone. In fact, it was reported that Chamberlain scored the pivotal basket with 46 seconds remaining in the game, but there was nothing that could be done to stop the relatively small crowd from completely mobbing the floor. No video footage exists of this phenomenal achievement because the game was not televised, although there is an audio recording of the game's radio broadcast.

Chamberlain made 36-of-63 field goals and 28-of-32 free throws; the latter is remarkable because Chamberlain made barely half his free throws during his career. He had no 3-point goals, since at the time, the three-point line had not yet been instituted. Chamberlain initially said that he was "embarrassed" by these stats, proclaiming his shame at taking 63 field goal attempts and making "only" 36 [6].

The game was somewhat controversial because, by all accounts, by the fourth quarter both teams had ceased playing a normal game in which each team actually tries to win the game; rather, the efforts of both teams focused entirely on whether Chamberlain would score 100 points. Instead of trying to score quickly, as a trailing team would normally do in hopes of mounting a comeback, the Knicks began holding the ball to run out the clock. Some say the Knicks began fouling Chamberlain intentionally so that he would have to shoot free throws rather than get closer shots at the basket, and that they would also intentionally foul other Warrior players who had the ball, so that they would have no chance to pass it to Chamberlain. For their part, the Warriors also began fouling Knicks players intentionally, when the Knicks had the ball, in order to stop the clock (that again being the exact opposite of the usual strategy of a team that is leading) and get the ball back for Chamberlain.

The Knicks in this game were led by three players with 30 points each, but still, their cumulative total was topped by Chamberlain.

Chamberlain's 78-point triple-overtime game against the Lakers remained as the second-highest single game point total for over 40 years, until January 22, 2006, when L.A. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.

Records and feats

  • Chamberlain scored 31,419 points in 1,045 professional games. This was the most in NBA history when he retired in 1973, though his scoring total has since been exceeded by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Michael Jordan. His career scoring average of 30.06 points per game (ppg) is second-highest in league history, fractionally behind Jordan's 30.12 ppg.
  • Chamberlain's 1961-62 scoring average of 50.4 ppg, accomplished with the Philadelphia Warriors, is by far the NBA record. Chamberlain also holds the next two spots on the NBA's season scoring average list with 44.8 and 38.4 points per game.
  • The 36 field goals and 28 free throws Chamberlain made in his 100-point game are still NBA regular season records for a single game (he shares the free throw record with Adrian Dantley), as is the 59 points he scored in the second half.
  • Chamberlain scored 60 or more points in a game an astonishing 32 times, more than all other NBA players combined (26 times). The closest player on that list is Michael Jordan, who accomplished the feat 5 times. See List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game.
  • Chamberlain scored 50 or more points in a regular season game 118 times (45 times in the 1961-62 season alone). The next closest player on that list is Michael Jordan, who accomplished the feat 31 times.
  • Chamberlain holds the record for consecutive games scoring 40 or more points with 14 in 1961. This set of games includes a stretch of 7 straight games in which he scored over 50.
  • Chamberlain still holds the record for points in an NBA All-Star game with 42.
  • Chamberlain grabbed 23,924 rebounds in his career — the most of any player in NBA history. His career average of 22.9 rebounds per game is also the highest of any NBA player.
  • Chamberlain is the only player to grab more than 2,000 rebounds in a single season: 2,149 rebounds in the 1960-61 season (27.2 rpg) and 2,052 in 1961-62. Chamberlain's amazing 1961-62 season stat line: 4,029 points (50.4 ppg) and 2,052 rebounds (25.6 rpg).
  • Chamberlain set a record for rebounds in a regular season game with 55, against the Boston Celtics on November 24, 1960. The opposing center in that game was Bill Russell, who had held the prior one-game record of 51.
  • Chamberlain also holds the record for rebounds in a playoff game (again against Boston) with 41, on April 5, 1967.
  • Chamberlain owns the record for most career rebounds in the NBA All-Star game with 197.
  • Chamberlain led the NBA in rebounding 11 times, in field goal percentage 9 times, and in scoring 7 times. Less eye-catching stats also serve to demonstrate Chamberlain's dominance: after critics called him a one-dimensional (or even selfish) player, Chamberlain defiantly promised to lead the league in total assists the next season, which he did in 1968 at a rate of 8.6 per game.
  • Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to record a double-triple-double (meaning 20 points, 20 rebounds, 20 assists in one game). In 1968 against the Detroit Pistons, he logged 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists. For basketball devotees, this may be his most jaw-dropping stat line, as it is the ultimate testimony of Wilt's versatility.
  • In a related note, Chamberlain is also the only player in NBA history to record a quadruple double-double (meaning 40 points, and 40 rebounds or 40 assists in a single game). On December 8, 1961, when he scored a then-record 78 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, he also collected 43 rebounds.
  • Chamberlain as well holds the record for the longest continuous streak of triple-doubles with nine straight in 1968.
  • Chamberlain was also known for incredible stamina and durability. In 1962, he averaged 48.5 minutes per game, meaning that he played practically every minute of regulation as well as overtimes. His 3,882 minutes played out of the team's possible 3890 left an average of six seconds rest per game. Chamberlain played over 46 minutes per game for seven seasons, and his career 45.8 average is unmatched. Chamberlain also holds the top five marks in minutes played in a season and the top seven marks in minutes-per-game in a season, including 3882 out of a possible 3890 minutes in his superlative 1961-62 season, an average of more than 48 minutes per game.
  • Despite the fact that Chamberlain was regularly double- and triple-teamed on offense and was relied upon so heavily on defense, he never once fouled out of a game in his 14 years in the NBA. In at least one game, he accumulated five fouls during the fourth quarter, and the game went into overtime, but still he did not foul out. (Six fouls was the personal limit.)
  • As an arguable but somewhat probable note, many sportswriters attest that Chamberlain would have had several if not many quadruple-doubles, and may have averaged a triple-double (points, rebounds, blocks) over his career; but since he played in an era during which statistics on blocks and steals were not officially recorded, this remains speculation.
  • In one season (1961-62), Chamberlain set all three of these individual season records: 1) most free throws attempted, 2) most free throws made, and 3) most free throws missed. The record for most free throws made was eventually broken by Jerry West, but the other two records still stand.
  • Chamberlain holds a number of NBA field goal percentage records that have never been approached by other players. In February of 1967, he made 35 straight field goals over a four game span including an 18-18 performance on February 24 against Baltimore. Chamberlain's 0.727 field goal percentage for the 1972-73 season is well ahead of the second best performance in NBA history — his own 0.683 mark from the 1966-67 season.
  • Although Chamberlain was a dominant rebounder, in 1971-72 Laker forward Happy Hairston grabbed 1,045 while Chamberlain pulled 1,572. This remains the only time any two NBA teammates have grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in the same season.

Retired jerseys

Chamberlain's impact on the game is also reflected by the fact that his number-13 jersey has been retired by five different teams, including:

The greatest basketball player of all time?

One of the most controversial topics for basketball fans is the question of whether Chamberlain is the greatest player ever. His incredible array of statistics is unmatched, but the argument sometimes brought against him is that he won "only" two titles. On that basis, several players arguably rival Chamberlain for the title of greatest basketballer of all time:

  • Bill Russell, Chamberlain's friend and on-court rival for most of Chamberlain's career, won 11 titles with a team that dominated Chamberlain's in the playoffs.
  • Michael Jordan holds the NBA record for 30.1 career average points per game, won six titles, and won a combined 11 regular-season and Finals MVP titles — five more than Chamberlain.
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also won six titles, plus three NCAA titles, and is the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
  • Magic Johnson won five titles and was perhaps even better all-around than Chamberlain.
  • Oscar Robertson won one title but is the NBA leader in triple-doubles and the only NBA player to average a triple double for an entire season.

Chamberlain himself stated in first autobiography, Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door: "I’m just not naturally competitive and aggressive. I don’t have a killer instinct". (page 187) This was painfully evident in one case, namely the Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, famous for Knicks center Willis Reed hobbling up court with only one intact thigh. Given Reed's immobility, Chamberlain should have been able to score almost at will. Instead, Chamberlain contributed only 21 points, and his Lakers lost the game, and the championship, to the Knicks.

Nonetheless, Chamberlain's supporters offer several arguments for him as the game's greatest player. In his prime, Wilt was so dominant (and strangely reviled, much in contrast to Michael Jordan) that the NBA felt compelled to change several rules to thwart him, creating an offensive goaltending rule and by outlawing the inbound pass over the backboard, the dunk from the foul line in a free-throw attempt, and the alley oop. They also widened the lane in an attempt to slow his progress down. And when Oscar Robertson was asked whether Chamberlain was the NBA's greatest player of all-time, he simply responded "The books don't lie." [2]

In direct comparison, Chamberlain was considered more well-rounded than Russell, and was statistically more dominant than any other player. Even Russell, one of the best defensive players of all time, could only slow Chamberlain down, with Chamberlain averaging 28.7 ppg and 28.7 rpg against Russell[7]. In fact Chamberlain's overall rebounds per game was only 22.9 so Chamberlain actually rebounded better against the supposedly superior defensive player Russell. It was in a head-to-head game against Russell that Wilt grabbed the phenomenal total of 55 rebounds, a record which still stands today (the Celtics, however, won the game). Nevertheless, Chamberlain did once remark about his good friend and fierce rival, "I may outscore and outrebound Bill Russell, but success in basketball is not measured just by statistics, but by winning. You don't have to be a genius to realize who had the more successful career." [citation needed]

While Russell once picked himself as the greatest center of all time, he admitted he would choose Chamberlain over himself, "but only if I was the coach of that team. You give me Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and either Wilt or Kareem, with me as their player-coach,and that team would never lose. Ever. And you know what else? We'd all be friends for life. Who could ask for anything more?" [citation needed] About both Wilt and Russell it has been said, "Humility was never either's most outstanding virtue." [citation needed]

Chamberlain's offensive power was unmatched, and defensively, he claimed two All-NBA Defensive First Team spots, notably at the ages of 36 and 37 (note: the NBA All-Defensive Team was not selected until the 1968-69 season, well into Chamberlain's career). On the whole, Chamberlain receives his fair share of votes in the so-called "GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) argument."

Accolades

Player profile

He was basketball's unstoppable force, the most awesome offensive force the game has ever seen.
— introductory line of Chamberlains nba.com profile

Chamberlain played the center position and was probably the most dominant basketballer of all time. In his 13-year career, he averaged 30.1 points (second best all time) and 22.9 rebounds (all-time leader) and was also very durable, standing on the hardwood an average 45.8 minutes of a possible 48. One reason for his success was great athletic talent, rivalling the best decathletes — a feat especially remarkable for a man his size. In particular, Chamberlain was noted for his leaping skills. For example, he was known for his unmatched ability to dunk free throws without a full running start. In an interview with Scott Ostler of the Los Angeles Times, Chamberlain recalled "When I was a freshman, I fooled around with shooting free throws this way: For some reason, I thought you had to stay within the top half of that free-throw circle, so I would step back to just inside the top of the circle, take off from behind the line and dunk." [3] Chamberlain was also able to dunk on an experimental 12-foot tall basket set up by Phog Allen at the University of Kansas.[3] This often forgotten achievement matches the world record "set" by Michael Wilson in 2000 (who had the advantage of being provided with an alley oop).

Apart from his superior physical abilities, Chamberlain also featured an offensive repertoire that relied on finesse rather than on power, including fadeaway jumpshots, bankshots or hook shots [8]. This made him virtually unguardable, as witnessed by his high field goal percentage of .540. Apart from being basketball's all-time top rebounder, Chamberlain was also known to be a great blocker. As blocks only became official stats after his career, there are no figures, however, in 1979, at UCLA's practice courts, Chamberlain was playing with 4 Lakers in a pickup game, including 20-year-old Magic Johnson. Johnson called goaltending on Chamberlain, who then said: "There will be no more lay-ups in this game." Chamberlain went on to block every lay-up attempt in the game. This was recounted after Wilt's death by coach Larry Brown, who was then coaching UCLA.[4]

His one great weakness was foul shooting, where Chamberlain shot an anemic .511; however, this is not uncommon in big men, as proven by the struggles of today's top centers such as Shaquille O'Neal or Ben Wallace, who also barely make half of their free throws.

Personal life

Chamberlain also earned accolades in other sports. In track and field, he high jumped 6 feet 6 inches, ran the 440 in 49.0 seconds, ran the 880 in 1:58.3, threw the shotput 53 feet 4 inches, and long jumped 22 feet while still a high school student[5]. At the University of Kansas, he ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, threw the shotput 56 feet, triple jumped more than 50 feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight track and field championships three straight years[6]. He also participated in volleyball (where he founded and starred in a pro league), and auto racing. He flirted with boxing, and he was offered a pro football contract by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966. He also was an actor, celebrity and businessman after his playing career concluded. In 1984, he played a supporting role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Conan the Destroyer.

Chamberlain always wore a rubber band around his wrist, due to a superstition, and was fond of saying that "Nobody roots for Goliath."

While Chamberlain made a good living in basketball, he made a pittance compared to modern players. He was, however, a multi-millionaire because of several lucrative investments in Los Angeles real estate.

"20,000 women" claim

In his second autobiography, A View from Above (1991), Chamberlain claimed to have had sex with almost 20,000 women. This would have meant, on average, having had sex with more than one new woman every day of his life since the age of 15. Because of that, many people doubt his specific number, though few question the fact of his promiscuity. He drew heavy criticism from many public figures, who accused him of fulfilling stereotypes about African Americans, and of behaving irresponsibly, especially given the AIDS crisis, which was well underway by the 1980s (when many of the encounters occurred). Chamberlain defended himself, saying "I was just doing what was natural — chasing good-looking ladies, whoever they were and wherever they were available". He also noted that he never tried to sleep with a woman who was married.

Chamberlain was a lifelong bachelor and fathered no known children. In spite of his extensive womanizing, there is no known record of his ever being the target of a paternity lawsuit.

Death

On October 12, 1999, Wilt Chamberlain died of a heart attack in his sleep in his Los Angeles, California home. He had been under the care of cardiologists and other physicians for heart problems for the final few years of his life. He was 63 years old.

Chamberlain in popular culture

See also

Further reading

  • Chamberlain, Wilt (1973). Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door. New York: Macmillan. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Chamberlain, Wilt (1992). A View From Above. New York: New York Signet Books. ISBN 0451174933. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Cherry, Robert (2004). Wilt: Larger Than Life. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1572436727. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Heisler, Mark (2003). Giants: The 25 Greatest Centers of All Time. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1572435771. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Pluto, Terry (1992). Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671742795. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Pomerantz, Gary M. (2005). Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era. New York: Crown. ISBN 1400051606. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Footnotes

  1. ^ Pluto, Terry (1992). Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball, New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 325.
  2. ^ "Wilt Chamberlain Bio". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b The Leaping Legends of Basketball, The Los Angeles Times; Feb 12, 1989; Scott Ostler
  4. ^ Giant Towered Over the Rest, The Los Angeles Times; Oct 13, 1999; Larry Stewart
  5. ^ "Chamberlain rated greatest in court game". The Sporting News. 21 December 1955. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Biography - Wilt Chamberlain". HickokSports.com. 06 September 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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