Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was a former NBA 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 timehttp://wiltfan.tripod.com/ for the incredible statistical achievements he attained throughout his playing career.

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August 21 - 1936 - October 12 - 1999 - NBA - Basketball - Nickname

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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain drew national attention playing at Overbrook High School in the city. He played two years for the University of Kansas, 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 that game, he decided to turn pro, citing that he wanted to be paid for being double and triple teamed every night. The Philadelphia Warriors owned his NBA rights, having picked him in 1955 as a territorial pick. However, he wasn't eligible to play in the NBA until his college class graduated in 1959. He played two years with the Harlem Globetrotters until finally becoming eligible to join the Warriors. He was listed as third pick in the NBA draft but was actually a territorial pick.

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Overbrook High School - University of Kansas - All-America - 1957 - Championship game - North Carolina - Philadelphia Warriors - NBA - 1955 - 1959 - Harlem Globetrotters - NBA draft

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In his first year with the Warriors, Chamberlain lead the league in scoring, with 37.6 points per game, and rebounding, with 27 rebounds per game. He became the first player to be named MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. The Warriors lost to the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals that year, which would be an ongoing occurrence in Chamberlain's career.

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MVP - Rookie of the Year - Boston Celtics

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The presence of the Celtics in the same Eastern Division as the Warriors (his rookie year saw the first of the Celtics' record eight straight NBA titles) kept Chamberlain out of the NBA Finals until 1964. By this time, the Warriors had moved to San Francisco, where, ironically, they lost to the Celtics. After that season, Chamberlain was traded back to Philadelphia, where the Syracuse Nationals had recently moved to become the 76ers. Again, he was blocked from the finals by the presence of the Celtics in the Eastern Division. However, he was the centerpiece of the Sixers team that finally beat the Celtics dynasty in 1967, winning a then-record 68 games en route to the NBA title.

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NBA Finals - 1964 - San Francisco - 76ers - 1967

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Only two years later, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won another title in 1972, and was instrumental in setting a new records for most victories in a season (69), as well as that team's 33-game winning streak, the longest such streak in any American professional sport. Chamberlain, however, was not that impressed. "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."

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Los Angeles Lakers - 1972

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In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association offered Chamberlain a $600,000 contract as player-coach. The Lakers sued to keep Chamberlain off the court, and he never played another game, coaching the Conquistadors for only one year.

Related Topics:
1973 - San Diego Conquistadors - American Basketball Association

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The 7-foot 1-inch (2.16 m) Chamberlain holds nearly 100 NBA records, including the record for most points in a game -- 100, which he scored on March 2, 1962, against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He also set a record for rebounds in a game with 55, against the Boston Celtics on November 24, 1960. (The opposing center in that game was Bill Russell, who had held the former record of 51.) He averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds per game for his career. He led the NBA in rebounding 11 times, led in shooting percentage seven times, led in scoring seven times, and even led in assists one season. In his 14 years in the NBA, he never once fouled out of a game, despite being the centerpiece on defense for each team he played for. His 1961-62 scoring average of 50.4 ppg, accomplished with the Philadelphia Warriors, is by far the NBA record. Chamberlain also holds the next three spots on the NBA's season scoring average list with 44.8, 38.9 and 38.4 points per game. The next closest player is Elgin Baylor, who averaged 38.3 ppg in the same '61-62 season in which Chamberlain set the record. Chamberlain is also the only player in NBA history to achieve a double-triple-double (20 points, 20 rebounds, 20 assists), in one game. Chamberlain also holds the top five marks in minutes played in a season and the top seven marks in minutes-per-game played in a season, including 3882 minutes out of a possible 3890 minutes in his superlative 1961-62 season, an average of more than 48 minutes per game!

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March 2 - 1962 - New York Knicks - Hershey, Pennsylvania - Boston Celtics - November 24 - 1960 - Bill Russell - Philadelphia Warriors - Elgin Baylor

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Chamberlain scored 31,419 points in 1,045 professional games. This was the best in the league when he retired in 1973, though his scoring total has since been exceeded by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, both of whom played several more seasons than Chamberlain, and by 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.

Related Topics:
1973 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Karl Malone - Michael Jordan

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Chamberlain ranked #2 in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.

Related Topics:
SLAM Magazine - 2003

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