After attending the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., Chamberlain called out to the angry rioters who were setting fires all over the country, stating Dr. King would not have approved. [57] In the 1962 NBA Playoffs, the Warriors met the Boston Celtics again in the Eastern Division Finals, a team which Bob Cousy and Bill Russell called the greatest Celtics team of all time. [90], Chamberlain joined a squad which featured Hall-of-Fame forward Elgin Baylor and Hall-of-Fame guard Jerry West, along with backup center Mel Counts, forwards Keith Erickson and Tom Hawkins and talented 5'11" guard Johnny Egan. Ali is totally evasive, and Wilt, who was very bright, continually put the champ on the spot. Chamberlain stood 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall, and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) as a rookie[4] before gaining up to 275 and later to over 300 pounds (140 kg) with the Lakers. This conflict had been going along for a while: in 1965, Chamberlain asserted that he and the late Richman had worked out a deal which would give the center 25% of the franchise once he ended his career. us, High School: [29] Leading a talented squad of starters, including Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, Ron Lonesky and Lew Johnson, the Jayhawks went 13–1 until they lost a game 56–54 versus Oklahoma State, who held 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). [5] Barred from playing, Chamberlain mostly left the coaching duties to his assistant Stan Albeck, who recalled: "Chamberlain ... has a great feel for pro basketball ... [but] the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball ... just bored him. Join our linker program. He became the first player to break the 3,000-point barrier and the first and still only player to break the 2,000-rebound barrier for a single season, grabbing 2,149 boards. As Chamberlain often said, quoting coach Alex Hannum's explanation of his situation, "Nobody loves Goliath. The Sixers charged their way to a then-record 68–13 season, including a record 46–4 start. [86] But then, national tragedy struck on April 4, with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. With eight of the ten starting players on the Sixers and Celtics being African-American, both teams were in deep shock, and there were calls to cancel the series. It has been 59 years to the date since that moment, and no player has really even challenged that milestone.. Kobe Bryant came somewhat close in 2006 when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-most points ever in an NBA game. [46], The Warriors entered the 1960 NBA Playoffs and beat the Syracuse Nationals, setting up a meeting versus the Eastern Division champions, the Boston Celtics. In 2017, his Western Conference All Star game worn jersey sold for $121,304 in an SCP auction, well more than double the price paid for 1968-1972 Los Angeles Lakers game-used road jersey ($50,362) in … Bill Russell regularly feared being embarrassed by Chamberlain,[34] Walt Frazier called his dominance on the court "comical",[122] and when 6-ft 11-in, 250-pound (in his early years)[168] Hall-of-Fame center Bob Lanier was asked about the most memorable moment of his career, Lanier answered: "When Wilt Chamberlain lifted me up and moved me like a coffee cup so he could get a favorable position. Because Schayes did not want to risk angering his best player, he scheduled the daily workout at 4 pm; this angered the team, who preferred an early schedule to have the afternoon off, but Schayes just said: "There is no other way. [99] In a 1999 interview, Chamberlain stated that boxing trainer Cus D'Amato had twice before, in 1965 and 1967, approached the basketball star with the idea, and that he and Ali had each been offered $5 million for the bout. [156] Chamberlain was named All-NBA first team seven times to Russell's three, but Russell was named league MVP—then selected by players and not the press—five times against Chamberlain's four. [65], In the summer of 1964, Chamberlain, one of the prominent participants at the famed Rucker Park basketball court in New York City,[66] made the acquaintance of a tall, talented 17-year-old who played there. For the final play, Dick Harp called for Ron Loneski to pass the ball into Chamberlain in the low post. Click Season link for player's season game log, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history. [183] But as the championship count became increasingly lopsided, the relationship got strained, and turned hostile after Russell accused Chamberlain of "copping out" in the notorious Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals. [74] Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain was nowhere to be found, skipping practice and being non-accessible. In that game, Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire used several unorthodox tactics to thwart Chamberlain. At the 1965 All-Star break Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, the new name of the relocated Syracuse Nationals. "[155] Russell won 11 NBA titles in his career while Chamberlain won two. Are you a Stathead, too? He also won seven scoring, nine field goal percentage, and 11 rebounding titles in addition to an assist title. Wilt was a high school high jump champion. [91] After the game, many wondered why Chamberlain sat out the final six minutes. He was basketball's first player to earn at least $100,000 a year and earned an unprecedented $1.5 million during his Lakers years. [52] His efficiency that season was reflected by a streak of 35 consecutive made field goals over the course of four games in February. He then multiplied that number by the number of days he had been alive at the time minus 15 years. [9], Chamberlain was born in 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. Subsequently, owners Milton and Helen Kutsher kept up a lifelong friendship with Wilt, and according to their son Mark, "They were his second set of parents. [52] After defeating the Cincinnati Royals led by Oscar Robertson in the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Sixers met Chamberlain's familiar rival, the Boston Celtics. That's pretty amazing. The Midwest regional was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. "[17] It was also in this period of his life when his three lifelong nicknames "Wilt the Stilt", "Goliath", and his favorite, "The Big Dipper", were allegedly born. [52] In 2002, writer Wayne Lynch wrote a book about this remarkable Sixers season, Season of the 76ers, centering on Chamberlain. Chamberlain won 25–10; Born was so dejected that he gave up a promising NBA career and became a tractor engineer ("If there were high school kids that good, I figured I wasn't going to make it to the pros"),[21] and Auerbach wanted him to go to a New England university, so he could draft him as a territorial pick for the Celtics, but Chamberlain did not respond. [36] In later years, Chamberlain frequently joined the Globetrotters in the off-season and fondly recalled his time there, because he was no longer jeered at or asked to break records, but just one of several artists who loved to entertain the crowd. [170] In addition, he would often stay out late into the night and wake up at noon,[104] a point that became notorious in the 1965–66 NBA season. He preferred "The Big Dipper", which was inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. [64] But as Cherry remarked, not only Chamberlain, but in particular Hannum deserved much credit because he had basically had taken the bad 31–49 squad of last year plus Thurmond and made it into an NBA Finalist. [3][125] In basketball history, pundits have stated that the only other player who forced such a massive change of rules is 6'10" Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan, who played a decade before Chamberlain and also caused many rule changes designed to thwart so-called "big men". [167] Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview could have been instrumental in hurting his public image. In the first game, the Jayhawks played the all-white SMU team, and KU player John Parker later said: "The crowd was brutal. He also had 25 rebounds, 2 assists. [citation needed] Particularly, Chamberlain was lauded for his performance in Game 6, which the Lakers won 104–100 after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter: he scored 24 points and 22 rebounds, played all 48 minutes and outsprinted the younger Bucks center on several late Lakers fast breaks. [71] Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image. But before that, he was a stud track-and-field athlete at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School and the University of Kansas, where he shined in events like the high … ... High School: Overbrook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [69] Indeed, the two teams split the first six games, and because of the better season record, the last game was held in the Celtics' Boston Garden. It was a small consolation that he was again named an All-American, along with future NBA Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson plus old rival Guy Rodgers. [27] Chamberlain's freshman debut was highly anticipated, and he delivered; the freshman squad was pitted against the varsity, who were favored to win their conference that year. "[5] Like later superstar Shaquille O'Neal, Chamberlain was a target of criticism because of his poor free throw shooting, a .511 career average, with a low of .380 over the 1967–68 season. 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 Mel Counts on 4-of-13 shooting. [34] However, at that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed. "[100] Chamberlain also acknowledged that he never came close to marrying and had no intention of raising any children. For Game 5, Chamberlain's hands were packed into thick pads normally destined for defensive linesmen in American Football; he was offered a painkilling shot, but refused because he feared he would lose his shooting touch if his hands became numb. [52] It was, however, the first season in which he failed to reach 20 rebounds per game. In the 1962 season, he averaged 50.4 points and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game. [90] While he was on cordial terms with Jerry West, he often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor; regarding Baylor, he later explained: "We were good friends, but ... [in] black culture ... you never let the other guy one-up you. [52] In one particular game, Chamberlain blocked a dunk attempt by Gus Johnson so hard that he dislocated Johnson's shoulder. [2] According to Chamberlain, that was the time that people started calling him "loser". [60] This also meant, however, that the team broke apart, as Paul Arizin chose to retire rather than move away from his family and his job at IBM in Philadelphia, and Tom Gola was homesick, requesting a trade to the lowly New York Knicks halfway through the season. [150] During his career, Chamberlain competed against future Hall of Famers including Russell, Thurmond, Lucas, and Walt Bellamy. [86] Chamberlain later blamed coach Hannum for the lack of touches, a point which the coach conceded himself, but Cherry points out that Chamberlain, who always thought of himself as the best player of all time, should have been outspoken enough to demand the ball himself. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 52–51. [8] He played occasional matches for the IVA Seattle Smashers before the league folded in 1979. Wilt didn't sleep the night before he scored 100. 7 years ago today, a masked LeBron did this to the Charlotte Bobcats! [71] However, contemporary colleagues were often terrified to play against Chamberlain. As his lawyer Seymour "Sy" Goldberg put it: "Some people collect stamps, Wilt collected women. In Game 4, Boston won 114–108. [94] In Game 5, with the Knicks trailing by double digits, Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed to be done for the series. Chamberlain changed the game in fundamental ways no other player did. [52] However, Jack Kent Cooke was pleased, because since acquiring Chamberlain, ticket sales went up by 11%. "[37], Chamberlain was the first big earner of basketball; he immediately became the highest paid player upon entering the NBA. [40] In his fourth game, Philadelphia met the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics of Hall-of-Fame coach Red Auerbach, whose offer he had snubbed several years before, and Bill Russell, who was now lauded as one of the best defensive pivots in the game. All rights reserved. [10] He was a frail child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years and missing a whole year of school as a result. The Lakers mounted a comeback; then Chamberlain twisted his knee after a rebound and had to be replaced by Mel Counts. [96], After the 1971 playoffs, Chamberlain challenged heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali to a fight. [62], In the 1963–64 NBA season, Chamberlain got yet another new coach, Alex Hannum, and was joined by a promising rookie center, Nate Thurmond, who eventually entered the Hall of Fame. [110] In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for another Lakers win, and in a fiercely battled Game 4, the Lakers center was playing with five fouls late in the game. Chamberlain often criticized Abdul-Jabbar for a perceived lack of scoring, rebounding, and defense. [61] With both secondary scorers gone, Chamberlain continued his array of statistical feats, averaging 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds per game that year. Among others, he is the only player in NBA history to average 40 and 50 points in a season, score 100 points in a single game, and grab over 2,000 rebounds in a single season. Robert Allen Cherry, journalist and author of the biography Wilt: Larger than Life, describes his house as a miniature Playboy Mansion, where he regularly held parties and lived out his later-notorious sex life. [185] He accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.[186] and considered himself a Republican. Chamberlain spent the night before the game in New York, partying all night with a woman. [82] Although there is no written proof for or against, ex-Sixers coach Dolph Schayes and Sixers lawyer Alan Levitt assumed Chamberlain was right;[80] in any case, Kosloff declined the request, leaving Chamberlain livid and willing to jump to the rival ABA once his contract ended in 1967. This box score from Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game ran in the March 3, 1962, Sporting Green. [47] But in Game 6, Heinsohn got the last laugh, scoring the decisive basket with a last-second tip-in. Knowing how dominant he was, the opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. [37] After his basketball career, volleyball became Chamberlain's new passion: being a talented hobby volleyballer during his Lakers days,[112] he became a board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association in 1974, and then its president one year later. Wilt Chamberlain's accomplishments are widely known, from his 100 points in a game, 25,000 woman or never fouling out of a basketball game. We present them here for purely educational purposes. He had outstanding foot speed throughout the game, and several times led the fast break, including blocking a shot near the basket and then outracing the field for a layup. [8] He was a successful businessman, authored several books, and appeared in the movie Conan the Destroyer.
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