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. “But it’s nothing,” Chamberlain said in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1991, “when you consider that the team we were playing against was trying to freeze the ball.”. In 1965, Chamberlain had consulted his father, who had seen Ali fight, and finally said no. [70] For the fifth time in seven years, Russell's team deprived Chamberlain of the title. There are three stars in the Big Dipper's handle organized in a line. Well, what about the Big Dipper? However, Boston easily won the first two games on the road, winning 115–96 and 114–93; Chamberlain played within his usual range, but his supporting cast shot under 40%. [52] The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third straight season. [85], In the 1968 Eastern Division Finals, the Sixers yet again met the Boston Celtics, again with home court advantage, and this time as reigning champions. In 1966-67, Sixers coach Alex Hannum asked Chamberlain to pass the ball more often than shoot, and to play more aggressive defense. In 1984 he acted in the movie “Conan the Barbarian”. [151], From a historical NBA perspective, the rivalry between Chamberlain and his perennial nemesis Bill Russell is cited as the greatest on-court rivalry of all time. "[74] In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for an important road win, and the next day, coach Schayes planned to hold a joint team practice. Cherry observed that Reed, a prolific midrange shooter, was a bad matchup for Chamberlain: having lost lateral quickness due to his injury, the Lakers center was often too slow to block Reed's preferred high post jump shots. [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. Chamberlain became a member of the Globetrotters team that made history by playing in Moscow in 1959; the team enjoyed a sold-out tour of the Soviet Union. While Kobe Bryant may have brought to life the idea of someone scoring 100 points in a game again, the thought of a rookie averaging 37.6 points or any player averaging more … [91] Going into the series as 3-to-1 favorites, the Lakers won the first two games, but dropped the next two. He was a supreme athlete for his size, 7'1" and 265 pounds, and still holds the record, among others, for most points in a game with 100, amazing in any era but especially so because there … [39] In what was the first of many Chamberlain-Russell match-ups, Chamberlain outscored Russell with 30 points versus 28 points, but Boston won the game. Even when he was in his 50s, a story would pop up every now and then about some NBA team talking to Chamberlain about making a comeback, figuring he could still give them 15 or 20 solid minutes as a backup center. In all, he claimed 60 athletes with aspirations of expanding to 100. He showed his athletic versatility by winning the high jump competition in the Big Eight track and field championships, clearing the bar at 6-6. He scored 32 points and led Overbrook to a 19–0 season. [35], On October 24, 1959, Chamberlain finally made his NBA debut, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors. [22] The Panthers won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 78–60, and in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again. Although Cherry points out that Chamberlain was an egotist, he added that he had good relationships with many contemporaries and enjoyed a great deal of respect. Chamberlain didn’t think so. [42] On January 25, 1960, Chamberlain recorded a rare feat in the NBA: recording 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game. [2], The rookie Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. He famously hobbled up court, scored the first four points, and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time. He is also the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game over the entire course of his NBA career. After that season, coach Alex Hannum wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast; he left the Sixers to coach the Oakland Oaks in the newly founded American Basketball Association. It had a 2,200-pound pivot as a front door and contained great displays of luxury. [46] On the other hand, he committed surprisingly few fouls during his NBA career despite his rugged play in the post. The pass was intercepted, however, and the Tar Heels won the game. Despite the fact that Chamberlain had reportedly stayed out all night the previous evening, he obviously came ready to play against the Knicks. "[Chamberlain] was the strongest athlete who ever lived", the 210-pound Lemon later recounted. In a physically tough matchup, the Sixers lost sixth man Billy Cunningham with a broken hand, and Chamberlain, Greer and Jackson were struggling with inflamed feet, bad knees, and pulled hamstrings respectively. The next game against Oklahoma City was equally unpleasant, with KU winning 81–61 under intense racist abuse. The following year he was selected to all-conference and All-America teams. Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks in six games. Chamberlain stood 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall, and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) as a rookie[4] before bulking up to 275 and eventually to over 300 pounds (140 kg) with the Lakers. In the 1968 Eastern Division Semifinals, they were pitted against the Knicks. "[109], In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks; the Knicks were shorthanded after losing 6'9" Willis Reed to injury, and so, undersized 6'8" Jerry Lucas had the task to defend against the 7'1" Chamberlain. [39] In his third game, Chamberlain recorded 41 points and a then-career high 40 rebounds in a 124-113 win over the visiting Syracuse Nationals. As his lawyer Seymour "Sy" Goldberg put it: "Some people collect stamps, Wilt collected women. Chamberlain was named on the first-team All-America squad and led the Jayhawks into the NCAA finals against the North Carolina Tar Heels. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 52–51. He played for the University of Kansas and also for the Harlem Globetrotters before playing in the NBA. 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. He later tied that on February 21, as he recorded 58 points to go along with 24 rebounds in a 131-121 over the visiting Knicks. [68], Statistically, Chamberlain was again outstanding, posting 34.7 ppg and 22.9 rpg overall for the season. Voted in as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the NBA rival league ABA signed Chamberlain as a player-coach for a $600,000 salary. Most importantly, he was not afraid to stand up to the dominant Chamberlain, who was known to "freeze out" (not communicate with) coaches he didn't like. [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. Chamberlain never fouled out of a regular season or playoff game in his 14-year NBA career. [126] According to those close to him, he eventually began taking medication for his heart troubles. That's the reason why I was single. [7] After his professional basketball career ended, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association, was president of that organization, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. I wonder sometimes if that was a mistake.”. Strength was something Chamberlain developed as a college and professional player. He set NBA single-game records for most points (100), most consecutive field goals (18) and most rebounds (55). [12] Instead, he was an avid track and field athlete: as a youth, he high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches; ran the 440 yards in 49.0 seconds and the 880 yards in 1:58.3; put the shot 53 feet, 4 inches; and long jumped 22 feet. In his 1991 book, A View From Above, The Big Dipper claimed to have slept with 20,000 women in his life. No other player in NBA history has spawned so many myths nor created such an impact. [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. "[171] Swedish Olympic high jumper Annette Tånnander, who met him when he was 40 and she 19, remembers him as a pick-up artist who was extremely confident yet respectful: "I think Wilt hit on everything that moved ... [but] he never was bad or rude. He could talk on any subject. [77] Cherry observes a strange pattern in that game: in a typical Sixers game, Chamberlain got the ball 60 times in the low post, but only 23 times in Game 7, and only seven times in the third and only twice in the fourth quarter. [77] The motivation for this move remains in dispute. 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Hall-of-Famers who played with Chamberlain—Warriors: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, one of the NBA's greatest on-court rivalries, all-time record for rebounds in a single game, List of career achievements by Wilt Chamberlain, rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders, List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game, List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game, List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages, List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages, List of National Basketball Association top individual rebounding season averages, List of National Basketball Association top rookie rebounding averages, List of National Basketball Association top individual field goal percentage seasons, List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 30 or more rebounds in a game, List of basketball players who have scored 100 points in a single game, List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders, List of National Basketball Association annual rebounding leaders, "Sexual claim transformed perception of Wilt", "Chamberlain, Wilt(on) Norman – Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures-HighBeam Research", "Chamberlain rated greatest in court game", "Helen Kutsher, Pampering Matriarch of a Grand Borscht Belt Resort, Dies at 89", "Syracuse Nationals at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, November 4, 1959", "New York Knicks at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, November 10, 1959", "Philadelphia Warriors vs Detroit Pistons Box Score, January 25, 1960", "New York Knicks at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, February 25, 1960", "Players to have recorded 50 points and 30 rebounds in the playoffs", "Philadelphia Warriors at Syracuse Nationals Box Score, October 22, 1960", "Boston Celtics at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, November 24, 1960", "Philadelphia Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, November 29, 1960", "Anthony Davis breaks Wilt's All-Star scoring record, earns MVP honors". [11] In his early years Chamberlain was not interested in basketball, because he thought it was "a game for sissies". [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. [32], For many years following Chamberlain's departure from the University of Kansas, critics claimed that he either wanted to leave the very white Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to bring home the NCAA basketball tournament victory. [43] His 58 points were a then-career high for him. A Philadelphia sportswriter coined the nicknames during Chamberlain's high school days. [74] Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain was nowhere to be found, skipping practice and being non-accessible. [68] He did not care for the Sixers' coach, Dolph Schayes, because Schayes, according to him, had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players in the NBA. [94] Instead, the Lakers gave away their 13-point halftime lead and succumbed to the aggressive Knicks defense: L.A. committed 19 second half turnovers, and the two main scorers Chamberlain and West shot the ball only three and two times, respectively, in the entire second half. The Big Dipper and Jamal Murray: How Denver's second star fits into the Western Conference constellation. In what Cherry calls a tumultuous locker room meeting, Hannum addressed several key issues he observed during the last season, several of them putting Chamberlain in an unfavorable light. At the time he claimed 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. [94] In Game 6, Chamberlain scored 45 points, grabbed 27 rebounds and almost single-handedly equalized the series in a 135–113 Lakers win, and with Reed out, the Knicks seemed doomed prior to Game 7 in New York. I was wrong. [13] But according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport. [3][160] Chamberlain, who reportedly had a 50-inch vertical leap,[161] was physically capable of converting foul shots via a slam dunk without a running start (beginning his movement at the top of the key). [18] In that game, West Catholic quadruple-teamed Chamberlain the entire game, and despite the center's 29 points, the Panthers lost 54–42. But because of an NBA rule that prevented college players from playing in the league until their class graduated, he was in limbo for one year. Again, the Lakers charged through the playoffs, and in the 1970 NBA Finals, the Lakers were pitted against the New York Knicks, loaded with future Hall-of-Famers Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Walt Frazier. Was Wilt the greatest ever? [52] Because Chamberlain played in overtime games, he averaged more minutes per game than the regulation 48; in fact, Chamberlain 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. He won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, and nine field goal percentage titles and led the league in assists once. The following season, 1965-66, Philadelphia posted the best record in the league, at 55-25, but for the second year in a row the 76ers fell to Boston in the Eastern Division Finals. [citation needed] When he became a Laker, Chamberlain built a million-dollar mansion he called the "Ursa Major" in Bel-Air, as a play on his nickname "The Big Dipper" (jazz composer Thad Jones also named the music composition Big Dipper after the basketball star). [114] However, Chamberlain was not pleased by the Qs' meager attendance: crowds averaged 1,843, just over half of the Qs' small San Diego 3,200-seat sports arena. [78][79] For these feats, Chamberlain earned his third MVP award. "BIG DIPPER" His full name was Wilton Norman Chamberlain. "[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. [5] Additionally, in an April 1965 issue of Sports Illustrated Chamberlain conducted an interview entitled "My Life in a Bush League" where he criticized his fellow players, coaches, and NBA administrators. Missing from his time with the franchise is a ring. Knowing how dominant he was, the opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. As time progressed, Chamberlain grew even worse, and acknowledged he was simply a "psycho case" on that matter. Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a single NBA game. At the ages of 16 and 17, Chamberlain played several professional games under the pseudonym "George Marcus". Because NCAA rules at the time prohibited freshmen from playing at the varsity level, Chamberlain was placed on the freshman team upon his arrival at Kansas. They claimed Chamberlain as a territorial pick even though he had played his college ball in Kansas. By Kevin Glew He dominated backboards and scoresheets and his popularity transcended his sport. [77] Jerry West called him a "complex ... very nice person",[180] 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. [92] During the ninth game, however, he had a serious knee injury, suffering a total rupture of the patellar tendon at the base of his right kneecap,[93] and missed the next several months before appearing in the final three games of the 82-game regular season. He spent his final five campaigns in Los Angeles and helped the Lakers to the NBA Finals four times in those five seasons.