Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was a 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.

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. 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 per game. He became the first of two players (with Wes Unseld, 1969) 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 a repeated occurrence in Chamberlain's career.

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

In the 1962 NBA season, Chamberlain averaged his career best 50.4 ppg. 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.

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's appearance in 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 Sixers 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 glass-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 ^*. In 1980, that 1967 Philadelphia team was voted the NBA's best team during 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 final time, while leading the league in total assists with 702 (8.6 apg).

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.

However, Baylor and Chamberlain only played a handfull of games together as teammates due to career-ending and/or season-ending knee injuries. In Wilt's case, the surgeon needed to drill a hole through his kneecap and pass a tendon through it. The recovery from such extensive surgery was long and arduous. The knee injury also severely limited the number of games that he played against young Milwaukee Bucks center Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Chamberlain was the only basketball player to ever block one of Abdul-Jabbar's "sky-hook" shots.

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.

The fact that at the time Chamberlain 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 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, he was branded by some as a scapegoat and a quitter. Even Bill Russell ridiculed him, almost causing 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 ^*. 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 Although Reed was only able to play a small fraction of the game, and hardly able to 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.[http://webuns.chez-alice.fr/finals/1970.htm#Game%20#7.

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, however, 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."

However, Chamberlain and West would win their first and only Lakers title in 1972, notably in the first season without Elgin Baylor. The other stars of this team were the forwards, scorer Jim McMillian and Happy Hairston, a rebounding and defensive specialist. In the series against the Knicks, Chamberlain scored 19.2 PPG and was elected Finals MVP mainly due to his incredible rebounding. In the final game, he scored 23 points and had 29 rebounds, despite playing with a badly sprained right wrist. On the series, he grabbed averaged 23.2 rebounds per game, taking in almost a quarter of the series' entire rebound total — at age 36^*.

The next year, in what would be Chamberlain's final NBA season, at age 37, he still lead the league in rebounding with 18.6 rpg, while shooting an NBA record 72.7% field-goal percentage.

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

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

Going into 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."

Indeed, not 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. 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. Unfortunately, no video footage exists of this phenomenal achievement because the game was not televised, although there is an audio archive since the game was broadcast over the radio and recorded.

Chamberlain's stat line was 36-of-63 on field goals and 28-of-32 on free throws; remarkable because Chamberlain made barely half his free throws during his career. At the time of the game, the three-point line had not yet been instituted. Remarkably, Chamberlain initially said that he was "embarrassed" by these stats, proclaiming his shame at taking 63 field goal attempts and making "only" 36 ^*.

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 apiece, but still, their cumulative total was topped by Chamberlain.

Chamberlain's 78-point triple-overtime game against the Lakers also 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 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.
Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds per game for his career.
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.
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. The next closest player on that list is Michael Jordan, who accomplished the feat 31 times.
Chamberlain also set a record for rebounds in a game with 55, against the Celtics on November 24, 1960. The opposing team in that game was the Boston Celtics, with center Bill Russell, who had held the prior one-game record of 51.
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 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, 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.

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 May have only won one title but is the NBA leader in triple-doubles and the only NBA player to average a triple double season. Also Robertson was stated to be the answer to any NBA superstar question by Chamberlain himself.

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.

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 RussellIn fact Chamberlain's overall rebounds per game was only 22.9 so Chamberlain actually rebounded better against the supposedly superior defensive player Russell. [http://www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain_stats.html

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

Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (1978)
2x NBA champion (1967, '72)
1x NBA Finals MVP (1972)
4x NBA regular season MVP (1959-60, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68 seasons)
7x All-NBA First Team (1960, '61, '62, '64, '66, '67, '68)
3x All-NBA Second Team ('63, '65, '72)
2x All-Defensive First Team (1972, '73)
Rookie of the Year (1959-1960 season)
One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Chamberlain ranked #2 in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.

Personal life

Chamberlain also earned accolades in other sports. In track and field, he ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, 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 ^*. He later won the high jump in the Big Eight track and field championships at the University of Kansas. 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

Chamberlain wrote four books, including his second autobiography, A View from Above (1991), in which he controversially 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 wild sexual behavior. 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 sexual escapades, 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.

Trivia

When Chamberlain played with the Harlem Globetrotters, coach Abe Saperstein had the dilemma of having two great centers, namely Meadowlark Lemon, the undisputed "clown prince" of the Trotters, and Chamberlain. Saperstein settled for an original approach: he played Wilt as a point guard, thus enabling him to show off his shooting, passing, and penetration skills. The seven-foot-one Chamberlain was arguably the largest starting point guard ever to play on such a high level. (Reference: Spinning the Globe)
Libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick created the "Wilt Chamberlain example" (i.e. that Chamberlain was entitled to higher compensation because of his superior ability the court) in order to demonstrate that non-entitlement theories of justice were inherently unjust.
When NASCAR introduced restrictor plate racing to its Daytona and Talladega superspeedways, some drivers compared the idea of using the plates on such tracks to "Wilt Chamberlain playing on his knees".
Wilt, a tall, lanky, basketball fan and imaginary friend in the animated television series Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends is named after Chamberlain.
While a student at the Unversity of Kansas, Chamberlain briefly hosted a radio show, called "Flippin' with the Dipper", on the campus station.
Although Chamberlain was dominant on the rebounding boards, there was a season in which one of his teammates accumulated 1,000 or more rebounds. In the 1971-72 season with the Lakers, forward Happy Hairston grabbed 1,045 while Chamberlain snared 1,572.
During July 1954, he was showcased in a Paramount Newsreel, which was exhibited nationally theatrically; the title of the story being Giant Basketball Sensation and the narration was done by Marty Glickman who can also be seen with the 17-year old Chamberlain in the newsreel. There is also footage of Chamberlain in Monticello, New York at a resort, making a couple of baskets during a small game. The newsreel ends prophetically with Glickman intoning to "remember the name (Chamberlain), it will probably make big sports copy for years to come."

Books

Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door (1973, autobiography, with David Shaw)
A View From Above (1991, 2nd autobiography)
Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball (1994, by Terry Pluto)
Wilt: Larger Than Life (2004, by Robert Cherry)
Wilt, 1962 (2005, by Gary M. Pomerantz)

External links

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