[42] Chamberlain likened his assist title to legendary home-run hitter Babe Ruth leading the league in sacrifice bunts, and felt he dispelled the myth that he could not and would not pass the ball. [28][d], Chamberlain's freshman team debut was highly anticipated; the freshman squad was pitted against the varsity, a team favored to win their conference that year. [62] Future Georgetown coach John Thompson, then a rookie for the Boston Celtics, elbowed Chamberlain in the face and broke his nose, causing him to wear a face mask in several games. He was also one of the first players to make prominent use of shots like the fade away jump shot and the finger roll. After several Tar Heel turnovers, the game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation.[38]. During his two championship seasons, Chamberlain led the league in rebounding, while his scoring decreased. Quigg made his two foul shots to put the Tar Heels up 5453. [86] In Game 5, Chamberlain scored 46 points and grabbed 34 rebounds, but the Celtics won the game 120112 and the series. Wilt 13 Chamberlain. [n] In the playoffs, the Warriors again met the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals, and this season was called by both Cousy and Russell the greatest Celtics team of all time. [82] After defeating the Cincinnati Royals led by his fellow All-American Robertson in the playoffs, the Sixers met Chamberlain's familiar rival, the Boston Celtics. The Warriors were led by two future Hall-of-Famers in star forward Rick Barry and Chamberlain's one-time backup and center Nate Thurmond. [61], Chamberlain surpassed his rookie season statistics, as he averaged 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. [62] It was the ninth time that Chamberlain would lead the league in field goal percentage. [72] This also meant that the Warriors team broke apart, as Arizin chose to retire rather than move away from his family and his job at IBM in Philadelphia, Warrior coach McGuire chose to resign rather than move to the West Coast, and Gola was homesick, requesting a trade to the lowly New York Knicks halfway through the season. In the playoffs, the Sixers again battled the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals and held home-court advantage. One night, they got up to 25. Van Breda Kolff benched him several times, which never happened in his career before; in mid-season, Chamberlain, a perennial scoring champion, had two games in which he scored only six and then only two points. [111], In the playoffs, the Lakers dispatched 42 Chamberlain's old club, the San Francisco Warriors, after losing the first two games, and then defeated the Atlanta Hawks, and met Chamberlain's familiar rivals, Russell's Boston Celtics. [62] Despite his individual success, the Warriors lost 49 of their 80 games and missed the playoffs. [13], In his second Overbrook season, Chamberlain continued his prolific scoring when he tallied a high-school record 71 points against Roxborough. After that I play defense and get the ball off the boards. 13 in ESPN's list "Top North American Athletes of the Century" in 1999. With 10 seconds remaining, Tar Heels' center Joe Quigg pump faked then drove to the basket. In response, Chamberlain had everybody put all the pens in the middle of the floor and stepped on them. Data Provided By Retired on November 9, 1983 in honor of Wilt Chamberlain, a member of the 1971-72 championship team that won an NBA record 33 consecutive games and a then-NBA record 69 . [124] In 1967, retired NFL star Jim Brown acted as Chamberlain's manager; Ali's manager Jabir Herbert Muhammad backed out of the AliChamberlain match, which was slated to take place at Madison Square Garden. [12] When million-dollar contracts became common in the NBA, Chamberlain increasingly felt he had been underpaid during his career. [141], Volleyball became Chamberlain's new athletic passion. Chamberlain broke Tom Gola's Philadelphia high school scoring record and graduated with 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 points per game. He happened to make a living playing basketball, but he was more than that. Chamberlain feared he might lose his cool one day. [40] In two seasons at KU, he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game, while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds,[9] and led Kansas to one Big Seven championship. Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain skipped practice and was non-accessible. [114] The Lakers lost 107100 in what was called one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history. 13. [21][22] Chamberlain was the youngest member of the team. After two years at Kansas, a frustrated Chamberlain wanted to go pro, but the NBA didn't allow players to join the league until their graduating class had been completed. Chamberlain said: "I've got to hit forty points or so, or this team is in trouble. Abdul-Jabbar accused Chamberlain of being a traitor to the black race for his Republican political leanings, support of Richard Nixon, and relationships with white women. The matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar was hailed by Life as the greatest matchup in all of sports. Wilt Chamberlain was the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 cumulative points over his career, and the first and only player to score 100 points in a single game. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. The ultimate legendary story that really stood out in Wilt's post-career was in 1986. [25], After his last Overbrook season, more than two hundred universities tried to recruit Chamberlain. [35], Chamberlain's prospects of playing under Allen ended when the coach turned 70 shortly after and retired in accordance with KU regulations. He was especially lauded for his good rapport with his fans, often providing tickets and signing autographs. . In addition to Chamberlain's regular-season accomplishments, he scored 42 points in the All-Star Game. [107] Chamberlain then asked for a trade and Sixers general manager Jack Ramsay traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark, and Jerry Chambers. Kosloff and Chamberlain worked out a truce, and later signed a one-year, $250,000 contract. "[86] In Game 3, he scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for the road win. [126] Furthermore, he told Chamberlain to use his rebounding and passing skills to quickly initiate fastbreaks to his teammates. [56] In Game 5, with his hand healthy, Chamberlain recorded 50 points and 35 rebounds in a 128107 win over the Celtics, extending the series to a Game 6. . "[158], Several NBA players and officials were saddened at the loss of a player they remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. In addition, he shot an NBA record 0.727 for the season, bettering his own mark of 0.683 from the 196667 season. [196] Designed according to his preferences, the house was constructed with no right angles, and had an X-rated room with mirrored walls and a fur-covered waterbed. The Celtics were knocked out of the running after eight consecutive championship wins. [146] He would continue to epitomize physical fitness for years to come, including participating in several marathons. Chamberlain was known to sportswriters by several nicknames during his playing career, calling attention to his great height since his high school days. [10] Celtics forward Heinsohn said: "Half the fouls against him were hard fouls he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever. 2 in Slam ' s top 500 NBA players of all time in 2011, In honor of Chamberlain, his jerseys have been retired six times, by Overbrook High . In a fiercely battled Game 4, Chamberlain was playing with five fouls late in the game. 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. [132] In that game, he fell on his right hand and was said to have sprained it but it was actually broken. [98][99] Chamberlain also recorded then the most points in a triple-double. How many rings does Wilt Chamberlain have? . Chamberlain won 2510, and Born was so dejected that he gave up a promising NBA career and became a tractor engineer, recalling: "If there were high school kids that good, I figured I wasn't going to make it to the pros." Peterson felt that the assault was "creepier" because Chamberlain had been a personal friend.[215][216]. [j] Chamberlain capped off his rookie season with a selection to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, winning the All-Star Game and the All-Star Game MVP award with a 23-point, 25-rebound performance. [185] Chamberlain was named All-NBA First Team seven times to Russell's three, but Russell was named the NBA MVPthen selected by players and not the pressfive times against Chamberlain's four. [69][70] In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title. Wilt Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [41][u] Russell won 11 NBA titles in his career while Chamberlain won two. [92], On the hardwood, Chamberlain continued his focus on team play and registered 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds a game for the season. Wilt had long since retired when Jordan emerged, but he alluded to a much-ballyhooed one-on-one clash in the 1980s between 7-foot-1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the 6-7 Julius Erving. The NBA did not formally track blocks and thefts until 1972, thus while these quadruple doubles may have occurred, they are not official. He took the game so seriously that he threw up in the locker room before almost every game. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. [46], 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. That's when the relationship turned sour. As of 2019, he is the first and the only player in NBA history to record 50 points and 35 rebounds in an NBA playoff game. He was interested in world affairs, sometimes he'd call me up late at night and discuss philosophy. [188] While previously friends, after Russell criticized Chamberlain for his performance during Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, the two did not speak for two decades. [23], At the ages of 16 and 17, Chamberlain played several games for the semi-professional Quakertown Fays under the pseudonym George Marcus. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Best Known For: Wilt Chamberlain was the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 cumulative points over his career, and the first and only player to score 100 points in a single game. [184] The two reconciled after two decades, but Chamberlain maintained a level of bitterness, regretted that he had not been "more physical" with Russell in their games, and privately continued accusing his rival for intellectualizing basketball in a negative way. Wilt's basketball career ended in October 1969, when he retired at the age of 33. [56] Chamberlain broke eight NBA records, and he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season. 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. [84] For the fifth time in seven years, Russell's team deprived Chamberlain of the title. In his defense, coach McGuire said that "Wilt has been simply super-human" and commented on how the Warriors lacked a consistent second scorer, a playmaker, and a second big man to take pressure off Chamberlain. "[205] In a 1999 interview shortly before his death, he regretted not having explained the sexual climate at the time of his escapades and warned other men who admired him for it, with the closing words from the chapter of the same book: "With all of you men out there who think that having a thousand different ladies is pretty cool, I have learned in my life I've found out that having one woman a thousand different times is much more satisfying. He wished people would understand that their roles were different. He continued to play well, averaging more than 44 points per game for the 1962-63 season and almost 37 points per game for the 1963-64 season. [8] According to ESPN journalist Hal Bock, Chamberlain was "scary, flat-out frightening before he came along, very few players at the center position possessed his level of athleticism, stature, and stamina. Traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968, Chamberlain again proved that he was a competitive and successful athlete. [109] Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke gave Chamberlain an unprecedented contract, paying him $250,000 after taxes, or about $1.9 million in real value; in comparison, previous Lakers top earner Jerry West was paid $100,000 before taxes (about $780,000 in real value). Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested! Chamberlain had other plans, however, pursuing interests outside of basketball. [58] Chamberlain failed to convert his play into team success, this time bowing out against the Nationals in a three-game sweep. Russell botched the inbounds pass, hitting a guy-wire supporting the backboard, and giving the ball back to the Sixers. [a] Chamberlain had a natural advantage against his peers; he soon was renowned for his scoring talent, his physical strength, and his shot-blocking abilities. Sharman introduced morning shoot-arounds, in which the perennial latecomer Chamberlain regularly participated, in contrast to earlier years with Schayes, and transformed him into a defensive-minded, low-scoring post defender in the mold of his old rival Russell. [48][h] Chamberlain became the NBA's highest paid player when he signed for $30,000, in his rookie contract. [5] As an avid track and field athlete, Chamberlain 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. [130] West called it "the greatest ball-busting performance I have ever seen". Still, his feats as a player were not forgotten. In a physically tough matchup, the Sixers lost sixth man Cunningham with a broken hand, and Chamberlain, Greer, and Jackson were struggling with inflamed feet, bad knees, and pulled hamstrings, respectively. Take a look back at one of the most dominant big men in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain. [166][167][168] Decades after his record, many NBA teams did not even average 100 points.[t]. [157] Goldberg also said: "He was more inquisitive than anybody I ever knew. [19] Overbrook won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 7860; in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again. 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 Counts on 4-of-13 shooting. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. Center [12] In an April 1965 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chamberlain conducted an interview titled "My Life in a Bush League" where he criticized his fellow players, coaches, and NBA administrators. Initially, Sharman wanted Chamberlain and West to share this duty, but West declined, stating he was injury-prone and wanted to solely concentrate on the game. [3] However, according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport in 7th grade. [106] In the second half of Game 7, Chamberlain did not attempt a single shot from the field. [111] Going into the NBA Finals as 3-to-1 favorites, the Lakers won the first two games but dropped the next two. Coach Allen turned 70, the mandatory retirement age for Kansas state employees, and was unexpectedly forced to retire. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Russell's teams won all four series-deciding seventh games against Chamberlain's; by a combined margin of nine points. [q] The team also featured an All-Rookie forward Billy Cunningham in the new sixth man role. That is totally ridiculous. He needed only 56 games to score 2,102 points, which broke the all-time regular-season scoring record of Bob Pettit, who needed 72 games to score 2,101 points. [41] Another landmark was his 25,000th point, making him the first-ever player to score that many points; he gave the ball to his team physician Stan Lorber. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. I try to do them all, best I can, but scoring comes first. In 1991, Chamberlain claimed another, more unusual distinction, when he wrote in his book A View from Above that he had slept with more than 20,000 women during his lifetime. He later admitted that this loss was the most painful of his life. "[187] Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 14.2 and outrebounded him 28.2 to 22.9 in the regular season, and he outscored him 25.7 to 14.9 and outrebounded him 28 to 24.7 in the playoffs as well. [151] According to those close to him, he eventually began taking medication for his heart troubles. [12] Specifically, according to the 2 year contract that Chamberlain had signed prior to the 1971-72 season, if he failed to sign and mail back his next contract his contract with the Lakers would be deemed to be renewed. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. 32 retired by the Nets, and his no. Chamberlain's Lakers coach Bill Sharman said: "First he was a scorer. ", Chamberlain is regarded as one of the most extraordinary and dominant basketball players in the history of the NBA,[41][5][10] often being debated as the greatest NBA player of all time even ahead of Michael Jordan. Wilt didn't sleep the night before he scored 100. [142], Starting in the 1970s, he formed Wilt's Athletic Club, a track and field club in southern California,[143] coached by then UCLA assistant coach Bob Kersee in the early days of his career. After his retirement, Chamberlain explored other opportunities. [14] The Panthers comfortably won the Public League title after again beating Northeast in a game in which Chamberlain scored 40 points, and later won the city title by defeating South Catholic 7450. [114], In Game 6, Chamberlain scored 45 points, grabbed 27 rebounds, and almost single-handedly equalized the series in a 135113 Lakers win, and with Reed out, the Knicks seemed doomed prior to Game 7 in New York City;[114] however, the hero of that Game 7 was Reed, who famously hobbled up court, scored the first four points, and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time. [137] After the season, Chamberlain retired from professional basketball; in addition, he was displeased by the meager attendance, as crowds averaged 1,843, just over half of the team's small Golden Hall, a 3,200-seat sports arena. [140], Barred from playing, Chamberlain mostly left the coaching duties to his assistant Stan Albeck, who recalled: "Chamberlain has a great feel for pro basketball the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball just bored him. . Learn more and register. Along the way to the championship, he also assisted the Sixers in defeating the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals. He did not care for the Sixers' coach Dolph Schayes because in his view Schayes had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, The Man Behind the First All-Black Basketball Team, 8 Times Brothers Have Faced Off in a Championship, Every Black Quarterback to Play in the Super Bowl, Soccer Star Christian Atsu Survived an Earthquake. [42], However, Russell and Chamberlain were friends in private life. "[47], After losing Baylor to an Achilles tendon rupture that effectively ended his career, and especially after losing West after a knee injury, the handicapped Lakers were seen as underdogs in the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks of Alcindor, freshly crowned MVP, and the veteran Hall-of-Fame guard Robertson, whom they faced in the Western Conference Finals. In Game 2, the Bucks won again despite Chamberlain scoring 26 points, four more than his Milwaukee counterpart. Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. [103], For these feats, Chamberlain won his fourth and final MVP title. [45] One particular Globetrotter skit involved captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground, and instead of helping him up, Chamberlain threw him several feet high up in the air and caught him like a doll. [69] Each team won their home games, so the series was split at three after six games. Stats: 50.4 PPG, 25.7 RPG, 2.4 APG. Their relationship remained mostly strained until Chamberlain's death. The two would later develop an intense rivalry and personal antipathy. Wilt Chamberlain attended Overbrook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Kansas. [92] In Game 6, the Warriors were trailing 123122 with 15 seconds left. [62] Powered by his defensive presence, the Lakers embarked on an unprecedented 33-game win streak en route to a then-record 69 wins in the regular season, yet the streak led to one strangely dissonant event. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? [114], In the 197071 NBA season, the Lakers made a notable move by signing future Hall-of-Fame guard Gail Goodrich, who came back from the Suns after playing for the Lakers until 1968. When did wilt chamberlain retire? "[111] The greatest problem was his tense relationship with Van Breda Kolff. [211] When Abdul-Jabbar broke his all-time scoring record in 1984, Chamberlain criticized his game and called on him to retire. By the time he retired in 1973, Chamberlain had amassed an amazing array of career statistics. So Katz crafted the lofty proposal of luring 45-year-old Wilt Chamberlain out of retirement after being out of the league for nine seasons. Cherry describes how Celtics coach Auerbach ordered his forward Tom Heinsohn to commit personal fouls on Chamberlain; whenever the Warriors shot foul shots, Heinsohn grabbed and shoved Chamberlain to prevent him from running back quickly.