", "Greatness Revisited: Why Wilt Chamberlain Was the Greatest NBA Player Ever", "11 Memorable Wilt Chamberlain Performances", "Are all sports records made to be broken? This caused sports journalist Joe McGinnis to comment: "The Celtics played like champions and the Sixers just played. [83] The two teams split the first six games and the last game was held in the Celtics' Boston Garden because of the better season record. Winning the regular season with 66 wins, the Bucks were seen as favorites against the depleted Lakers; still, many pundits were looking forward to the matchup between the 34-year-old Chamberlain and the 24-year-old Alcindor. The 210-pound Lemon later recounted how Chamberlain was "the strongest athlete who ever lived". Shoots: He was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers team that won the NBA championship in 1967. Thursday, December 30. [42] Frank Deford of ESPN said that Chamberlain was caught in a no-win situation: "If you win, everybody says, 'Well, look at him, he's that big.' When did Wilt Chamberlain retire? Chamberlain divided that number in half, to be conservative and to correct for degrees of variation. [115] The Knicks led by 27 at halftime, and despite scoring 21 points, Chamberlain could not prevent a third consecutive loss in Game 7. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. [127] While no longer being the main scorer, Chamberlain was named the new captain of the Lakers. Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university, so the Celtics could draft him as an NBA territorial pick, but Chamberlain did not respond. In Game 1, the Sixers beat Boston 127112, powered by Greer's 39 points and Chamberlain's unofficial quadruple double, with 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 unofficially counted blocks. Kobe was able to score more points faster than Chamberlain because he's such a good outside shooter and had an opportunity to score more points per shot than Chamberlain did. [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. All Rights Reserved. The Sixers charged their way to a then-record 6813 season, including a record 464 start. "[43], Despite some reluctance, after the trade, Chamberlain found himself on a promising Sixers team that included veteran shooting guard Hal Greer, a future Hall-of-Famer, and talented role players in point guard Larry Costello, small forward Chet Walker, and centers Johnny "Red" Kerr and Lucious Jackson. The Big Dipper participated in pickup games regularly, going well into his 40s and played against many of the . He eventually reached his full height of a staggering 7'1" tall. By doing this, he won Chamberlain's respect. [75] Backed up by valuable rookie Thurmond, Chamberlain recorded 36.9 points and 22.3 rebounds per game,[62] and the Warriors went all the way to the NBA Finals. He scored 32 points and led Overbrook to a 190 season. [5], Chamberlain's game evolved over the years. He is also the only one to average 50 points in a season, or to gather 55 rebounds in a game. In the scuffle, Chamberlain injured his hand, and Philadelphia lost the next two games. Do you have a blog? [43] According to Ramsay, Chamberlain threatened to jump to the ABA after Hannum left and forced the trade. Chamberlain ultimately won two NBA championships, four regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one Finals MVP award, and one All-Star Game MVP award, and he was selected to thirteen All-Star Games and ten All-NBA Teams (seven First and three Second teams). [47], In 2015, a man named Aaron Levi came forward claiming to be Chamberlain's son based on non-identifying papers from his adoption and information from his biological mother. Wilton Norman Chamberlain (/tembrln/; August 21, 1936 October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played at the center position. The press called it an even matchup in all positions, even at center, where Russell was expected to give Chamberlain a tough battle. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. According to Sixers general manager Jack Ramsay, "Harvey [Pollack] said he used to tell one of his statisticians to keep track of Wilt's blocks in big games. His success near the basket led to the widening of the lane, offensive goaltending rules, and it being illegal to inbound over the backboard. [10][12], Chamberlain averaged 31 points a game during the 1953 high school season and led his team to a 7162 win over Northeast High School of Guy Rodgers, Chamberlain's future NBA teammate. During his NBA career, Chamberlain committed few fouls despite his rugged play in the post, and he never fouled out of a regular-season or playoff game in his 14-year NBA career. Learn more and register. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. Retirement. [20], In 1953, while still a sophomore in high school, Chamberlain won his first championship. If you lose, everybody says, 'How could he lose, a guy that size? This angered the team, who preferred an early schedule to have the afternoon off, but Schayes just said: "There is no other way." [106] In Game 2, Philadelphia evened the series with a 115106 victory, and won Games 3 and 4, with Chamberlain suspiciously often played by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry, causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down. His ability to leap from the foul line led to the rule that a free throw shooter must keep his feet behind the line. Do you have a sports website? - Celeb Answers; 2 2.Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipedia; 3 3.How a retired Wilt humbled Magic Johnson in a pickup game nearly 4 4.Wilt Chamberlain: Career retrospective - Yardbarker.com; 5 5.Wilt Chamberlain declined Sixers' invitation to come out of 6 6.Legends profile: Wilt Chamberlain . 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. [69][70] In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title. [71], In the 196263 NBA season, Gottlieb sold the Warriors franchise for $850,000,[o] to a group of businessmen led by Franklin Mieuli from San Francisco and the team relocated to become the San Francisco Warriors under new coach Bob Feerick. Chamberlain played in the NBA from 1959 to 1973. Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia Warriors, holding a sign reading "100" in the dressing room in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962, after he scored 100 points as the Warriors defeated the New York . 1 1.Why & When Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire? . 6 in a similar list by The Athletic. (Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, Dippy, Dip, The Load, Big Musty, The Record Book, Hook and Ladder, Wiltie, Whip, Whipper), Position: We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He also twice made All-Defensive First Team. Allen's age was no surprise, of course, but most people . In Game 5, the valiant but injured West and Hairston had bad games, and the Lakers lost the game 10293 and the series 32, despite Chamberlain scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. Why did Wilt Chamberlain retire from the NBA? Chamberlain often invited Russell over to Thanksgiving and visited Russell's place, where conversation mostly concerned Russell's electric trains. [19] Overbrook won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 7860; in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again. He was also once league president, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. Cherry says that Chamberlain was not a natural leader or a loyal follower, which made him difficult to fit in. The Jayhawks were defeated by North Carolina, but Chamberlain was named "Most Outstanding Player" of the tournament. By season's end, Chamberlain racked up more than 4,000 pointsbecoming the first NBA player to do soscoring an average of 50.4 points per game. [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. [132], The 197273 NBA season was to be Chamberlain's last, although he did not know this at the time. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. [76] Cherry says not only Chamberlain but Hannum in particular deserved much credit because he had basically had taken the bad 3149 squad of last year, plus Thurmond, and made it into an NBA Finals contender. The Celtics prevented a sweep by winning Game 4 with a 121117 victory. [40], Having lost the enjoyment from NCAA basketball and wanting to earn money, he left college and sold the story named "Why I Am Leaving College" to Look for $10,000, a large sum when NBA players earned $9,000 in a whole season. Just Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich share the honor to have their jersey retired by three different teams. [138] The Lakers sued their former star and successfully prevented him from actually playing because he still owed them the option year of his contract. [141], Volleyball became Chamberlain's new athletic passion. Wilt Chamberlain was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1979 (Full List) Standing at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest . In that series, they again succumbed to Russell's Boston Celtics, this time losing 41. He once said that "no one cheered for Goliath," but the response to his passing proved that to be false. [189], Although Chamberlain racked up some of the most impressive statistics in the history of Northern American professional sports, Chamberlain was often called selfish and a loser because he won only two NBA championships and lost seven out of eight playoff series against the Celtics teams of his rival Bill Russell. In Game 6, in which Chamberlain recorded 18 rebounds and 4 assists but only 8 points, the Celtics won 9990. [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. [53] On January 25, 1960, Chamberlain recorded a rare feat in the NBA, posting at least 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game. [105], In the Eastern Division Finals, the Sixers met the Boston Celtics, again with home-court advantage and this time as reigning champions. The two would later develop an intense rivalry and personal antipathy. [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. Coach Allen turned 70, the mandatory retirement age for Kansas state employees, and was unexpectedly forced to retire. Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain was born on August 21, 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. [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. [133] Chamberlain's all-around performance helped the Lakers win their first championship in Los Angeles with a decisive 114100 win. Chamberlain became coach of the San Diego Conquistadors for a year before turning to business and entertainment. 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. [50], In the 195960 NBA season, Chamberlain joined a Philadelphia Warriors squad that was coached by Neil Johnston and included Hall-of-Famers guard Tom Gola and forward "Pitchin'" Paul Arizin, plus Ernie Beck and Guy Rodgers; remarkably, all five starters were Philadelphians. [41] In that season, Chamberlain again dominated his opposition by recording 33.5 points and 24.6 rebounds a game, leading the league in both categories. [62] His efficiency that season was reflected by a streak of 35 consecutive made field goals over the course of four games in February. He had played in 1,045 games and achieved an average of 30.1 points per gamethe NBA points-per-game record until Michael Jordan broke it in 1998. The first team to retire Chamberlain's No. He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot-putted 56 feet, triple jumped more than 50 feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight Conference track and field championships three straight years. [132] Chamberlain was named the NBA Finals MVP,[62] and he was admired for dominating the Knicks in Game 5 while playing injured. With rookie Jim McMillian easing the scoring pressure, Chamberlain scored 24 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in a 118107 victory, but the Bucks defeated the Lakers 11794 in Game 4 to take a 31 series lead. [135][136], In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the NBA rival league ABA signed Chamberlain as a player-coach for a $600,000 salary. Red Kerr set a pick on Sam Jones to free Chet Walker. He was writing a screenplay about his life. [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. With 10 seconds remaining, Tar Heels' center Joe Quigg pump faked then drove to the basket. Chamberlain was also a lifelong bachelor and became notorious for his statement of having had sexual relations with as many as 20,000 women. [212] Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.,[213] and he considered himself a Republican. Russell regularly feared being embarrassed by Chamberlain,[43] and Walt Frazier called his dominance on the court "comical". [132] In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for another Lakers win. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? [45], On October 24, 1959, Chamberlain made his NBA debut, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors. Renowned for his strength, he appeared as the antagonist in the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Conan the Destroyer. [88] Concerning basketball, he persuaded him to change his style of play. He chose to spend the next season performing with the Harlem Globetrotters before landing a spot with the Philadelphia Warriors. [114] In Game 5, with the Knicks trailing by double digits, Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed to be done for the series. Go back in time and learn about Wilt Chamberlain's early years growing up, and early years in the NBA. After his retirement, Chamberlain explored other opportunities. [12][89] Kerr was traded to the Baltimore Bullets for point guard Wali Jones, and shooting guard Matt Guokas was selected in the first round of the 1966 NBA Draft. Former teammate Billy Cunningham remarked The NBA Guide reads like Wilt's personal diary. Unlike Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry never switched back to overhand free throws. [51], In what was the first of many match-ups, Chamberlain outscored Russell with 30 points versus 28 points but Boston won the game, and the ChamberlainRussell rivalry (see below) would grow to become one of the NBA's greatest of all time. home/away, monthly, etc More Wilt Chamberlain Basketball Reference pages, Compare Wilt Chamberlain to other players. Chamberlain was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. He won 11 NBA titles in the 13 seasons that he played with the Boston Celtics, and he became the . The NBA did not formally track blocks and thefts until 1972, thus while these quadruple doubles may have occurred, they are not official. Wilt Chamberlain " To Bill, every game-every championship game-was a challenge, a test to his manhood. Wilt Chamberlain had his no. [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. Cherry criticizes his performance, saying that if "Chamberlain had come up big and put up a normal 30 point scoring night", the Lakers would have probably won their first championship at Los Angeles. [129], In the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Chicago Bulls, then went on to face the Milwaukee Bucks of young center and regular-season MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor). What Year Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire? [5][155][156] His longtime attorney Sy Goldberg stated Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure. He once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book. [40] Teammate Bob Billings commented: "It was not fun basketball we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth. [92] In Game 2, the Sixers won 107102 in overtime, and player-coach Russell grudgingly praised Chamberlain for intimidating the Celtics into taking low percentage shots from further outside. Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records, so many that it led former teammate Billy Cunningham to remark The NBA Guide reads like Wilt's personal diary." [17], In Chamberlain's third and final Overbrook season, he continued his high scoring, logging 74, 78, and 90 points in three consecutive games. There's a reason why one of Wilt Chamberlain's many nicknames was "The Record Book". [110] Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. According to various unofficial box scores at the time, Wilt Chamberlain had three quadruple doubles in the 1960s playoffs. They were "his second set of parents" according to their son Mark. Heat 111-107 Hornets Heat tied Bulls atop East at All-Star break with 2 OT win over . [130] Chamberlain performed so well in the series that Time stated: "In the N.B.A. [83], In the final minute, Chamberlain hit two clutch free throws and slam dunked on Russell, bringing Boston's lead down to 110109 with five seconds left. [150] He had been working on the screenplay notes for over a year at the time of his death. In addition, he shot an NBA record 0.727 for the season, bettering his own mark of 0.683 from the 196667 season. [85] Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image. On October 12, 1999, Chamberlain died at age63 at his home in Bel Air. [88] Off the court, Chamberlain invited the team to restaurants and paid the entire bill, knowing he earned ten times more than all the others. 101", "The NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, ranked: Where 76 basketball legends check in on our list", "NBA 75: Top 75 NBA players of all time, from MJ and LeBron to Lenny Wilkens", "Chat Transcript: Celtics Legend Bill Russell", "Wilt was Philadelphia's greatest athlete", "N.B.A. After losing Clark and Gail Goodrich, who joined the Phoenix Suns after the 1968 NBA expansion draft, he said: "Egan gets murdered on defense because of his [lack of] size but if I don't play him, we look like a bunch of trucks. He chose to attend the University of Kansas, making his college basketball debut in 1956 with the Jayhawks, and leading the team to the NCAA finals in 1957. He was named one of the top all-time 50 NBA players in 1996. He also led the league in rebounds (24.2), was third in assists (7.8), and played strong defense.