148 Facts About Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was an American professional basketball player.

Wilt Chamberlain served one term as league president, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions.

Wilt Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records including several regular season records in scoring, rebounding, and durability; blocks were not counted during his career.

Wilt Chamberlain is best-remembered as the only player to score 100 points in a single game.

Wilt Chamberlain once gathered 55 rebounds, and never fouled out.

Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to average 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, a feat he accomplished seven times.

Wilt Chamberlain once averaged 50 points per game, as well as 48 minutes per game.

Wilt Chamberlain ultimately won two NBA championships, four regular-season Most Valuable Player awards, the Rookie of the Year, one Finals MVP, and one All-Star Game MVP; he was selected to thirteen All-Star Games and ten All-NBA Teams.

Wilt Chamberlain won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine durability, and nine field goal percentage titles; and he once led the league in assists.

Wilt Chamberlain had an on-court rivalry with Boston Celtics' center Bill Russell, suffering a long string of losses before breaking through and winning the 1967 NBA Finals as a member of the 76ers.

Wilt Chamberlain won his second championship as a member of the 1972 Lakers, a team which set a record with a 33-game winning streak.

Wilt Chamberlain was one of the first players to make prominent use of shots like the fade away jump shot, and the finger roll.

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August 21,1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a family of nine children; he was the son of domestic worker and homemaker Olivia Ruth Johnson and William Chamberlain, a welder, custodian, and handyman.

Wilt Chamberlain was a frail child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years and missing a whole year of school as a result.

Wilt Chamberlain was the star player for the Overbrook Panthers basketball team, wearing jersey number five.

Wilt Chamberlain had a natural advantage against his peers; he became renowned for his scoring talent, physical strength, and shot-blocking abilities.

Wilt Chamberlain changed the game in fundamental ways no other player did.

Wilt Chamberlain broke Hall of Fame guard Tom Gola's Philadelphia-high-school scoring record and graduated with 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 points per game.

Wilt Chamberlain scored 34 points as Overbrook won the Philadelphia Public League title and gained a spot in the city championship game against West Catholic High School, the winner of the rival Catholic league.

Wilt Chamberlain scored a high-school record 71 points against Roxborough.

The Panthers comfortably won the Public League title after again beating Northeast High, as Wilt Chamberlain scored 40 points.

Wilt Chamberlain scored 32 points and Overbrook finished the season undefeated.

Auerbach wanted Wilt Chamberlain to go to a New England university so the Celtics could draft him as a territorial pick but Wilt Chamberlain did not respond.

In 1953, while still a sophomore in high school, Wilt Chamberlain won his first championship.

At the ages of 16 and 17, Wilt Chamberlain, using the pseudonym George Marcus, played several games for the semi-professional team Quakertown Fays.

The games were reported in Philadelphia publications but Wilt Chamberlain tried to keep them secret from the Amateur Athletic Union.

In 1955, Wilt Chamberlain entered the University of Kansas ; he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and was president of his pledge class.

Wilt Chamberlain ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot-putted fifty-six feet, triple jumped more than fifty feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight Conference track-and-field championships in three consecutive years.

Wilt Chamberlain dominated his older college teammates by scoring 42 points, grabbing 29 rebounds, and registering 4 blocks.

Wilt Chamberlain was the catalyst for several 1956 NCAA basketball rule changes, including the requirement for a shooter to keep both feet behind the line during a free-throw attempt.

Wilt Chamberlain had a 50-inch vertical leap, and was capable of converting foul shots by dunking without a running start, beginning his movement just steps behind the top of the key.

In 1998, Wilt Chamberlain returned to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, to participate in a jersey-retiring ceremony for his No 13 jersey.

On December 3,1956, Wilt Chamberlain made his varsity basketball debut as a center for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Wilt Chamberlain's performance led Kansas to an insurmountable lead and he rested on the bench for the final three-and-three-quarter minutes remaining in the game.

Wilt Chamberlain blocked Quigg's shot but was called for the foul.

Wilt Chamberlain considered it the most painful loss of his life, the first time his team lost despite his impressive individual statistics.

At that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed; Wilt Chamberlain decided to play for Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for $50,000, The team enjoyed a sold-out tour of the Soviet Union in 1959; they were greeted by General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev prior to the start of a game at Moscow's Lenin Central Stadium.

One Globetrotter skit involved Captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground; instead of helping him up, Wilt Chamberlain threw him several feet into the air and caught him like a doll.

In later years, Wilt 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 was one of several artists who loved to entertain audiences.

On October 24,1959, Wilt Chamberlain made his NBA debut, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors.

Wilt Chamberlain became the NBA's highest-paid player when he signed for $30,000 in his rookie contract.

On January 25,1960, Wilt Chamberlain had 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game, a rare occurrence.

Wilt Chamberlain needed only 56 games to score 2,102 points, breaking the all-time regular-season scoring record of Bob Pettit, who needed 72 games to score 2,101 points.

Wilt Chamberlain broke eight NBA records, and he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season.

Wilt Chamberlain ended 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.

The teams split the first two games but Wilt Chamberlain became annoyed with Heinsohn and punched him during Game 3.

Wilt Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring.

Wilt Chamberlain exceeded his rookie-season statistics, averaging 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game.

Wilt Chamberlain became the first player to score more than 3,000 points, and the first and still the only player to exceed 2,000-rebounds in a single season, grabbing 2,149 boards.

Wilt Chamberlain failed to convert his play into team success, this time bowing out against the Nationals in a three-game sweep.

In that year, Wilt Chamberlain set several all-time records which have never been threatened; he averaged 50.4 points and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game.

Wilt Chamberlain scored 2,052 points and played for an average of 48.53 minutes per game, playing 3,882 of his team's 3,890 minutes.

On March 2,1962, on a neutral court against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points.

Wilt Chamberlain shot 36 of 63 from the field and uncharacteristically made 28 of 32 free throws.

In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title; McGuire said "Wilt has been simply super-human" and that the Warriors lacked a consistent second scorer, a playmaker, and a second big man to take pressure off Chamberlain.

At the 1965 All-Star Weekend, Wilt Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, the renamed former-rival and relocated Syracuse Nationals.

Wilt Chamberlain did not like the Sixers' coach Dolph Schayes, whom he thought had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players.

Cherry noted there was tension within the team because Greer was the formerly undisputed leader and was not willing to give up his authority, and Jackson, a talented center, was now forced to play power forward because Wilt Chamberlain occupied the center spot.

Wilt Chamberlain posted 34.7 points and 22.9 rebounds per game overall for the season.

In that Game 7, Wilt Chamberlain scored 30 points and 32 rebounds while Russell logged 16 points, 27 rebounds, and eight assists.

Wilt Chamberlain later said he could see in hindsight the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image.

In that season, Wilt Chamberlain again dominated his opposition by recording 33.5 points and 24.6 rebounds a game, leading the league in both categories.

In one game, Wilt Chamberlain dislocated the shoulder of Baltimore Bullets player Gus Johnson by blocking his dunk attempt.

Irv Kosloff, who owned the Sixers alone after Richman's death, pleaded with Wilt Chamberlain to move to Philadelphia during the season but he refused.

In Game 3, Wilt Chamberlain scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for the road win.

Schayes defended Wilt Chamberlain as "excused from practice" but his teammates knew the truth and were less forgiving.

When emotions dissipated, Hannum told Wilt Chamberlain he was trying to win a title but that to achieve this, Wilt Chamberlain had to "act like a man" both on and off the court.

Wilt Chamberlain led the league in rebounds, was third in assists, and played strong defense.

The formerly egotistical Wilt Chamberlain began to praise his teammates, lauding hardworking Lucious Jackson as the "ultimate power forward"; calling Greer a deadly jump-shooter; and Jones an excellent defender and outsider scorer.

Russell, who was coming close to the first real loss of his career, said; "Right now, he [Wilt Chamberlain] is playing like me [to win]".

Kosloff declined the request, angering Wilt Chamberlain, who was willing to move to the rival American Basketball Association once his contract ended in 1967.

Kosloff and Wilt Chamberlain worked out a truce and later signed a one-year, $250,000 contract.

On court, Wilt Chamberlain continued his focus on team play, and registered 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds a game for the season.

The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third consecutive season, and Wilt Chamberlain became the only center in NBA history to finish the season as the leader in assists, his 702 beating runner-up point guard and future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens' total by 23.

Wilt Chamberlain likened his assist title to baseball home-run hitter Babe Ruth leading the league in sacrifice bunts, and felt he dispelled the myth he was incapable or unwilling to pass the ball.

Wilt Chamberlain scored his 25,000th point, making him the first-ever player to score that many points; he gave the ball to team physician Stan Lorber.

Cherry said there is a strange pattern in that game because in a typical Sixers game, Wilt Chamberlain got the ball 60 times in the low post but only 23 times in Game 7, with seven in the third quarter and twice in the fourth quarter.

Wilt Chamberlain later blamed coach Hannum for the lack of touches, a point Hannum conceded.

Wilt 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.

Pejoratively calling the new recruit "The Load", van Breda Kolff later said Wilt Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice, and focused too much on his own statistics.

Wilt Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever".

Cherry criticized his performance, saying if "Wilt Chamberlain had come up big and put up a normal 30 point scoring night", the Lakers would have probably won their first championship in Los Angeles.

In spite of their earlier quarrels, Van Breda Kolff came to Wilt Chamberlain's defense, saying the often-maligned Wilt Chamberlain hardly was able to move by the end.

In Game 4, Wilt Chamberlain scored 18 points and grabbed 25 rebounds, helping tie the series at 2.

The Knicks led by 27 at halftime, and despite Wilt Chamberlain scoring 21 points, Lakers had their third consecutive loss in Game 7.

Wilt Chamberlain was criticized for his inability to dominate his injured counterpart but according to Cherry, Wilt Chamberlain's feat, coming back from a career-threatening injury, was too-quickly forgotten.

Wilt Chamberlain averaged 20.7 points, 18.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists; he led the NBA in rebounding and the Lakers won the Pacific Division title.

Wilt Chamberlain trained with Cus d'Amato for the 15-round bout, set to take place on July 26,1971, in the Houston Astrodome.

In 1965, Wilt Chamberlain consulted his father, who had seen Ali fight, and advised Wilt Chamberlain against it.

Cooke offered Wilt Chamberlain a record-setting contract on the condition he agreed to give up what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness".

Wilt Chamberlain ultimately used a contractual escape; Joe Frazier gave Ali his first professional loss, enabling Wilt Chamberlain to legally withdraw from the bout.

Sharman introduced morning shoot-arounds, in which the perennial latecomer Wilt Chamberlain regularly participated, in contrast to earlier years with Schayes, and transformed him into a defensive-minded, low-scoring post defender in the style of Russell.

Wilt Chamberlain scored 24 points and 22 rebounds, played all 48 minutes, and outsprinted the younger Bucks center on several late Lakers fast breaks.

In Game 3, Wilt Chamberlain scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for another Lakers win.

Wilt Chamberlain had never fouled out in his career, a record for which he was very proud.

Wilt Chamberlain scored a game-high 27 points and, at one point, fell on his right hand, and was thought to have sprained it, but it was broken.

Wilt Chamberlain recorded 24 points, 29 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8 blocked shots; announcer Keith Jackson counted the blocks during the broadcast.

Wilt Chamberlain was named the Finals MVP, and admired for playing while injured.

Wilt Chamberlain averaged 13.2 points and 18.6 rebounds to win the rebounding title for the 11th time in his career.

The Lakers sued Wilt Chamberlain and prevented him from playing for the Conquistadors because he still owed the Lakers the option year of his contract.

Wilt Chamberlain once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book.

Wilt Chamberlain appeared in advertisements for TWA, American Express, Volkswagen, Drexel Burnham, Le Tigre Clothing, and Foot Locker.

Wilt Chamberlain sponsored his own professional volleyball and track and field teams, and provided high-level teams for girls and women in basketball, track, volleyball, and softball.

Wilt Chamberlain became a board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association in 1974 and became its president in 1975.

Wilt Chamberlain played occasional matches for IVA Seattle Smashers before the league folded in 1979.

Wilt Chamberlain promoted the sport so effectively he was named to the IVA Hall of Fame and became one of the few athletes who were enshrined in multiple sports.

Wilt Chamberlain signed 60 athletes and planned to expand to 100.

When Wilt Chamberlain was 50, the New Jersey Nets made Wilt Chamberlain an offer, which he declined.

Wilt Chamberlain continued to maintain his physical fitness for several years, participating in several marathons.

When million-dollar contracts became common in the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain increasingly felt he had been underpaid during his career.

In 1976, Wilt Chamberlain, who was interested in movies, forming a film production and distribution company to make his first film, which was entitled Go For It.

Wilt Chamberlain played a villainous warrior and counterpart of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer.

Wilt Chamberlain had been working on the screenplay notes for over a year at the time of his death.

Wilt Chamberlain, who had a history of cardiovascular disease, was briefly hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat in 1992.

Wilt Chamberlain was more inquisitive than anybody I ever knew.

Wilt Chamberlain was interested in world affairs, sometimes he'd call me up late at night and discuss philosophy.

Wilt Chamberlain happened to make a living playing basketball, but he was more than that.

Wilt Chamberlain is regarded as one of the most-extraordinary and dominant basketball players in NBA history, and is often being debated as the greatest NBA player of all time, ahead of Michael Jordan.

Wilt Chamberlain was a scoring champion, all-time top rebounder, and accurate field-goal shooter.

Wilt Chamberlain led the NBA in scoring seven times, field-goal percentage nine times, minutes played eight times, rebounding eleven times, and assists once.

Wilt Chamberlain is most remembered for his 100-point game, which is widely considered one of basketball's greatest records.

In high school and college, Wilt Chamberlain was Mr Basketball USA, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1957, and twice consensus first-team All-American in 1957 and 1958.

Wilt Chamberlain had five seasons in which he committed fewer than two fouls per game, and a career-low of 1.5 fouls during the 1962 season, in which he averaged 50.4 points per game.

In 2022, Wilt Chamberlain was ranked fifth in ESPN's list of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and sixth in a similar list by The Athletic.

Wilt Chamberlain wished people would understand that their roles were different.

When Wilt Chamberlain died in 1999, Wilt Chamberlain's nephew stated that Russell was the second person to whom he was ordered to break the news.

Wilt Chamberlain knows he is going to lose and be blamed for the loss, so he dreads it, and you can see it in his eyes; and anyone who has ever played with him will agree with me, regardless of whether they would admit it publicly.

Wilt Chamberlain later acknowledged that he was a "psycho case" in this matter.

Much like later center Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain would be fouled intentionally, and was a target of criticism because of it.

Coach Hannum once suggested he shoot his famous fadeaway jumper as a free throw, but Wilt Chamberlain feared drawing more attention to his one great failing.

Wilt Chamberlain later said that he was too embarrassed by the underhand technique to continue using it, even though it consistently gave him better results.

Wilt Chamberlain was the first big earner of basketball; he immediately became the highest-paid player upon entering the NBA.

Wilt Chamberlain was basketball's first player to earn at least $100,000 a year and earned an unprecedented $1.5 million during his Lakers years.

When he became a Laker, Wilt Chamberlain built a million-dollar mansion in Bel-Air named after Ursa Major, as a play on his nickname "The Big Dipper".

Wilt Chamberlain lived alone, relying on a great deal of automated gadgets, with two cats named Zip and Zap and several Great Dane dogs as company.

Every time Wilt Chamberlain went to bed with a different woman, he put a check in his Day-Timer.

Wilt Chamberlain divided that number in half, to be conservative and to correct for degrees of variation.

Wilt Chamberlain then multiplied that number by the number of days he had been alive at the time minus 15 years.

In 2015, a man named Aaron Levi came forward claiming to be Wilt Chamberlain's son based on non-identifying papers from his adoption and information from his biological mother.

Cherry says that although Wilt Chamberlain was an egotist, he had good relationships with many contemporaries and enjoyed a great deal of respect.

Wilt Chamberlain was especially lauded for his good rapport with his fans, often providing tickets and signing autographs.

Jack Ramsay recalled that Wilt Chamberlain regularly took walks in downtown Philadelphia and acknowledged honking horns with the air of a man enjoying all the attention.

Wilt Chamberlain often invited Russell over to Thanksgiving and visited Russell's place, where conversation mostly concerned Russell's electric trains.

Wilt Chamberlain often criticized Abdul-Jabbar for a perceived lack of scoring, rebounding, and defense.

Abdul-Jabbar accused Wilt Chamberlain of being a traitor to the black race for his Republican political leanings, support of Richard Nixon, and relationships with white women.

Wilt Chamberlain denounced the Black Panthers Party and other black nationalist movements in the late 1960s, and he supported Republican Richard Nixon in the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections.

Wilt Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.

Peterson felt that the assault was "creepier" because Wilt Chamberlain had been a friend.