Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the sixth of nine children to southerners Olivia Ruth (née Johnson), a domestic worker, and William Chamberlain, a welder and handyman. The family lived in a middle-class neighborhood in the Haddington section of West Philadelphia. Chamberlain was raised as a Baptist. Chamberlain's first competitive sport was track. As a fourth grader, he ran the 300-yard shuttle in the 1946 Penn Relays among older teammates. Tall from an early age, he stood by 10 years old. He nearly died of pneumonia in his early years and missed a whole year of school as a result. During early childhood, he was not interested in basketball, which he regarded as "a game for sissies". According to Chamberlain, however, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport in seventh grade, while attending Shoemaker Junior High School. ==High school career==

Overbrook High School (1953–1955) Chamberlain stood when he entered Philadelphia's Overbrook High School. As an avid track and field athlete, he high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches, ran the 440 yards in 49.0 seconds and the 880 yards in 1:58.3, put the shot 53 feet, 4 inches, and long jumped 22 feet. Chamberlain was the star player for the Overbrook Hilltoppers basketball team, wearing jersey number five. Chamberlain had a natural advantage against his peers; he became renowned for his scoring talent, physical strength, and shot-blocking abilities. 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. Chamberlain changed the game in fundamental ways no other player did." In this period of his life, his three lifelong nicknames "Wilt the Stilt", "Goliath", and "The Big Dipper"—his favorite—were coined. Chamberlain led the team to two city championships over three seasons, with Overbrook logging a 56–3 win-loss record. He broke Hall of Fame guard Tom Gola's Philadelphia-high-school scoring record (2,222 points) and graduated with 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 points per game. 1953: city runner-up Chamberlain averaged 31 points per game during his 1953 high-school season and led his team to a 71–62 win over the Northeast High School team of Hall of Fame guard Guy Rodgers. 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. In that game, West Catholic quadruple-teamed Chamberlain throughout the game, and despite his 29 points, the Hilltoppers lost 54–42. During his summer vacations, Chamberlain worked as a bellhop at Kutsher's Hotel. Owners Milton and Helen Kutsher maintained a lifelong friendship with Chamberlain. Red Auerbach, the coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics, was also athletic director of the summer basketball league at Kutscher's; Auerbach spotted Chamberlain playing there and had him play one-on-one against University of Kansas (KU) standout and national champion B. H. Born, elected NCAA Most Outstanding Player in 1953. Chamberlain won 25–10; Born was so dejected he gave up a promising NBA career and became a tractor engineer; according to Born, "If there were high school kids that good, I figured I wasn't going to make it to the pros". Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university so the Celtics could draft him as a territorial pick but Chamberlain did not respond. Overbrook won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 78–60; in the city championship game, they again played West Catholic. Chamberlain scored 35 points and led Overbrook to an 83–42 victory. Christian Street YMCA . In 1953, while still a sophomore in high school, Chamberlain won his first championship. He led Christian Street YMCA to the title in the national YMCA tournament in High Point, North Carolina, beating the local favorite and defending champion High Point team 85–79. Chamberlain was the youngest member of the team. Pittsburgh Raiders and Quakertown Fays On December 21, 1952, Chamberlain played for the Pittsburgh Raiders under the pseudonym of George Marcus in a professional game against the Cumberland Old Germans. The games were reported in local publications, but Chamberlain tried to keep them secret from the Amateur Athletic Union because they jeopardised his eligibility to play amateur basketball. ==College career==

After his last Overbrook season, more than 200 universities tried to recruit Chamberlain. Chamberlain wished to experience life away from home, so he eliminated colleges from the East Coast; he also ruled out the South because of racial segregation and felt West Coast basketball was of a lower quality than in other regions. This left the Midwest as Chamberlain's probable choice. After visiting KU and talking with the school's coach, Phog Allen, Chamberlain announced he was going to play college basketball at Kansas. As he had at Overbrook, Chamberlain displayed his diverse athletic talent at KU. He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot-putted , triple jumped more than , and won the high jump in the Big Eight Conference track-and-field championships in three consecutive years. Chamberlain allegedly dunked on an experimental 12-foot basket set up by Phog Allen. Chamberlain's freshman team debut was highly anticipated; the freshman team played against the varsity, who were favored to win their conference that year. Chamberlain dominated his older college teammates by scoring 42 points (16–35 from the field, 10–12 on free throws), grabbing 29 rebounds, and registering 4 blocks. He had a 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. An inbounds pass over the backboard was banned because of Chamberlain. Offensive goaltending, also called basket interference, was introduced as a rule in 1956 after Bill Russell had exploited it at San Francisco and Chamberlain was soon to enter college play. Chamberlain's prospects of playing under coach Allen ended when Allen turned 70 and retired shortly after in accordance with KU regulations. According to biographer Robert Cherry, it is doubtful Chamberlain would have chosen KU if he had known Allen was going to retire. Chamberlain had a poor relationship with Allen's successor, Dick Harp. For many years following Chamberlain's departure from KU, critics said he wanted to leave the Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to win a championship. In 1998, Chamberlain returned to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, to participate in a jersey-retiring ceremony for his 13 jersey. He said, "There's been a lot of conversation ... that I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. That is totally ridiculous." Sophomore season (1957): national runner-up to North Carolina On December3, 1956, Chamberlain made his varsity basketball debut as a center for the Kansas Jayhawks. In his first game, he scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in an 87–69 win against the Northwestern Wildcats, a team with Chamberlain's future NBA teammate Joe Ruklick playing center. Chamberlain led a talented squad of starters, including Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, and Ron Loneski; the Jayhawks went 13–1 until they lost a game 56–54 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who held the ball for the last three-and-a -half minutes with no intention of scoring a basket, which was still possible in the days before the shot clock, introduced by the NCAA in 1984. Chamberlain was named first-team All-American. Teammate Monte Johnson stated Chamberlain had "unbelievable endurance and speed ... and was never tired. When he dunked, he was so fast that a lot of players got their fingers jammed [between Chamberlain's hand and the rim]." By this time, several aspects of Chamberlain's game, such as his finger roll, his fadeaway jump shot—which he could also make as a bank shot—his passing, and his shot-blocking, were already developed. Teammate Bob Billings commented, "It was not fun basketball ... we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth". By the time Chamberlain was 21 and not yet a professional, he had been featured in Time, Life, Look, and Newsweek. ==Professional career==

in 1959. Harlem Globetrotters (1958–1959) After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player. At that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed; Chamberlain decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for $50,000. One Globetrotter skit involved Captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground; instead of helping him up, Chamberlain threw him several feet into the air and caught him like a doll. Lemon, who at that time weighed , later said Chamberlain was "the strongest athlete who ever lived". 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 was one of several artists who loved to entertain audiences. On March9, 2000, the Globetrotters retired his No. 13 jersey. He became the NBA's highest-paid player when he signed for $30,000 in his rookie contract. In comparison, the previous top earner was Bob Cousy of the Celtics with $25,000, the same sum Eddie Gottlieb used to buy the Warriors franchise in 1952. 1959–60 NBA season: MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Rookie of the Year In the 1959–60 NBA season, Chamberlain joined a Philadelphia Warriors squad that was coached by Neil Johnston. All five starters were native Philadelphians: Chamberlain, Tom Gola, Guy Rodgers, Hall-of-Fame forward Paul Arizin, and Ernie Beck. In his first NBA game, played against the New York Knicks, Chamberlain scored 43 points and grabbed 28 rebounds. In his third game, Chamberlain recorded 41 points and a then-career-high 40 rebounds in a 124–113 win over the visiting Syracuse Nationals. In his fourth game, Philadelphia played the reigning champion Boston Celtics—who were coached by Auerbach, whose offer Chamberlain had rejected several years before—and Bill Russell, who was lauded as one of the best defensive pivots in the game. He recorded a rock n' roll record in January 1960, singing ''That's Easy to Say and By the River''. Chamberlain was selected 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. On January25, 1960, Chamberlain had 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game, a rare occurrence. During the game against the Detroit Pistons, Chamberlain recorded 58 points, 42 rebounds, and 4 assists in a winning effort. His 58 points were a then-career-high, and he later tied that on February21, when he recorded 58 points and 24 rebounds in a 131–121 win over the visiting Knicks. In his first NBA season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points, 27.0 rebounds and 46.4 minutes played, breaking the previous regular-season records. To this day no other player has ever averaged more rebounds or minutes played in a season, and only one player, Elgin Baylor, has ever averaged more points in a season than Chamberlain did in his rookie year. He 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. Chamberlain broke eight NBA records, and he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season. The Warriors entered the 1960 NBA playoffs and beat the Syracuse Nationals, setting up a game against the Eastern Division-champion Celtics. According to Cherry, Celtics coach Auerbach ordered his forward Tom Heinsohn to commit personal fouls on Chamberlain; whenever the Warriors took foul shots, Heinsohn grabbed and shoved Chamberlain to prevent him from running back quickly. Auerbach's intention was for the Celtics to throw the ball quickly enough to prevent Chamberlain, a prolific shot-blocker, from returning to his own basket in time, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. 1960–61 NBA season: scoring, rebounding, durability, and field goal titles Chamberlain's 1960–61 NBA season started with a 42-point and 31-rebound performance in a 133–123 road win against the Syracuse Nationals. On November 24, 1960, Chamberlain grabbed an NBA-record 55 rebounds, On November29, Chamberlain recorded 44 points, 38 rebounds, and a then-career-high 7 assists in a 122–121 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain exceeded his rookie-season statistics, averaging 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. He 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. Chamberlain won his first field-goal percentage title, scored almost 32% of his team's points, and collected 30.4% of their rebounds. According to Cherry, Chamberlain was "difficult" and did not respect coach Johnston, who was unable to handle him. In retrospect, Gottlieb said, "My mistake was not getting a strong-handed coach ... [Johnston] wasn't ready for big time". 1961–62 NBA season: 100-point game and 42-point All-Star Game record In the 1961–62 NBA season, the Warriors were coached by Frank McGuire, who had masterminded Chamberlain's triple-overtime loss in the NCAA championship against the Tar Heels. In that year, Chamberlain set several all-time records which have since never been threatened; he averaged 50.4 points and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game. On March2, 1962, on a neutral court against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points. He shot 36 of 63 from the field and uncharacteristically made 28 of 32 free throws. Joe Ruklick got the assist for Chamberlain's 100th point. The game was not recorded on video, and only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter remains. One writer notes the lack of video of the 100-point game "only added to its mystique". For years, former NBA Commissioner David Stern's office phone would play announcer Bill Campbell's call of the 100-point basket to callers on hold: "He made it! He made it! He made it! A Dipper Dunk!" In addition to Chamberlain's regular-season accomplishments, he scored 42 points in the All-Star Game. In the playoffs, the Warriors again played against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals; both Cousy and Russell called this season the greatest Celtics team of all time. Each team won their home games so the series was split at three after six games. In a closely contested Game 7, Chamberlain tied the game at 107 with 16 seconds to go but Celtics' shooting guard Sam Jones hit a clutch shot with two seconds left to win the series for Boston. 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. 1962–63 NBA season: individual success, move to San Francisco, and playoff miss In the 1962–63 NBA season, Gottlieb sold the Warriors franchise for $850,000 to a group of businessmen led by Franklin Mieuli from San Francisco and the team relocated and were renamed the San Francisco Warriors under new coach Bob Feerick. This meant the Warriors team dispersed; Arizin chose to retire rather than move away from his family and his job at IBM in Philadelphia, coach McGuire resigned rather than move to the West Coast, and Gola was homesick and requesting a trade to the New York Knicks halfway through the season. With both secondary scorers gone, Chamberlain continued exceeding his own statistics, averaging 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds per game that year. 1963–64 NBA season: first NBA Finals loss to the Celtics In the 1963–64 NBA season, Chamberlain got another new coach, former NBA player and ex-soldier Alex Hannum, and was joined by rookie center Nate Thurmond, who later entered the Hall of Fame. Hannum, who later entered the Hall of Fame as a coach, was a crafty psychologist who emphasized defense and passing, and was not afraid to stand up to the dominant Chamberlain, who would not communicate with coaches he did not like. Backed up by Thurmond, Chamberlain recorded 36.9 points and 22.3 rebounds per game, According to Cherry, Chamberlain and Hannum deserved much credit because Hannum had taken the previous year's 31–49 squad plus Thurmond, and became an NBA Finals contender. In mid-1964, Chamberlain, a prominent participant at Rucker Park basketball court in New York City, made the acquaintance of Lew Alcindor, a tall, talented, 17-year-old who played there. Alcindor was soon allowed into Chamberlain's inner circle and quickly idolized the ten-year-older Chamberlain. The pair later developed an intense rivalry and personal antipathy. Philadelphia 76ers (1965–1968) 1964–65 NBA season: trade to the 76ers, division finals loss to the Celtics In the 1964–65 NBA season, the NBA widened the lane from , especially because of centers like Chamberlain. The Warriors' season began poorly and they experienced financial trouble. At the 1965 All-Star Weekend, Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, the renamed former-rival and relocated Syracuse Nationals. Chamberlain did not like Sixers coach Dolph Schayes, who he thought had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players. Chamberlain posted 34.7 points and 22.9 rebounds per game overall for the season. After defeating the Cincinnati Royals—a team led by fellow All-American Oscar Robertson—in the playoffs, the Sixers played against Chamberlain's rival Boston Celtics; the press called it an even match in all positions, even at center, where Russell was expected to give Chamberlain a tough battle. The teams split the first six games and the last game was held in the Celtics' Boston Garden because of their better season record. In that Game 7, Chamberlain scored 30 points and 32 rebounds while Russell logged 16 points, 27 rebounds, and eight assists. For the fifth time in seven years, Russell's team deprived Chamberlain of the title. Chamberlain later said he could see in hindsight the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image. In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for the road win. When coach Schayes planned to hold a joint team practice the next day, Chamberlain said he was too tired to attend and refused Schayes' plea to attend and shoot a few foul shots with the team. In Game 4, Boston won 114–108. Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain skipped practice and was non-accessible. Schayes defended Chamberlain as "excused from practice" but his teammates knew the truth and were less forgiving. According to Cherry, Chamberlain was the only Sixers player who performed in the series but his unprofessional, egotistical behavior set a poor example for his teammates. Cunningham commented Hannum "never backed down" and "showed who was the boss", winning Chamberlain's respect. 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. As a result of his style-of-play change, Chamberlain averaged a career-low 24.1 points and took only 14% of the team's shots, but was extremely efficient with a record-breaking .683 field-goal accuracy. He also led the league in rebounds per game (24.2), was third in assists per game (7.8), and played strong defense. For these achievements, Chamberlain earned his third MVP award. The Sixers had a then-record 68–13 season, including a record 46–4 start. In Game 2, the Sixers won 107–102 in overtime and player-coach Russell grudgingly praised Chamberlain for intimidating the Celtics into taking low-percentage shots from further outside. In Game 5, the Sixers outscored the Celtics 140–116, ending Boston's historic run of eight consecutive NBA titles. Chamberlain scored 29 points, 36 rebounds, and 13 assists, and was praised by the Celtics' Russell and K. C. Jones. and the Warriors won game 5; so Philadelphia was up 3–2 prior to Game 6. said, "It is wonderful to be a part of the greatest team in basketball ... being a champion is like having a big round glow inside of you". 1967–68 NBA season: third straight MVP and assist champion In the 1967–68 NBA season, the relationship between Chamberlain and Sixers' owner Kosloff continued to deteriorate. In 1965, Chamberlain said he and Richman had worked out a deal that would give Chamberlain 25% of the franchise once he ended his career. Although there is no written proof of this agreement, Schayes and Sixers' lawyer Alan Levitt assumed Chamberlain was correct. Chamberlain had a quintuple-double with 53 points, 32 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks, and 11 steals. Chamberlain also recorded then the most points in a triple-double. The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third consecutive season, and Chamberlain became the only center in NBA history to finish the season as the leader in total assists; his 702 beating runner-up point guard and future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens' total by 23. For these achievements, Chamberlain won his fourth and final MVP title. The Sixers won 62 games and took the first seed of the playoffs. In the Eastern Division Semifinals, they played against the New York Knicks. 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, sore knees, and pulled hamstrings, respectively. Going ahead 3–2, the Sixers defeated the Knicks 115–97 in Game 6 after Chamberlain scored 25 points and 27 rebounds; Chamberlain had a successful series leading both teams in points (153), rebounds (145), and assists (38). In the Eastern Division Finals, the Sixers played against the Boston Celtics, again with home-court advantage and this time as reigning champions. Despite the Sixers' injury woes, coach Hannum was confident that they could "take the Celtics in less than seven games", and referenced the higher age of the Celtics, a team built around Russell and Jones, both 34. On April4, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. With eight of the ten starting players on the Sixers and Celtics being African-American, both teams were in deep shock and there were calls to cancel the series. 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. Los Angeles Lakers (1968–1973) 1968–69 NBA season: second NBA finals loss to the Celtics On July9, 1968, the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sixers was completed, making it the first time a reigning NBA MVP was traded the next season. Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke gave Chamberlain an unprecedented contract, paying him $250,000 after taxes—about $ million in real value; in comparison, previous Lakers top earner Jerry West was paid $100,000 before taxes—about $,000 in real value. For the 1968–69 NBA season, Chamberlain joined a squad that included his fellow former All-American forward Elgin Baylor, Hall-of-Fame guard Jerry West, backup center Mel Counts, forwards Keith Erickson and Tom Hawkins, and guard Johnny Egan. According to Cherry, Chamberlain was not a natural leader or a loyal follower, which made it difficult to fit in. The greatest problem was his tense relationship with van Breda Kolff. Pejoratively calling the new recruit "The Load", van Breda Kolff later said Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice, and focused too much on his own statistics. In Game 5, Chamberlain scored 13 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, leading Los Angeles to a 117–104 win. In Game 6, Chamberlain recorded 18 rebounds and 4 assists but only 8 points, and the Celtics won 99–90. Cherry criticized his performance, saying if "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. During the ninth game, he had a serious knee injury, suffering a rupture of the patellar tendon at the base of his right kneecap, and he missed several months before appearing in the final three games of the 82-game regular season, the first season he failed to reach 20 rebounds per game. Owing to his strong start, he still put up a season-average 27.3 points, 18.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The Knicks won Game 1 124–112 and Reed scored 37 points. In Game 2, Chamberlain scored 19 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, and blocked Reed's shot in the final seconds, leading the Lakers to a 105–103 win. The Knicks led by 27 at halftime, and despite Chamberlain scoring 21 points, the Lakers had their third consecutive loss in Game 7. Chamberlain was criticized for his inability to dominate his injured counterpart but according to Cherry, Chamberlain's feat, coming back from a career-threatening injury, was too-quickly forgotten. was asked about the most memorable moment of his career, Lanier answered: "When Wilt Chamberlain lifted me up and moved me like a coffee cup so he could get a favorable position". In Game 1, Alcindor outscored Chamberlain 32–22 and the Bucks won 106–85. In Game 2, the Bucks won again despite Chamberlain scoring 26 points—four more than his Milwaukee counterpart. Prior to Game 3, the Lakers' situation worsened when West's stand-in Erickson underwent an appendectomy and was out for the season. With rookie Jim McMillian easing the scoring pressure, Chamberlain scored 24 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in a 118–107 victory but the Bucks defeated the Lakers 117–94 in Game 4 to take a 3–1 series lead. Milwaukee ended the series at home with a 116–98 victory in Game 5. Although Chamberlain lost, he was lauded for holding his own against MVP Alcindor, who was 10 years younger and healthy. In 1965, Chamberlain consulted his father, who had seen Ali fight, and advised Chamberlain against it. Cooke offered Chamberlain a record-setting contract on the condition he agreed to give up what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness". Chamberlain ultimately used a contractual escape; Joe Frazier gave Ali his first professional loss, enabling Chamberlain to legally withdraw from the bout. Retired NFL player Jim Brown, who acted as Chamberlain's manager since 1967, got Ali's manager Jabir Herbert Muhammad to mutually withdraw from the match set to take place at Madison Square Garden. 1971–72 NBA season: finals MVP and second NBA title In the 1971–72 NBA season, the Lakers hired former Celtics star guard Bill Sharman as head coach. 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 style of Russell. Sharman told Chamberlain to use his rebounding and passing skills to quickly initiate fastbreaks to his teammates. While no longer being the main scorer, Chamberlain was named the Lakers' new captain. After rupturing his Achilles tendon, perennial captain Baylor retired and was replaced with Chamberlain. Initially, Sharman wanted Chamberlain and West to share this duty but West declined, stating he was injury-prone and wanted to concentrate on the game. Chamberlain accepted his new roles and posted an all-time low 14.8 points per game but also 19.2 rebounds per game, and led the league with a .649 field-goal percentage. In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls then played against the Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by young center and regular-season MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor). Life called the matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar the greatest matchup in all sports. Chamberlain helped the Lakers defeat Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks in six games, and he was lauded for his performance in Game 6, which the Lakers won 104–100 after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter. Chamberlain scored 24 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, played all 48 minutes, and outsprinted the younger Bucks center on several late Lakers fast breaks. West called it "the greatest ball-busting performance I have ever seen". In the NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks, who were shorthanded after losing Reed to injury, and undersized Jerry Lucas had to defend against Chamberlain. Prolific outside shooter Lucas helped New York to win Game 1, hitting 9 of his 11 shots in the first half. In Game 2, which the Lakers won 106–92, Chamberlain put Lucas into foul trouble and the Knicks lost defensive power forward Dave DeBusschere to injury. Chamberlain averaged 13.2 points and 18.6 rebounds to win the rebounding title for the 11th time in his career. He also shot an NBA record 0.727 for the season, bettering his own mark of 0.683 from the 1966–67 season. ==Coaching career==

San Diego Conquistadors (1973–1974) In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors, a member of the NBA-rival league ABA, signed Chamberlain as a player-coach for a $600,000 salary. According to Chamberlain, part of the reason for leaving the Lakers was his belief he had the right to renegotiate his contract after winning the 1971–72 NBA championship, and was upset the Lakers did not contact him until September 1972, before which they were trying to acquire UCLA star-center Bill Walton, who ultimately decided to return to school for the 1972–73 season. The Lakers sued Chamberlain and prevented him from playing for the Conquistadors because he still owed the Lakers the option year of his contract. The Lakers said they mailed Chamberlain a new contract in July 1973, but Chamberlain did not sign it, so the old contract should be deemed to have been renewed for the 1973–74 season. While he was barred from playing, Chamberlain mostly left coaching duties to his assistant Stan Albeck, who said Chamberlain "has a great feel for pro basketball ... the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball ... just bored him. He did not have the patience." The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent but often indifferent, and was more occupied with promotion of his autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door, than with coaching. He once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book. In his single season as a coach, the Conquistadors finished 37–47 in the regular season and lost against the Utah Stars in the division semifinals. After the season, Chamberlain retired from professional basketball; he was displeased by the meager attendance as crowds averaged 1,843, occupying just over half of the team's 3,200-seat Golden Hall sports arena. ==Career statistics==

NBA Regular season Playoffs ==Head coaching record==

After his stint with the Conquistadors, Chamberlain went into business and entertainment, made money in stocks and real estate, bought a popular Harlem nightclub which he renamed Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise, and invested in broodmares. Athletics 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. Volleyball became Chamberlain's new athletic passion, having been a talented hobby volleyballer during his Lakers days. As a testament to his importance, the IVA All-Star game was televised only because Chamberlain also played in it; he was named the game's MVP. that was coached by UCLA assistant coach Bob Kersee in the early part of his career. The team included Florence Griffith before she set the world records in the 100 meters and 200 meters; three-time world champion Greg Foster; and future Olympic Gold medalists Andre Phillips, Alice Brown, and Jeanette Bolden. Chamberlain signed 60 athletes and planned to expand to 100. While actively promoting the sport in 1982, Chamberlain said he was considering a return to athletic competition in masters athletics; he stated he had only once been beaten in the high jump by Olympic champion Charles Dumas, and that he had never been beaten in shot put, beating Olympic discus champion Al Oerter. Following his playing days, Chamberlain maintained his high level of fitness. In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice, and he planned a return to the NBA in the 1980s. In the 1980–81 NBA season, coach Larry Brown said the 45-year-old Chamberlain had received an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers. When Chamberlain was 50, the New Jersey Nets made Chamberlain an offer, which he declined. A result of this resentment was the 1997 book ''Who's Running the Asylum? Inside the Insane World of Sports Today'', in which he criticized the NBA for being too disrespectful of former players. Film In 1976, Chamberlain, who was interested in movies, forming a film production and distribution company to make his first film, which was entitled Go For It. Chamberlain played a villainous warrior and counterpart of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer, including fight scenes against Schwarzenegger and Grace Jones. It remained his only credited film role. In November 1998, he signed with Ian Ng Cheng Hin, CEO of Northern Cinema House Entertainment, to produce his own bio-pic, wanting to tell his life story his way. He had been working on the screenplay notes for over a year at the time of his death. ==Death==

Chamberlain, who had a history of cardiovascular disease, was briefly hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat in 1992. According to those close to him, he began taking medication for his heart problems. His condition rapidly deteriorated in 1999, and he lost . After undergoing dental surgery in the week before his death, he was in great pain and seemed unable to recover from the stress. On October12, 1999, Chamberlain died at age 63 at his home in Bel Air. His longtime attorney, Sy Goldberg, stated Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure. Goldberg said: He was more inquisitive than anybody I ever knew. He was writing a screenplay about his life. He was interested in world affairs, sometimes he'd call me up late at night and discuss philosophy. I think he'll be remembered as a great man. He happened to make a living playing basketball, but he was more than that. He could talk on any subject. He was a Goliath. A memorial service for Chamberlain was held at the City of Angels Church of Religious Science in Los Angeles on October 16, 1999. A second memorial service was held at his home church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, in Philadelphia on October 21, 1999. Several NBA players and officials remembered him as one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. ==Legacy==

Awards and honors Chamberlain is regarded as one of the most extraordinary and dominant basketball players in NBA history, In 2007, ESPN ranked Chamberlain the second-best center of all time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and was ranked second in Slams "Top 50 NBA Players of All-Time in NBA History" in 2009, and sixth in ESPN's list of the top 74 NBA players of all time in 2020, and the third-best center of all-time behind Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell. In 2022, Chamberlain was ranked fifth in ESPN's list of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and sixth in a similar list by The Athletic. Contemporaneous colleagues were often terrified of playing against Chamberlain. Russell regularly feared being embarrassed by Chamberlain, He was a scoring champion, all-time top rebounder, and accurate field-goal shooter. He led the NBA in scoring seven times, field-goal percentage nine times, minutes played eight times, rebounding eleven times, and assists once. Chamberlain is most remembered for his 100-point game, which is widely considered one of basketball's greatest records. Decades after his record, many NBA teams did not average 100 points. In high school and college, Chamberlain was Mr. Basketball USA, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1957, and twice consensus first-team All-American in 1957 and 1958. His number 13 jersey was retired by the Kansas Jayhawks, Harlem Globetrotters, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain 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 was selected to 13 All-Star Games and 10 All-NBA Teams—seven First and three Second teams. He also twice made All-Defensive First Team. For his feats, Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, named part of the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and was ranked 13th in ESPN's list "Top North American Athletes of the Century" in 1999. 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. His career average was two fouls per game despite having averaged 45.8 minutes per game over his career. He 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 also averaged 50.4 points per game. His fouls per 36 minutes—a statistic that is used to compare players who average vastly different minutes—was 1.6 per game. Reported data for 112 games played by Chamberlain for the Lakers in the 1970s shows he averaged 8.8 blocks per game. Rule changes Part of Chamberlain's impact on basketball is his direct responsibility for several rule changes in the NBA, including a widening of the lane to try to keep big men more distant from the basket, the instituting of offensive goaltending, a ban on dunking to convert free throws, and a revision of rules governing inbounding the ball, such as making it illegal to inbound the ball over the backboard. In basketball history, pundits have stated the only other player who forced such a massive change of rules is Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan, who played a decade before Chamberlain and also caused many rule changes designed to thwart dominant centers, such as a widening the lane and defensive goaltending. Chamberlain was named All-NBA First Team seven times in comparison to Russell's three but Russell was named the NBA MVP—then selected by players—five times against Chamberlain's four. Russell's Celtics won seven of eight playoff series against Chamberlain's Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers teams, and went 57–37 against them in the regular season and 29–20 in the playoffs. Russell's teams won all four series-deciding seventh games against Chamberlain's by a combined margin of nine points. Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 14.2 and out-rebounded him 28.2 to 22.9 in the regular season, and he outscored Russell 25.7 to 14.9, and out-rebounded Russell 28 to 24.7 in the playoffs. While previously friends, after Russell criticized Chamberlain for his performance during Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, the two men did not speak for two decades. Russell privately apologized to Chamberlain and later publicly apologized in a 1997 joint interview with Bob Costas. Reputation as a loser Although Chamberlain accumulated some of the most impressive statistics in the history of professional sports, some called him selfish and a loser because he won only two NBA championships and lost seven out of eight playoff series against Bill Russell's Celtics teams. However, Barry would later apologize for those comments, saying, "I was wrong [...] if you had to analyze all of the centers who have played before, as far as basketball skills are concerned, there has never been anybody to accomplish what Wilt Chamberlain has accomplished [...] he just never had the personnel like Bill Russell had to go along with him, and I really regret saying that in my book." Chamberlain's main weakness was his poor free-throw shooting, a .511 career average, the third-lowest in NBA history, with a low of .380 over the 1967–68 season. Chamberlain later said he was too embarrassed by the underhand technique to continue using it, despite it consistently giving him better results. Chamberlain stated he intentionally missed free throws so a teammate could get the rebound and score two points instead of one. On March 10, 2026, 64 years and eight days after Chamberlain's 100-point game with 28 free throws made, Bam Adebayo broke the free throw record, making 36 as part of his 83 points scored against the Washington Wizards. ==Personal life==

Star status Chamberlain was the first big earner of basketball; upon entering the NBA, he immediately became the highest-paid player. Chamberlain was basketball's first player to earn at least $100,000 a year; and he earned an unprecedented $1.5 million during his Lakers years. As a Philadelphia 76er, he could afford to rent a New York apartment and commute to Philadelphia. He would often stay out late into the night and wake up at noon. The house was designed according to Chamberlain's preferences; it had no right angles, and had an X-rated room with mirrored walls and a fur-covered waterbed. Chamberlain lived alone, relying on many automated gadgets, with two cats named Zip and Zap, and several Great Dane dogs. Chamberlain drove a Ferrari, a Bentley, and a Le Mans-style car called Searcher One that was designed and built at a cost of $750,000 in 1996. Following his death in 1999, Chamberlain's estate was valued at $25 million. Love life with two dancers at Smalls Paradise in Harlem, New York Although Chamberlain was shy and insecure as a teenager, he later became known for his womanizing. According to his lawyer Seymour Goldberg, "Some people collect stamps, Wilt collected women". In Chamberlain's second book A View from Above, he claimed to have had sex with 20,000 women. According to his contemporary Rod Roddewig, Chamberlain documented his love life using a Day-Timer. Every time Chamberlain had sex with a different woman, he put a check in his Day-Timer. Over a ten-day period, there were 23 checks in the book; a rate of 2.3 women per day. Chamberlain halved that number to be conservative and to correct for degrees of variation. He then multiplied that number by the number of days he had been alive and subtracted 15 years, giving him the 20,000 number. In response to public backlash regarding his promiscuity, Chamberlain later said: "the point of using the number was to show that sex was a great part of my life as basketball was a great part of my life. That's the reason why I was single." In a 1999 interview shortly before his death, Chamberlain regretted not having explained the sexual climate at the time of his promiscuity and warned other men who admired him for it, saying: "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". Chamberlain also said he never came close to marrying and had no intention of raising any children. Relationships According to Cherry, although Chamberlain was an egotist, he had good relationships with many of his contemporaries and enjoyed a great deal of respect. He was lauded for his good rapport with his fans, often providing tickets and signing autographs. Jack Ramsay said Chamberlain regularly took walks in downtown Philadelphia and acknowledged honking horns with the air of a man enjoying the attention. and NBA rival Jack McMahon said: "The best thing that happened to the NBA is that God made Wilt a nice person ... he could have killed us all with his left hand". Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy assumed if Chamberlain had been less fixated on being popular, he would have been meaner and able to win more titles. As the championship count became increasingly lopsided, the relationship deteriorated and became hostile after Russell accused Chamberlain of "copping out" in Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals. When Abdul-Jabbar broke Chamberlain's all-time scoring record in 1984, Chamberlain criticized Abdul-Jabbar's game and called on him to retire. When Abdul-Jabbar published his autobiography in 1990, he wrote a paper titled "To Wilt Chumperlame", in which he stated: "Now that I am done playing, history will remember me as someone who helped teammates to win, while you will be remembered as a crybaby, a loser, and a quitter". Their relationship remained mostly strained until Chamberlain's death. Politics 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. Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. and considered himself a Republican. Sexual assault allegation In 2021, actress Cassandra Peterson, who is primarily known for her alter ego Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, said in her memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark, that Chamberlain had sexually assaulted her during a party at his mansion in the 1970s. Chamberlain allegedly forced Peterson to perform oral sex after offering to show her a closet containing his NBA jerseys. Peterson stated she had blamed herself and was almost "convinced that I was a very bad person for letting that happen" until the Me Too movement made her reconsider the experience. Peterson felt the assault was "creepier" because Chamberlain had been a friend. ==See also==

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