Basketball Greats - Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain, known to the world as Wilt Chamberlain, was one of the best and most dominant basketball players in the history of the NBA. Born in August of 1936 in Philadelphia, he first caught the attention of the nation with his performance at Overbrook High School. He then played for two years at the University of Kansas and led the Jayhawks to the championships in 1957. When the team didn’t even reach the NCAA Tournament his junior year, Chamberlain decided to turn pro. He joined the Philadelphia Warriors, but was ineligible to play until his class had graduated, which wouldn’t be until 1959.

During that time, he played a season with the Harlem Globetrotters. When the NBA Draft came around, he was listed as the third pick overall, though he was actually a territorial pick. In his first year with the Warriors (1960), Chamberlain was the best in the league in regard to scoring, averaging 37.6 points per game. This brought him the prestige of becoming one of two players to ever receive the Most Valuable Player Award and the Rookie of the Year Award in the same year (the other was Wes Unseld in 1969, making Chamberlain the first).

In 1963, the Warriors moved to San Francisco, and after losing the Finals in the 1964 season, Chamberlain was traded back to Philly, where the 76ers had just moved from Syracuse (as the Nationals). He helped the team to set a record in 1967 with 68 regular season wins and went on to beat the Celtics for the title that season (a record that would later be broken). Two years later, Chamberlain traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he teamed with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West (future Hall of Famers), he became one of the best scorers of all time.

In 1973, the American Basketball Association (founded to compete with the NBA) came to Chamberlain with a deal. The San Diego Conquistadors offered him $600,000 to come on board as a player/coach, and he accepted. However, the Lakers sued, claiming that his contract (giving them one more option year) meant that he couldn’t play for any other team, even if it was in another league, and the court found in their favor.

Wilt Chamberlain, the 7’1” giant, holds over 100 NBA records, including the record for the most points in a single game – 100 – long before the three-pointer was introduced.

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