[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. [51] In his third game, Chamberlain recorded 41 points and a then-career-high 40 rebounds in a 124113 win over the visiting Syracuse Nationals. [132] In Game 5, Chamberlain recorded 24 points, 29 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8 blocked shots, as announcer Keith Jackson counted the blocks during the broadcast. Standing 7-foot-1 and weighing almost 300 pounds, he was one of the greatest players in NBA history and a pop culture icon. [127] While no longer being the main scorer, Chamberlain was named the new captain of the Lakers. Coach Schayes called timeout and decided it would be unwise to pass the ball to Chamberlain, because he feared the Celtics would intentionally foul him. One night, they got up to 25. Join our linker program. Red Kerr set a pick on Sam Jones to free Chet Walker. '"[42] Quoting coach Alex Hannum's explanation of his situation, Chamberlain often said: "Nobody roots for Goliath. Chamberlain did it in 1966-67 and 1967-68; Only player in NBA history to average . Ex-soldier Hannum, who later entered the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, was a crafty psychologist who emphasized defense and passing. "[10] Gottlieb coaxed Chamberlain back into the NBA, sweetening his return with a salary raise to $65,000,[58][l], Chamberlain's 196061 NBA season started with a 42-point and 31-rebound performance in a 133123 road win against the Syracuse Nationals. Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973. [110] Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Chamberlain could lift luggage to the second floor window without needing to use the stairs. After the Knicks finished off the game with a late flourish led by Phil Jackson and Earl Monroe, Chamberlain made a dunk with one second left, which turned out to be the last play of his NBA career. With 10 seconds remaining, Tar Heels' center Joe Quigg pump faked then drove to the basket. Chamberlain broke Tom Gola's Philadelphia high school scoring record and graduated with 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 points per game. Go back in time and learn about Wilt Chamberlain's early years growing up, and early years in the NBA. . home/away, monthly, etc More Wilt Chamberlain Basketball Reference pages, Compare Wilt Chamberlain to other players. He was writing a screenplay about his life. The Lakers mounted a comeback, but then Chamberlain twisted his knee after a rebound and had to be replaced by Counts. The two would later develop an intense rivalry and personal antipathy. [211], 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. In 1982, the Sixers tried to lure 45-year-old Chamberlain out of retirement after he was out of the league for nine seasons. [62] In one particular game, Chamberlain blocked a dunk attempt by Baltimore Bullets player Gus Johnson so hard that he dislocated Johnson's shoulder. He was tired of being double-teamed, or even triple-teamed, and of teams coming down on him with hard personal fouls. Find out more. [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. Chamberlain was one of the few players of his . Known as "Wilt the Stilt" for his 7'1" frame, Wilt Chamberlain was a Harlem Globetrotter before joining the Philadelphia Warriors. Continuing to excel, he made the all-America and all-conference teams the following season. . [88] When emotions cooled off, Hannum said to Chamberlain that he was on the same page in trying to win a title but Chamberlain had to "act like a man" both on and off the court to pull this off. The playmaker is Golden State's all-time leader . He personally preferred "The Big Dipper", which was inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. [111], Game 7 featured a surreal scene because Cooke put up thousands of balloons in the rafters of the Forum in Los Angeles in anticipation of a Lakers win. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. [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. Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973, at the end of the '72-'73 season, to pursue other interests. 6 retired by the 76ers. Every time Chamberlain went to bed with a different woman, he put a check in his Day-Timer. He won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine durability, and nine field goal percentage titles; and he once led the league in assists. Wilt Chamberlain, arguably the most dominant player in the history of basketball, . All rights reserved. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? And for a damn good reason. [134] In that series, the Lakers started off with a 115112 win, but the Knicks won Games 2 and 3; things worsened when West again injured his hamstring. [34] Offensive goaltending, or basket interference, was also introduced as a rule in 1956, after Bill Russell had exploited it at San Francisco and Chamberlain was soon to enter college play. "[196] Los Angeles Times columnist David Shaw alleged that Chamberlain was "rude and sexist toward his own date, as he usually was", during a dinner with Shaw and his wife; he added that at one point Chamberlain left the table to get the phone number of an attractive woman at a nearby table. Standing at 7ft 1in (2.16m) tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. He said: "There's been a lot of conversationthat I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. [159][160][161] Contemporary colleagues were often terrified to play against Chamberlain. Then with our great Laker team in 1972, he concentrated on the defensive end." Chamberlain had a history of cardiovascular disease, and was briefly hospitalized in 1992 for an irregular heartbeat. Wilt Chamberlain claims that his vertical, during his prime, was "46 to 48 inches, easy. Warriors finally retire Wilt's jersey. 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. In Game 6, in which Chamberlain recorded 18 rebounds and 4 assists but only 8 points, the Celtics won 9990. and 6 assists in the same season. This article concerns the career achievements of Wilt Chamberlain, . [10] He was listed as 7ft 1in (2.16m) tall and 258 pounds. He tried coaching for a time, and was a popular pitchman for commercials. This caused sports journalist Joe McGinnis to comment: "The Celtics played like champions and the Sixers just played. [80] In return, the Warriors received Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking, and Lee Shaffer, who opted to retire rather than report to the Warriors, plus $150,000. Wilt Chamberlain, in full Wilton Norman Chamberlain, bynames Wilt the Stilt and the Big Dipper, (born August 21, 1936, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.died October 12, 1999, Los Angeles, California), professional basketball player, considered to be one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game. His performance led Kansas to an insurmountable lead, and he rested on the bench for the final 3:45 remaining in the game. Shaq never scored 100 points in a single game or averaged as many rebounds or assists as Chamberlain, but he did make 15 All-Star Teams (compared to Wilt's 13) and 14 All-NBA Teams (compared to Wilt's 10).Add to the fact Shaq won 2 more rings and 2 more Finals MVPs means he had a longer and better career than Wilt. When did Wilt Chamberlain retire. Retirement. Sophomore season (1957): National runner-up to North Carolina, Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (19591965), 195960 NBA season: MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Rookie of the Year, 196061 NBA season: Scoring, rebounding, durability, and field goal titles, 196162 NBA season: 100-point game and 42-point All-Star Game record, 196263 NBA season: Individual success, move to San Francisco, and playoff miss, 196364 NBA season: First NBA Finals loss to the Celtics, 196465 NBA season: Trade to the 76ers, Division Finals loss to the Celtics, 196566 NBA season: MVP and second Division Finals loss to the Celtics, 196667 NBA season: Back-to-back MVP and first NBA title, 196768 NBA season: Third straight MVP and assist champion, 196869 NBA season: Second NBA Finals loss to the Celtics, 196970 NBA season: First NBA Finals loss to the Knicks, 197071 NBA season: Conference Finals loss and challenge to Muhammad Ali, 197172 NBA season: Finals MVP and second NBA title, 197273 NBA season: Second NBA Finals loss to the Knicks, Overbrook had previously produced star basketball players like. His former rival Bill Russell told the press that "he and I will be friends through eternity.". He played for the Philadelphia Warriors (which later became the San Francisco Warriors), the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA did not formally track blocks and thefts until 1972, thus while these quadruple doubles may have occurred, they are not official. After that season, coach Hannum wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast; he left the Sixers to coach the Oakland Oaks in the newly founded ABA. Chamberlain was criticized as a non-factor in the series, getting neutralized by Russell with little effort. [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. [38] With 10 minutes to go, North Carolina led 4037 and stalled the game, as they passed the ball around without any intention of scoring a basket. He had no problem going places, no problem being recognized as Wilt Chamberlain." West recalled being on a team flight to St. Louis on March 2, 1962, and the . [88] Greer, who was considered a consummate professional and often clashed with him because of his attitude, spoke positively of the new Chamberlain: "You knew in a minute the Big Fella [Chamberlain] was ready to go and everybody would follow."[88]. He is the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game as well. [110] While he was on cordial terms with West, he often argued with team captain Baylor, later explaining in regard to Baylor: "We were good friends, but [in] black culture you never let the other guy one-up you. Data Provided By Chamberlain blocked Quigg's shot but was also called for the foul. Chamberlain played in the NBA from 1959 to 1973. 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. . 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. In Game 2, the Bucks won again despite Chamberlain scoring 26 points, four more than his Milwaukee counterpart. 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. [128] Chamberlain accepted his new roles and posted an all-time low 14.8 points per game but also won the rebound crown with 19.2 rebounds per game and led the league with a .649 field goal percentage. That was how the 20,000 number came into existence. "[110], Chamberlain experienced an often-frustrating season. According to sportswriter Roland Lazenby, a journalist close to the Lakers, Chamberlain was angry at Kosloff for breaking the alleged ChamberlainRichman deal. [146] He would continue to epitomize physical fitness for years to come, including participating in several marathons. [56] Chamberlain broke eight NBA records, and he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP that season. [3] However, according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport in 7th grade. Wilt did engage in non-sports activities after retiring, like filming the movie Conan the Destroyer with . For good reason. and No. Why did wilt chamberlain retire? The fact that Chamberlain scored 100 points without hitting a single three-pointer is so . 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. Wilt Chamberlain. [149] Chamberlain played a villainous warrior and counterpart of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer. Five times he was . Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks in six games. August 21, Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. The two were fierce competitors on the court, but they developed a friendship away from the game. 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.