He once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book. Having lost lateral quickness due to his injury, Chamberlain was often too slow to block Reed's preferred high-post jump shots. [184] As the championship count became increasingly lopsided, the relationship got strained and turned hostile after Russell accused Chamberlain of "copping out" in the notorious Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals. [197] Chamberlain lived alone,[198] relying on a great deal of automated gadgets, with two cats named Zip and Zap and several Great Dane dogs as company. His intention was that the Celtics would throw the ball in so fast that the prolific shot-blocker Chamberlain was not yet back under his own basket, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. "[162] He was a scoring champion, all-time top rebounder, and accurate field goal shooter. For the final play, Harp called for Ron Loneski to pass the ball into Chamberlain in the low post, but the pass was tipped by Quigg and recovered by Kearns and the Tar Heels won the game. [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. By 197172, at age 35 and running less, his game had transformed to averaging only nine shots per game compared to the 40 in his record-setting 196162 season. "[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. [40] Teammate Bob Billings commented: "It was not fun basketball we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth. By the time he retired in 1973, Chamberlain had amassed an amazing array of career statistics. With no sleep and a hangover, he boarded the train to Philadelphia at 8 AM. Retirement. His career average was only two fouls per game despite having averaged 45.8 minutes per game over his career. [174] [175][176] He was voted the second best center of all time by ESPN behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2007,[177] and was ranked No. Chamberlain was with the Los Angeles Lakers at that time, the same team Jabbar would join following Wilt's retirement. Wilt Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936. He led the NBA in scoring seven times, field goal percentage nine times, minutes played eight times, rebounding eleven times, and assists once. Chamberlain was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, where he was the president of his pledge class. [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. [106] On April 4, national tragedy struck with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 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 was criticized as a non-factor in the series, getting neutralized by Russell with little effort. [62] Powered by his defensive presence, the Lakers embarked on an unprecedented 33-game win streak en route to a then-record 69 wins in the regular season, yet the streak led to one strangely dissonant event. Auerbach spotted Chamberlain there and had him play one-on-one against University of Kansas (KU) standout and national champion B. H. Born, elected the NCAA Most Outstanding Player in 1953. This angered the team, who preferred an early schedule to have the afternoon off, but Schayes just said: "There is no other way." He was voted into the Hall of Fame back in 2011. 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, bad knees, and pulled hamstrings, respectively. [89] Cherry says there is a strange pattern in that game, as in a typical Sixers game 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. In the first game, the Jayhawks played the all-white SMU Mustangs, and KU player John Parker later said: "The crowd was brutal. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. [71] Much like later center Shaquille O'Neal, Chamberlain would be fouled intentionally, and was a target of criticism because of it. "[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. Countless suggestions were offered; he shot them underhanded, one-handed, two-handed, from the side of the circle, from well behind the line, and even banked it in. [36] For many years following Chamberlain's departure from KU, critics also said that he wanted to leave the Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to win a championship. [105], In the Eastern Division Finals, the Sixers met the Boston Celtics, again with home-court advantage and this time as reigning champions. Chamberlain averaged 20.7 points, 18.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists,[62] once again led the NBA in rebounding, and the Lakers won the Pacific Division title. Wilt did engage in non-sports activities after retiring, like filming the movie Conan the Destroyer with . [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. 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. "[205] In a 1999 interview shortly before his death, he regretted not having explained the sexual climate at the time of his escapades and warned other men who admired him for it, with the closing words from the chapter of the same book: "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. When it comes down to the closing minutes of a tough game, an important game, he doesnt want the ball, he doesnt want any part of the pressure. Wilt retired from the NBA after the 1972-73 season with the . What did chamberlain do about the munich agreement? He tried coaching for a time, and was a popular pitchman for commercials. [212] Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.,[213] and he considered himself a Republican. Traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968, Chamberlain again proved that he was a competitive and successful athlete. "[122][206] Chamberlain also acknowledged that he never came close to marrying and had no intention of raising any children. But Chamberlain didn't mind "The Big Dipper," or "Dipper," a nickname given to him by friends because he had to duck his head when passing through a doorframe. [65] Additionally, he was on the hardwood for an average of 48.53 minutes, playing 3,882 of his team's 3,890 minutes. Wilt Chamberlain attended Overbrook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Kansas. [4], Chamberlain was 6ft 11in (2.11m) when he entered Philadelphia's Overbrook High School. Prior to Game 3, things became even worse for the Lakers when Erickson, West's stand-in, had an appendectomy and was out for the season. [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. [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. 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). We present them here for purely educational purposes. Crowds gathered to watch the latest match between two top center players: Chamberlain and Bill Russell. "[111] In spite of their earlier quarrels, Van Breda Kolff came to his defense, insisting the often-maligned Chamberlain hardly was able to move in the end. 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. His 76ers went 68-13 (in only an 81-game season then), and then his Lakers team broke it with 69-13 (as the NBA had added one game to make it 82 games a season), including a st. [145], Even far beyond his playing days, Chamberlain was a very fit person. Thursday, December 30. 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 . [146] He would continue to epitomize physical fitness for years to come, including participating in several marathons. Chamberlain died of heart failure on October 12, 1999, at his Los Angeles home. [10], The rookie Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. 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. [126], Jazz composer Thad Jones named the music composition "Big Dipper" after Chamberlain. [111] In Game 7, the Lakers trailed 9176 after three quarters. During his first championship season, his assists also increased, recording two back-to-back seasons with eight assists per game, and winning one assist title. The Warriors got off to a terrible start to the season, and ran into financial trouble. [5] Among others, UCLA offered Chamberlain the opportunity to become a movie star, the University of Pennsylvania wanted to buy him diamonds, and Chamberlain's coach at Overbrook, Cecil Mosenson, was even offered a coaching position if he could persuade him. In 1998, Chamberlain returned to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, to participate in a jersey-retiring ceremony for his No. According to various unofficial box scores at the time, Wilt Chamberlain had three quadruple doubles in the 1960s playoffs. He happened to make a living playing basketball, but he was more than that. Or write about sports? The 15-round bout would have taken place on July 26, 1971, in the Houston Astrodome. Astrological Sign: Leo, Death Year: 1999, Death date: October 12, 1999, Death State: California, Death City: Bel Air, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Wilt Chamberlain Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/wilt-chamberlain, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: May 7, 2021, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. [6], Chamberlain was the catalyst for several 1956 NCAA basketball rule changes, including the rule which requires that a shooter maintain both feet behind the line during a free-throw attempt. [85] Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image. 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 . To this day, Additionally, Chamberlain remains notable for never fouling out of an NBA game. Wilt Chamberlain improved his previously dismal free throw percentage (barely 50%) by throwing underhand (granny) style, hitting 28/32 in the famous game where he scored 100 point. [62], Chamberlain's 4,029 regular-season points made him the only player to break the 4,000-point barrier. [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. [63] Cherry comments that Chamberlain was "difficult" and did not respect coach Johnston, who was unable to handle the star center. He once said that "no one cheered for Goliath," but the response to his passing proved that to be false. [89] Cherry adds several personal reasons, among them Chamberlain felt he had grown too big for Philadelphia, sought the presence of fellow celebrities, which were plenty in Los Angeles, and finally also desired the opportunity to date white women, which was possible for a black man in Los Angeles but hard to imagine elsewhere back then. [c] Red Auerbach, the coach of the Boston Celtics, was also athletic director of the summer basketball league at Kutscher's. In Game 2, which the Lakers won 10692, Chamberlain put Lucas into foul trouble, and the Knicks lost defensive power forward Dave DeBusschere to injury. 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. 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. [5] As an avid track and field athlete, Chamberlain 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. Leaving college in 1958, Chamberlain had to wait a year before going pro due to NBA rules. [188] While previously friends, after Russell criticized Chamberlain for his performance during Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, the two did not speak for two decades. 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 also led the league in rebounds (24.2), was third in assists (7.8), and played strong defense. Bouncing elsewhere. [115] The Knicks led by 27 at halftime, and despite scoring 21 points, Chamberlain could not prevent a third consecutive loss in Game 7. 6 in a similar list by The Athletic. [114] In Game 5, with the Knicks trailing by double digits, Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed to be done for the series. The matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar was hailed by Life as the greatest matchup in all of sports.