Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 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 . So Katz crafted the lofty proposal of luring 45-year-old Wilt Chamberlain out of retirement after being out of the league for nine seasons. The 1961-62 season is the greatest single season that didn't result in an NBA championship ever. [118] Although Chamberlain lost, he was lauded for holding his own against MVP Alcindor, who was not only 10 years younger but healthy. [j] Chamberlain capped off 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. Right, Born: Wilt 13 Chamberlain. [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. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. . While actively promoting the sport in 1982, Chamberlain said he was considering a return to athletic competition in masters athletics. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Learn more and register. "[196] Swedish Olympic high jumper Annette Tnnander, who met him when he was 40 and she was 19, remembers him as a pick-up artist who was extremely confident yet respectful, saying: "I think Wilt hit on everything that moved he never was bad or rude. When Hall-of-Fame Detroit Pistons center Bob Lanier, who was 6 feet 11 inches and 250 pounds as a rookie,[116] 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. Wilt has been retired for nearly 13 years now. In Game 4, Boston won 114108. [87] Cherry is critical of Chamberlain because, while conceding he was the only Sixers player who performed in the series, he says his unprofessional, egotistical behavior set a bad example for his teammates.[86]. He also was one of the most versatile big men ever, leading the league in . Crowds gathered to watch the latest match between two top center players: Chamberlain and Bill Russell. With three minutes to go, the Lakers trailed 103102, but they committed costly turnovers and lost the game 108106, despite a triple-double from West, who had 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists, and became the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. He is best remembered as the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game. How many rings does Wilt Chamberlain have? As of 2019, he is the first and the only player in NBA history to record 50 points and 35 rebounds in an NBA playoff game. Best Known For: Wilt Chamberlain was the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 cumulative points over his career, and the first and only player to score 100 points in a single game. [194][v] As a Philadelphia 76er, he could afford to rent a New York apartment and commute to Philadelphia. [69] Each team won their home games, so the series was split at three after six games. If Chamberlain started having sex at the age of 15, from then up to the age of 55 (when the book was published) he would have had 40 years to sleep with 20,000 women, or 500 different women a year . Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Chamberlain also made history by becoming 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. Traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968, Chamberlain again proved that he was a competitive and successful athlete. In Game 1, the Sixers beat Boston 127112, powered by Greer's 39 points and Chamberlain's unofficial quadruple double, with 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 unofficially counted blocks. [8] 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. [104] Winning 62 games, the Sixers easily took the first seed of the playoffs. [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. Chamberlain dominated his older college teammates by scoring 42 points (1635 from the field, 1012 on free throws), grabbing 29 rebounds, and registering 4 blocks. If you lose, everybody says, 'How could he lose, a guy that size? Russell never considered Chamberlain his rival and disliked the term, preferring competitors, and also said that they rarely talked about basketball when they were alone. [159][160][161] Contemporary colleagues were often terrified to play against Chamberlain. " the Celtics' eight-year reign as NBA champion had ended. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested! [62] His efficiency that season was reflected by a streak of 35 consecutive made field goals over the course of four games in February. In his recently published book, "A View From Above," the 7-foot-1 Chamberlain claims that the Lakers tried to coax him out of retirement in . He wished people would understand that their roles were different. 1 1.Why & When Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire? Chamberlain stayed with the Warriors as they moved out to San Francisco in 1962. . Coach Hannum once suggested he shoot his famous fadeaway jumper as a free throw, but Chamberlain feared drawing more attention to his one great failing. "[47], After losing Baylor to an Achilles tendon rupture that effectively ended his career, and especially after losing West after a knee injury, the handicapped Lakers were seen as underdogs in the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks of Alcindor, freshly crowned MVP, and the veteran Hall-of-Fame guard Robertson, whom they faced in the Western Conference Finals. "[93] In Game 5, the Sixers overpowered the Celtics 140116, ending Boston's historic run of eight consecutive NBA titles. [181], Chamberlain's impact on the game is reflected in the fact that he was directly responsible for several rule changes in the NBA, including widening the lane to try to keep big men farther away from the basket, instituting offensive goaltending, banning dunking to convert free throws, and revising rules governing inbounding the ball, such as making it against the rules to inbound the ball over the backboard. 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. It was North Carolina's first of six NCAA national titles. [92] Philadelphia fans chanted "Boston is dead! [210], During most of his NBA career, Chamberlain was good friends with Bill Russell. [86] In Game 5, Chamberlain scored 46 points and grabbed 34 rebounds, but the Celtics won the game 120112 and the series. Chamberlain's most famous season, however, came in 1962. The 210-pound Lemon later recounted how Chamberlain was "the strongest athlete who ever lived". Chamberlain had other plans, however, pursuing interests outside of basketball. [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. [62] He later acknowledged that he was a "psycho case" in this matter. [10], The rookie Chamberlain then shocked Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. [98][99] Chamberlain also recorded then the most points in a triple-double. Standing at 6'11" tall at the time, Chamberlain physically dominated other players. [122][123] Cooke had offered Chamberlain a record-setting contract on the condition that he agreed to give up what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness". He scored 34 points as Overbrook won the Philadelphia Public League title and gained a berth in the city championship game against the winner of the rival Catholic league, the West Catholic High School. Neville Chamberlain was a signatory of the Munich Agreement. [35], Chamberlain's prospects of playing under Allen ended when the coach turned 70 shortly after and retired in accordance with KU regulations. He spent his last year in basketball in a coaching position, due to a contractual issue. Do you have a sports website? [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. [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. [72] This also meant that the Warriors team broke apart, as Arizin chose to retire rather than move away from his family and his job at IBM in Philadelphia, Warrior coach McGuire chose to resign rather than move to the West Coast, and Gola was homesick, requesting a trade to the lowly New York Knicks halfway through the season. [Wilt Chamberlain] and I will be friends through eternity. Or write about sports? The next game against Oklahoma City was equally unpleasant, with KU winning 8161.[38]. [133] Chamberlain's all-around performance helped the Lakers win their first championship in Los Angeles with a decisive 114100 win. [12][89] 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. [46], 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 just one of several artists who loved to entertain the crowd. He also led the league in rebounds (24.2), was third in assists (7.8), and played strong defense. All rights reserved. In all, he claimed 60 athletes with aspirations of expanding to 100. August 21, [201], In Chamberlain's second book, A View from Above, he claimed to have had sex with twenty thousand women. Having never fouled out in his career, a feat that he was very proud of, Chamberlain played aggressive defense despite the risk of fouling out, and blocked two of Lucas' shots in overtime, proving those wrong who said he only played for his own statistics; he ended scoring a game-high 27 points. His career average was only two fouls per game despite having averaged 45.8 minutes per game over his career. Chamberlain said: "I've got to hit forty points or so, or this team is in trouble. [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. [142], Starting in the 1970s, he formed Wilt's Athletic Club, a track and field club in southern California,[143] coached by then UCLA assistant coach Bob Kersee in the early days of his career. Cherry describes his house as a miniature Playboy Mansion, where he regularly held parties and lived out his later-notorious sex life. They never meant anything to Wilt Chamberlain, though. Despite his retirement, Chamberlain remained a highly sought after player, with multiple teams trying their hardest to lure the legendary center player out of . [151] According to those close to him, he eventually began taking medication for his heart troubles. Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1-inch star of the . His ability to leap from the foul line led to the rule that a free throw shooter must keep his feet behind the line. The first team to retire Chamberlain's No. By the time he retired in 1973, Chamberlain had amassed an amazing array of career statistics. Returning to his hometown in 1965, Chamberlain joined the Philadelphia 76ers. [47], Despite his foul line woes, Chamberlain set the NBA record, later tied by Adrian Dantley, for most free throws made (28) using the underhand technique in a regular-season game in his 1962 100-point game. Winning the regular season with 66 wins, the Bucks were seen as favorites against the depleted Lakers; still, many pundits were looking forward to the matchup between the 34-year-old Chamberlain and the 24-year-old Alcindor. 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.