Wilt Chamberlain

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Lore & Background

Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records, including several regular season records in scoring, rebounding, and durability; blocks were not counted during his career. He remains the only player to score 100 points in a single game. He also once gathered 55 rebounds, and never fouled out. Chamberlain is the only player to average 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, a feat he accomplished seven times. He once averaged 50 points per game, as well as 48 minutes per game, in a season. Chamberlain ultimately won two NBA championships, four regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the Rookie of the Year, one Finals MVP, and one All-Star Game MVP; he was selected to thirteen All-Star Games and ten All-NBA Teams (seven First and three Second teams). He won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine durability, and nine field goal percentage titles. While in college, Chamberlain played for the Kansas Jayhawks, and lost the national championship game to the North Carolina Tar Heels in triple overtime his sophomore year. He also played for the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the NBA, where he played for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain had an on-court rivalry with Boston Celtics' center Bill Russell, suffering a long string of losses before breaking through and winning the 1967 NBA Finals as a member of the 76ers. Chamberlain won his second championship as a member of the 1972 Lakers, a team which set a record with a 33-game winning streak. Following his professional basketball career, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association (IVA). He served one term as league president and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame.

In Their Own Story

The Melbourne sun beat down on the Olympic Park stadium, but inside the basketball arena, the air was cool and electric. Wilt Chamberlain, still a college kid with a shy grin, stood at center court, his shadow stretching across the polished wood. Across from him, a Soviet player barely reached his shoulder. The whistle blew, and Wilt leaped, his fingertips grazing the ball first, sending it to a teammate. The crowd gasped—they had never seen anyone move like that, a giant with the grace of a dancer. He scored, rebounded, blocked shots, and smiled as the U.S. rolled to another victory. After the game, a young Australian boy handed him a eucalyptus leaf, and Wilt tucked it into his warm-up jacket, a souvenir of a world he was just beginning to conquer.

Reader's Guide

Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Overbrook High School, where he led the team to two city championships and graduated with 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 points per game. He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and later for the Harlem Globetrotters before entering the NBA. The source does not mention any Olympic participation.

Did You Know?

• Chamberlain is the only NBA player to score 100 points in a single game.
• He once averaged 50 points per game in a season.
• Chamberlain never fouled out of an NBA game.
• He was known by the nickname 'the Big Dipper', which he preferred over 'Wilt the Stilt' or 'Goliath'.