Wilt Chamberlain I INTRODUCTION Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999), American professional basketball player, one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

Wilt Chamberlain I INTRODUCTION Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999), American professional basketball player, one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a single game, and his dominating offensive play forced rules changes in the game to try to limit his effectiveness. Chamberlain, a 7-ft, w-in (215-cm) center, played for the Philadelphia Warriors (remaining with the team when they moved to California as the Golden State Warriors), the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His career lasted 14 seasons, from 1959-60 through 1972-73. Chamberlain won only two NBA championships (in 1967 with the 76ers and 1972 with the Lakers), but he set numerous league records, including the most games with 50 or more points (118); the most seasons leading the league in field-goal percentage (9); the most free throws attempted (11,862); and the most rebounds (23,924). Chamberlain also never fouled out of a game. He led the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons (1960-1966) and finished his career with 31,419 points, a mark eclipsed only by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), and Michael Jordan (32,292). Chamberlain's career NBA scoring average of 30.06 points per game is second only to Jordan (30.12) in the league's all-time rankings. II THE BIG DIPPER Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eighth of William and Olivia Chamberlain's 11 children. As a youngster, Chamberlain preferred track and field to basketball, and he dreamed of competing as a sprinter in the Olympic Games. However, the most popular sport in Philadelphia was basketball, and because he was so tall, his friends urged him to take up the game. (Although his father and mother were well under six feet, Chamberlain reached that height by age ten and quickly grew even taller.) The more Chamberlain played basketball, the more he enjoyed the game, and he soon became a regular at gyms near his home. Nicknamed Wilt the Stilt and The Big Dipper for his intimidating size, Chamberlain was the object of a recruiting war by area high schools, with several schools in West Philadelphia vying for him. Chamberlain enrolled at Overbrook High, a public school that most of his friends attended. In three seasons at Overbrook, Chamberlain led his squad to a record of 58-3. By his junior year of high school, Chamberlain was 6 ft 11 in (211 cm) tall and was playing in summer-league games against NBA stars such as Paul Arizin and Tom Gola of the Philadelphia Warriors. As a high school senior, Chamberlain routinely scored more than 50 points per game. He once recorded a 90-point game in which he scored 60 points in one ten-minute period. In addition to his height Chamberlain had long arms, and when standing under the basket he could almost touch the rim, 10 ft (3.1 m) off the ground. His height made it easy for Chamberlain to dunk, but he was also a good rebounder, had a good midrange jump shot, and could handle the ball reasonably well. Even his free-throw shooting, a weak spot in his later years as a professional, was better than average. III COLLEGE STAR Not surprisingly, Chamberlain's skills drew the interest of almost every university in the United States. More than 200 colleges tried to recruit him. In the spring of 1955 Chamberlain announced that he would attend the University of Kansas. At that time first-year students were not allowed to play varsity sports in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), so Chamberlain did not play on the Jayhawks basketball team until his sophomore year. Over that year and the next (1956-57 and 195758), Chamberlain averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game. Because of Chamberlain's height and offensive prowess, NCAA administrators instituted several rules changes to limit his impact. The most important new regulation was offensive goaltending. Under the new rules players could no longer guide the ball in or out of the basket by touching it while it was in the space directly above the rim. Other rules prohibited lobbing the ball over the backboard from behind it (so that a teammate could catch and dunk the ball), and taking a running leap from the free-throw line to make a layup during foul shots. Both had been favorite plays of Chamberlain. Despite Chamberlain's outstanding play, Kansas failed to win the national title. The school did come close in his sophomore year, losing the 1957 championship game to North Carolina, 54-53 in triple overtime. Even in a losing cause, Chamberlain was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament. During his junior year Chamberlain's interest in the college game waned. He decided to skip his senior year at Kansas, and he spent the 1958-59 season playing with the Harlem Globetrotters while waiting to become eligible for the 1959 NBA draft under the rules of the period. IV NBA POWERHOUSE In 1959 the Philadelphia Warriors selected Chamberlain in the first round of the NBA draft. He had little trouble adjusting to the professional game, and his arrival turned the Warriors into an instant contender. Chamberlain averaged an astounding 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game during the 1959-60 season and earned NBA rookie of the year and MVP honors. Teamed with forwards Arizin and Gola and guard Guy Rodgers, Chamberlain established Philadelphia as the main Eastern Division rival to the Boston Celtics, who were led by Bill Russell. By the 1961-62 season, his third in the NBA, Chamberlain seemed unstoppable as an individual performer. He averaged 50.4 points per game (a record that still stands) and 25.7 rebounds per contest over that season. His career's most impressive single-game performance came on March 2, 1962, as Chamberlain scored 100 points in Philadelphia's 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks. Chamberlain scored 31 points in the final period alone to total what is by far the highest single-game scoring output in NBA history. Despite his individual success, Chamberlain frequently feuded with coaches and teammates, and year after year his teams failed to win the NBA championship. As the tallest man on the court, he often received the largest share of the blame when his teams lost. The Warriors relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1962, but three years later Chamberlain was traded back to his hometown to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. There he won three consecutive MVP awards (1966-1968) and finally captured an NBA title. The team finished the 1966-67 season with a then-league-record 68 wins. After eliminating Boston in the division finals Chamberlain's 76ers bested his old team, the Warriors, to claim the championship. Instead of shouldering the offensive load by himself, Chamberlain shared the scoring burden on the team with guard Hal Greer and forwards Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham. In July 1968 Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he teamed with star players such as guards Jerry West and Gail Goodrich and forward Happy Hairston. Chamberlain helped lead Los Angeles to the NBA title in 1972. That year, he averaged only 14.8 points per game (the second-lowest average of his NBA career), but his defense and rebounding (19.2 per game) helped the Lakers win a record 33 consecutive regular-season games. Los Angeles finished the season with 69 wins--one more than the record 68 the 76ers had won during the 1966-67 season. Chamberlain was named MVP of the 1972 NBA Finals; it was the last major honor he would win. The Lakers returned to the NBA finals the following year, but they lost to the Knicks. Chamberlain then retired as a player. He coached the San Diego Conquistadores of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the 1973-74 season before leaving basketball for good. Many NBA teams tried to convince Chamberlain to return to the sport, but he refused their offers. In 1978 he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. V LATER YEARS Chamberlain remained active during the remaining years of his life, playing professional volleyball and polo and participating in track and field. He authored a number of books, including the autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door (1973), A View from Above (1991), and Who's Running the Asylum?: The Insane World of Sports Today (1997). Contributed By: Marc Stein Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.