[note 2][166], Furthermore, Chamberlain damaged his reputation in an April 1965 article with Sports Illustrated. [5][45] Chamberlain capped off his rookie season by winning the 1960 NBA All-Star Game MVP award with a 23-point, 25-rebound performance for the East. [52] However, Jack Kent Cooke was pleased, because since acquiring Chamberlain, ticket sales went up by 11%. [80] He said: "It is wonderful to be a part of the greatest team in basketball ... being a champion is like having a big round glow inside of you. Chamberlain’s inaugural season seemed to take a heavy toll on him. Yet the streak led to one strangely dissonant event. [88], On July 9, 1968, Chamberlain was the centerpiece of a major trade between the 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, which sent center Darrall Imhoff, forward Jerry Chambers and guard Archie Clark to Philadelphia, making it the first time a reigning NBA Most Valuable Player was traded the next season. [44], In his first NBA season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds, convincingly breaking the previous regular-season records. In Game 4, Boston won 114–108. When Chamberlain was 50, the New Jersey Nets had the same idea, but were declined. When Chamberlain finally slipped on a Philadelphia uniform for the start of the 1959-60 season, the basketball world eagerly awaited the young giant’s debut — and he didn’t disappoint. The Big Dipper brought down a massive 55 boards in that game. [55], His extraordinary feats in the 1962 season were later subject of the book Wilt, 1962 by Gary M. Pomerantz (2005), who used Chamberlain as a metaphor for the uprising of Black America. The next season he made a quantum leap in his performance. "Wilt's Big Night", Weekend America, American Public Media, June 4, 2005, How the 100-point game almost went un-recorded. Sharman introduced morning shoot-arounds, in which the perennial latecomer Chamberlain regularly participated (in contrast to earlier years with Dolph Schayes) and transformed him into a defensive-minded, low-scoring post defender in the mold of his old rival Bill Russell. Enraged and frustrated, the Seattle player ran up to Chamberlain swinging. “The Big Dipper”: Wilt Chamberlain One of the most dominant centers in NBA history, Chamberlain used his immense size (7-foot-1, 275 pounds) to torture opposing defenders. The Lakers center himself was criticized for his inability to dominate his injured counterpart, but Cherry pointed out that his feat – coming back from a career-threatening injury himself – was too quickly forgotten. He hated the ones that called attention to his height, such as "Goliath" and "Wilt the Stilt". Only Wes Unseld would duplicate Chamberlain’s feat of winning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season. (Unseld did it in 1968-69.). Scoring 35 points, Chamberlain led Overbrook to an easy 83–42 victory. [52] In 2002, writer Wayne Lynch wrote a book about this remarkable Sixers season, Season of the 76ers, centering on Chamberlain. As Oscar Robertson put it in the Philadelphia Daily News when asked whether Chamberlain was the best ever, “The books don’t lie.”. [86] However, the Celtics rallied back, winning Games 5 and 6 122–104 and 114–106 respectively, powered by a spirited John Havlicek and helped by the Sixers' terrible shooting.[86]. [172] Chamberlain lived alone,[173] relying on a great deal of automated gadgets, with two cats named Zip and Zap and several Great Dane dogs as company. An incident recounted in the Philadelphia Daily News involving Tom Meschery of the Seattle SuperSonics illustrated what it was like to play in the trenches against Chamberlain. "[183] Still, Chamberlain maintained a level of bitterness, regretted that he should have been "more physical" with Russell in their games and privately continued accusing his rival for "intellectualizing" basketball in a negative way. [11] In his early years Chamberlain was not interested in basketball, because he thought it was "a game for sissies". [31] In two seasons at Kansas, he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds,[17] and led Kansas to one Big Seven championship. The Warriors lost to the Celtics in the 1964 Finals in five games. He later admitted that this loss was the most painful of his life. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 52–51. [27] Chamberlain's freshman debut was highly anticipated, and he delivered; the freshman squad was pitted against the varsity, who were favored to win their conference that year. There are 4 stars that make up the Big Dipper's bowl (it looks like an irregular square). Ex-Lakers teammate Jerry West remembered him as an utterly dominant yet friendly and humorous player, and fellow Hall-of-Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnny Kerr, Phil Jackson and Wes Unseld called Chamberlain one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. And as if to prove that he was not a selfish player, he had the NBA’s highest assist total in 1967-68. He played for the University of Kansas and also for the Harlem Globetrotters before playing in the NBA. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point, but then Tar Heel Joe Quigg was fouled on a drive with 10 seconds remaining and made his two foul shots. I was wrong. "[102] In 1967, recently retired NFL star Jim Brown acted as Chamberlain's manager, but Ali's manager Jabir Herbert Muhammad backed out of the Chamberlain-Ali match which was slated to take place at Madison Square Garden. [7] After his professional basketball career ended, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association, was president of that organization, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the NBA rival league ABA signed Chamberlain as a player-coach for a $600,000 salary. [138] The closest any player has gotten to 100 points was the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 in 2006. Philadelphia, which had added talented forward Billy Cunningham, started the year by winning 45 of its first 49 games en route to an 68-13 record, at the time the best in league history. His stellar performance led Kansas to an insurmountable lead, and he rested on the bench for the final 3:45 remaining in the game. During his career, his dominance precipitated many rules changes. Los Angeles Lakers Wilt Chamberlain: Why the Big Dipper Would Dominate Today's NBA Jesse White Contributor III March 23, 2011 Comments [76] Off the court, the center invited the team to restaurants and paid the entire bill, knowing he earned 10 times more than all the others. [8] He was a successful businessman, authored several books, and appeared in the movie Conan the Destroyer. [111] Chamberlain averaged 13.2 points and 18.6 rebounds, still enough to win the rebounding crown for the 11th time in his career. In his last season, the Lakers lost substance: Happy Hairston was injured, Flynn Robinson and LeRoy Ellis had left, and veteran Jerry West struggled with injury. [65], In the summer of 1964, Chamberlain, one of the prominent participants at the famed Rucker Park basketball court in New York City,[66] made the acquaintance of a tall, talented 17-year-old who played there. Chamberlain, who loved the limelight, seemed to bask in those reports, but he never took up any team on its offer. He was tired of being double- and triple-teamed, and of teams coming down on him with hard fouls. And though it's been 46 years since he sunk his last NBA basket, Wilt Chamberlain is still a giant in hoops lore. Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as Alcindor would name himself later, would develop an intensely personal antipathy. [63] Backed up by valuable rookie Thurmond, Chamberlain had another good season with 36.9 ppg and 22.3 rpg,[52] and the Warriors went all the way to the NBA Finals. [3][160] Chamberlain, who reportedly had a 50-inch vertical leap,[161] was physically capable of converting foul shots via a slam dunk without a running start (beginning his movement at the top of the key). [82] Although there is no written proof for or against, ex-Sixers coach Dolph Schayes and Sixers lawyer Alan Levitt assumed Chamberlain was right;[80] in any case, Kosloff declined the request, leaving Chamberlain livid and willing to jump to the rival ABA once his contract ended in 1967. In the 1967–68 NBA season, matters began to turn sour between Chamberlain and the Sixers' sole surviving owner, Irv Kosloff. [citation needed] The matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar was hailed by Life magazine as the greatest matchup in all of sports. Voted in as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. This was also helped by the fact that Chamberlain was a near-insomniac who often simply skipped sleeping. For the last play, Thurmond and Barry were assigned to do a pick and roll against Chamberlain and whoever would guard Barry. [80] In Game 3, Chamberlain grabbed 41 rebounds and helped the Sixers win 115–104. [69] In the final minute, Chamberlain hit two clutch free throws and slam dunked on Russell, bringing Boston's lead down to 110–109 with five seconds left. Big-league volleyball attracted his energies for a while, as did tennis, running marathons and even polo. "[91] In addition, Cherry observed that Chamberlain was neither a natural leader nor a loyal follower, which made him difficult to fit in. Chamberlain never fouled out of a regular season or playoff game in his 14-year NBA career. "[108] Chamberlain performed so well in the series that Time magazine stated, "In the N.B.A. [154] The comparison between the two is often simplified to a great player (Chamberlain) versus a player who makes his team great (Russell), an individualist against a team player. At the ages of 16 and 17, Chamberlain played several professional games under the pseudonym "George Marcus". In Game 2, the Bucks won again despite the Lakers center scoring 26 points, four more than his Milwaukee counterpart. At the time he claimed he had only been beaten in the high jump once, by Olympic champion Charles Dumas, and that he had never been beaten in the shot put, including beating Olympic legend Al Oerter. Posting a phenomenal average of 50.4 points per game, he became the only player in history to score 4,000 points in a season. His first contest with the freshmen was against the varsity, which was favored to win its conference that year. His name appears so often in the scoring record books that his name could be the default response any time a question arises concerning a scoring record in the NBA. [citation needed] When he became a Laker, Chamberlain built a million-dollar mansion he called the "Ursa Major" in Bel-Air, as a play on his nickname "The Big Dipper" (jazz composer Thad Jones also named the music composition Big Dipper after the basketball star). In a sensational rookie year, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds and was named NBA Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and NBA Most Valuable Player as well as being selected to the All-NBA First Team. [2] In addition, Chamberlain was seen as a freak of nature, jeered at by the fans and scorned by the media. [156] Chamberlain was named All-NBA first team seven times to Russell's three, but Russell was named league MVP—then selected by players and not the press—five times against Chamberlain's four. [14] Because Chamberlain was a very tall child, already measuring 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) at age 10[15] and 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) when he entered Philadelphia's Overbrook High School,[3] he had a natural advantage against his peers; he soon was renowned for his scoring talent, his physical strength and his shot blocking abilities. Also known as Wilt the Stilt and The Big Dipper, Chamberlain was one of the greatest scorers in NBA history -- on and off the court, apparently. However, Chamberlain said he was "too tired" to attend, and even refused Schayes' plea to at least show up and shoot a few foul shots with the team. But his contributions came in other forms. The pass was intercepted, however, and the Tar Heels won the game. "[54], In Chamberlain's third season, the Warriors were coached by Frank McGuire, the coach who had masterminded Chamberlain's painful NCAA loss against the Tar Heels. Although North Carolina beat Kansas by one point in triple overtime, Chamberlain was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. [74], Prior to the 1966–67 NBA season, the friendly but unassertive Schayes was replaced by a familiar face, the crafty but firm Alex Hannum. Cherry described how Celtics coach Red Auerbach ordered his forward Tom Heinsohn to commit personal fouls on Chamberlain: whenever the Warriors shot foul shots, Heinsohn grabbed and shoved Chamberlain to prevent him from running back quickly; his intention was that the Celtics would throw the ball in so fast that the prolific shotblocker Chamberlain was not yet back under his own basket, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. In his first game, he scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in an 87–69 win against Northwestern, who had Chamberlain's future NBA teammate Joe Ruklick. Meschery got it again, faked again, and got it blocked again. Chamberlain said, "I've got to hit forty points or so, or this team is in trouble. [6] By the time Chamberlain was 21 (even before he turned professional), he had already been featured in Time, Life, Look, and Newsweek magazines. Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks in six games. Like many pro players, he spent a year coaching at the pro level, for the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association. [152] Russell's Celtics won seven of eight playoff series against Chamberlain's Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers teams, and went 57–37 against them in the regular season and 29–20 in the playoffs. He later faced Unseld, Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, and Elvin Hayes. Outwardly, Schayes defended his star center as "excused from practice", but his teammates knew the truth and were much less forgiving. [2] Chamberlain immediately became the NBA's highest paid player, when he signed for $30,000 (equal to about $263,000 today)[note 1] in his rookie contract. [76] Concerning basketball, he persuaded him to change his style of play. After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player before finishing his senior year. "[23] Chamberlain himself often said: "Nobody roots for Goliath. He scored 34 points as Overbrook won the Public League title and gained a berth in the Philadelphia city championship game against the winner of the rival Catholic league, West Catholic. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLC’s Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Chamberlain's 4,029 regular-season points made him the only player to break the 4,000-point barrier;[2] the only other player to break the 3,000-point barrier is Michael Jordan, with 3,041 points in the 1986–87 NBA season. At the 1965 All-Star break Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, the new name of the relocated Syracuse Nationals. In the 1968 Eastern Division Semifinals, they were pitted against the Knicks. [61] With both secondary scorers gone, Chamberlain continued his array of statistical feats, averaging 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds per game that year. That's the reason why I was single. "[181] Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy even assumed that if Chamberlain had been less fixated on being popular, he would have been meaner and able to win more titles. 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