WILT CHAMBERLAIN: FOUR UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER TO LIVE

WILT CHAMBERLAIN: FOUR UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER TO LIVE

He had an incredible career!

According to biography, he was born Wilton Norman Chamberlain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 1936. Like many superstars, Chamberlain is as much of a myth as he was a real person. He is widely considered as one of the greatest basketball players to have ever lived.

He started on the varsity team at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, where he went on to score over 2,000 points! Standing at a towering 6’11”, he intimidated other teenage players on the court both physically and mentally, earning him many nicknames due to his intimidating size. While Chamberlain liked some names, such as “The Big Dipper,” he detested others, such as “Wilt the Stilt,” which was given to him by a local reporter who covered high school athletics. At 7’1″ at his tallest, Chamberlain was highly sought after by a number of elite universities.

He played for the University of Kansas in 1956 when he made his college basketball debut. In 1957, he helped the team go to the NCAA championships. Despite the team’s defeat in that match, Chamberlain won the tournament’s “Most Outstanding Player” award, earning a spot on the all-American and all-conference teams for the following campaign. Due to official NBA regulations, he had a year off between college and the league, but in 1959, he made his league debut for the Philadelphia Warriors. He finished the season with a strong start, scoring 43 points in that opening game. In that year, he was crowned both the NBA’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.

Throughout his career, Chamberlain accomplished a lot of noteworthy feats. He became the first player in NBA history to score 100 points in a game in March of 1962. With an average of 50.4 points per game, he also became the first player in the NBA history to earn more than 4,000 points. Being the first player to reach 30,000 points in his career, he played with the Warriors during their relocation to San Francisco. In 1965, he joined the 76ers, and subsequently, the Lakers, whom he helped win an NBA title in 1972.

Before Michael Jordan broke it in 1998, Chamberlain, who retired in 1973, had the league record for the most points scored per game. His record of never fouling out of an NBA game and his 1978 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame continue to make him noteworthy. Chamberlain passed suddenly from heart failure on October 12, 1999.