[43] At that time, the NBA did not accept players until after their college graduating class had been completed; he decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for a sum of $50,000,[10][12][g] The team enjoyed a sold-out tour of the Soviet Union in 1959. [10][12][p] When Chamberlain left the Warriors, owner Franklin Mieuli said: "Chamberlain is not an easy man to love the fans in San Francisco never learned to love him. [212] Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.,[213] and he considered himself a Republican. [184] As the championship count became increasingly lopsided, the relationship got strained and turned hostile after Russell accused Chamberlain of "copping out" in the notorious Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals. He also twice made All-Defensive First Team. After taking over the Philadelphia high school scene, Chamberlain headed to the University of Kansas. Chamberlain won his second championship as a member of the 1972 Lakers, a team which set a record with a 33-game winning streak. After the Knicks finished off the game with a late flourish led by Phil Jackson and Earl Monroe, Chamberlain made a dunk with one second left, which turned out to be the last play of his NBA career. Particularly, Chamberlain was lauded for his performance in Game 6, which the Lakers won 104100 after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter; Chamberlain scored 24 points and 22 rebounds, played all 48 minutes, and outsprinted the younger Bucks center on several late Lakers fast breaks. Death. His career average was only two fouls per game despite having averaged 45.8 minutes per game over his career. [18] The Panthers suffered just one loss, to Farrell High 5958. [88] Greer, who was considered a consummate professional and often clashed with him because of his attitude, spoke positively of the new Chamberlain: "You knew in a minute the Big Fella [Chamberlain] was ready to go and everybody would follow."[88]. [109] Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke gave Chamberlain an unprecedented contract, paying him $250,000 after taxes, or about $1.9 million in real value; in comparison, previous Lakers top earner Jerry West was paid $100,000 before taxes (about $780,000 in real value). 00:00 / 00:00. The legendary centre WILT Chamberlain of the NBA has passed away at the age of 63, according to his friends and former teammates. [132] Chamberlain was named the NBA Finals MVP,[62] and he was admired for dominating the Knicks in Game 5 while playing injured. "[173], For his feats, Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, named part of the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and was ranked No. Prior to Game 3, things became even worse for the Lakers when Erickson, West's stand-in, had an appendectomy and was out for the season. Wilt Chamberlain attended Overbrook High School and then the University of Kansas. "[86] In Game 3, he scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for the road win. He boasted that he made love with 20,000 women. Imagine playing vs Wilt in Highschool. Although Abdul-Jabbar idolized him as a teenager and was once part of his inner circle,[79] the studentmentor bond deteriorated into intense mutual loathing, especially after Chamberlain retired. In a physically tough matchup, the Sixers lost sixth man Cunningham with a broken hand, and Chamberlain, Greer, and Jackson were struggling with inflamed feet, bad knees, and pulled hamstrings, respectively. Wilt Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia. [110] While he was on cordial terms with West, he often argued with team captain Baylor, later explaining in regard to Baylor: "We were good friends, but [in] black culture you never let the other guy one-up you. [106], In Game 7, 15,202 stunned Philadelphia fans witnessed a 10096 defeat for the Sixers, making it the first time in NBA history that a team lost a series after leading 31. [47], Chamberlain also sponsored his personal professional volleyball and track and field teams, and also provided high-level teams for girls and women in basketball, track, volleyball, and softball. [38], Chamberlain was named first-team All-American. [159][160][161] Contemporary colleagues were often terrified to play against Chamberlain. Wilt Chamberlain Is Dead at 63; Dominated Basketball in the 60's He doesn't look human. In Game 2, which the Lakers won 10692, Chamberlain put Lucas into foul trouble, and the Knicks lost defensive power forward Dave DeBusschere to injury. After finding out what a huge fan of his she was, Wilt shocked the teenage girl with a telephone call. [c] Red Auerbach, the coach of the Boston Celtics, was also athletic director of the summer basketball league at Kutscher's. Being a talented hobby volleyballer during his Lakers days,[135] he became a board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association (IVA) in 1974 and its president in 1975. After that season, coach Hannum wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast; he left the Sixers to coach the Oakland Oaks in the newly founded ABA. [38] Leading a talented squad of starters, including Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, Ron Lonesky, and Lew Johnson, the Jayhawks went 131 until they lost a game 5654 versus the Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team holding the ball the last three and a half minutes without any intention of scoring a basket, which was still possible in the days before the shot clock (introduced 1984 in the NCAA). At 7-foot-1, 275 pounds, Chamberlain is the most athletically-gifted center to put on a uniform and may be the best athlete in NBA history. In the playoffs, the Sixers again battled the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals and held home-court advantage. October 12, 1999 / 6:33 PM / CBS/AP Wilt Chamberlain, one of the most dominant players in the history of basketball and the only one to score 100 points in an NBA game, died Tuesday at 63.. "[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. Chamberlain was an owner-player for the Southern California Bangers in 1975, the . [111], After the game, many wondered why Chamberlain sat out the final six minutes. Milwaukee closed out the series at home with a 11698 victory in Game 5. "[40] Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points for the season and led the Jayhawks to an 185 record, with three of the losses coming while he was out with a urinary infection. [92] In Game 3, Chamberlain grabbed 41 rebounds and helped the Sixers win 115104. The Celtics prevented a sweep by winning Game 4 with a 121117 victory. Wilt Chamberlain's Myocarditis | Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Health [74], In the 196364 NBA season, Chamberlain got yet another new coach in Alex Hannum and was joined by promising rookie center Nate Thurmond, who eventually entered the Hall of Fame. Pejoratively calling the new recruit "The Load", he later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice, and focused too much on his own statistics. [110] Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Former teammate Billy Cunningham remarked The NBA Guide reads like Wilt's personal diary. Early Life and Education Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his first game, he scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in an 8769 win against the Northwestern Wildcats, a team having Chamberlain's future NBA teammate Joe Ruklick. "[64], In the 196162 NBA season, the Warriors were coached by Frank McGuire, the coach who had masterminded Chamberlain's triple overtime loss in the NCAA championship against the Tar Heels. Inside the Insane World of Sports Today, in which he criticized the NBA of the 1990s for being too disrespectful of players of the past.[148]. 13. 13 was retired by the Globetrotters. He disliked the ones that portrayed his height negatively, such as "Wilt the Stilt" and "Goliath". [114] In Game 4, Chamberlain scored 18 points and grabbed 25 rebounds and helped tie the series at 2. [114] In Game 5, with the Knicks trailing by double digits, Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed to be done for the series. The Lakers won 60 games in the regular season and reached the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, a franchise that featured a healthy team with a rejuvenated Reed, while the Lakers were now handicapped by several injuries. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain went toe-to-toe - Journal Sentinel By conventional wisdom, Chamberlain now should have dominated against little-used Knicks backup centers Nate Bowman and Bill Hosket Jr., or forwards Bradley and DeBusschere, who gave up more than half a foot against him. [56][k] In Game 6, Heinsohn scored the decisive basket with a last-second tip-in,[56] as the Warriors lost the series 42. [4], Chamberlain was 6ft 11in (2.11m) when he entered Philadelphia's Overbrook High School. He was especially lauded for his good rapport with his fans, often providing tickets and signing autographs. [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. [207], Cherry says that although Chamberlain was an egotist, he had good relationships with many contemporaries and enjoyed a great deal of respect. Reportedly, Chamberlain once broke Kerr's toe with a slam dunk. ", "Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Lakers recap", "ESPN's 'SportsCentury' Goes Back-Back-Back", "Top N. American athletes of the century", "Daily Dime: Special Edition The game's greatest giants ever", "Ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time: Nos. [47] On March 9, 2000, his No. [146] He would continue to epitomize physical fitness for years to come, including participating in several marathons. In the Eastern Division Semifinals, they were pitted against the New York Knicks. He personally preferred "The Big Dipper", which was inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. In that game, Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire used several unorthodox tactics to thwart Chamberlain. They were greeted by General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev prior to the start of a game at Moscow's Lenin Central Stadium. Both his parents were no bigger than 5-9, but as a young boy he began a growth spurt which would eventually stop when he reached 7-1. [26], In his 2004 biography of Chamberlain Wilt: Larger than Life, Robert Allen Cherry describes that Chamberlain wanted a change and did not want to be near Philadelphia, also eliminating New York City, was not interested in New England, and snubbed the South because of racial segregation; this left the Midwest as Chamberlain's probable choice. [12] In an April 1965 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chamberlain conducted an interview titled "My Life in a Bush League" where he criticized his fellow players, coaches, and NBA administrators. [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". Chamberlain could lift luggage to the second floor window without needing to use the stairs. Chamberlain died on 27 February 1878. Chamberlain was regarded as one of. 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. He stood 7 feet 1. Category: Richest Athletes NBA Players. [137] In his single season as a coach, the Conquistadors went a mediocre 3747 in the regular season and lost against the Utah Stars in the Division Semifinals. The day Wilt Chamberlain, NBA legend, died at 63 in 1999 Wilt Chamberlain passed away on October 12th, in 1999. The Sixers won the first two games, with Chamberlain and Greer taking credit for defense and clutch shooting, respectively, but San Francisco won two of the next three games, so Philadelphia was up 32 prior to Game 6. [5][155][156] His longtime attorney Sy Goldberg stated Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure. [201], In Chamberlain's second book, A View from Above, he claimed to have had sex with twenty thousand women. [189], Although Chamberlain racked up some of the most impressive statistics in the history of professional sports, Chamberlain was often called selfish and a loser because he won only two NBA championships and lost seven out of eight playoff series against the Celtics teams of his rival Bill Russell. In Game 6, in which Chamberlain recorded 18 rebounds and 4 assists but only 8 points, the Celtics won 9990. In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice,[146] and he flirted with making a comeback in the NBA in the 1980s. He spent his first year on campus on the freshman team; when he joined up with the varsity in 1956 though, he picked up where he left off. [138] The Lakers sued their former star and successfully prevented him from actually playing because he still owed them the option year of his contract. "[196] Los Angeles Times columnist David Shaw alleged that Chamberlain was "rude and sexist toward his own date, as he usually was", during a dinner with Shaw and his wife; he added that at one point Chamberlain left the table to get the phone number of an attractive woman at a nearby table. Longtime friend and lawyer Seymour Goldberg told reporters, "We suspect at this stage it may have been a heart attack but nobody knows for sure." "[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. He won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine durability, and nine field goal percentage titles; and he once led the league in assists. . During his NBA career, Chamberlain committed few fouls despite his rugged play in the post, and he never fouled out of a regular-season or playoff game in his 14-year NBA career. [5][163] Chamberlain is most remembered for his 100-point game,[164][165] which is widely considered one of basketball's greatest records. "[137] The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent but often indifferent and more occupied with promotion of his autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door than with coaching. In his 50.4 points per game season, it was 35.3%. [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. He died of heart congestion on October 12, 1999, at the . According to sportswriter Roland Lazenby, a journalist close to the Lakers, Chamberlain was angry at Kosloff for breaking the alleged ChamberlainRichman deal. Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain skipped practice and was non-accessible. [111], In the playoffs, the Lakers dispatched 42 Chamberlain's old club, the San Francisco Warriors, after losing the first two games, and then defeated the Atlanta Hawks, and met Chamberlain's familiar rivals, Russell's Boston Celtics. Wilt Chamberlain On The Rumor That He's Slept With 20,000 Women | Late Night with Conan O'Brien Share Watch on Advertisement [32][e] Inbounding the ball over the backboard was banned because of Chamberlain. "[187] Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 14.2 and outrebounded him 28.2 to 22.9 in the regular season, and he outscored him 25.7 to 14.9 and outrebounded him 28 to 24.7 in the playoffs as well. Net Worth: $10 Million. Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university, so the Celtics could draft him as an NBA territorial pick, but Chamberlain did not respond. Chamberlain, always a poor free throw shooter, battled the "loser" label, before finally breaking through and winning the 1967 NBA Finals as a member of the 76ers. Chamberlain said: "I've got to hit forty points or so, or this team is in trouble. According to Flynn Robinson, after the record-setting streak, Lakers owner Cooke sought to reward each of his players, who were expecting perhaps a trip to Hawaii, with a $5 pen set. [69][70] In later years, Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points but not winning a title. [53] On January 25, 1960, Chamberlain recorded a rare feat in the NBA, posting at least 50 points and 40 rebounds in an NBA game. [62] Cooke was pleased because ticket sales went up by 11% since acquiring Chamberlain. [3] However, according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport in 7th grade. The press called it an even matchup in all positions, even at center, where Russell was expected to give Chamberlain a tough battle. Info. 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. [79], In the 196465 NBA season, the NBA widened the lane from 12 feet to 16 feet especially because of centers like Chamberlain. When he became a Laker, Chamberlain built a million-dollar mansion in Bel-Air named after Ursa Major, as a play on his nickname "The Big Dipper". [106] In a game called "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 127118 on April 5. [157] Goldberg also said: "He was more inquisitive than anybody I ever knew. [199], Following his death in 1999, Chamberlain's estate was valued at $25 million. [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. [86], In the playoffs, the Sixers again met the Boston Celtics and had home-court advantage for the first time. [137] After the season, Chamberlain retired from professional basketball; in addition, he was displeased by the meager attendance, as crowds averaged 1,843, just over half of the team's small Golden Hall, a 3,200-seat sports arena. Chamberlain trained with Cus d'Amato but later backed out, withdrawing the much-publicized challenge,[119] by way of a contractual escape clause that predicated the AliChamberlain match on Ali beating Joe Frazier in a fight scheduled for early 1971, which became Ali's first professional loss, enabling Chamberlain to legally withdraw from the bout. He said: "There's been a lot of conversationthat I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. He also led the league in rebounds (24.2), was third in assists (7.8), and played strong defense. [114] The Lakers lost 107100 in what was called one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history. [n] In the playoffs, the Warriors again met the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals, and this season was called by both Cousy and Russell the greatest Celtics team of all time. Then with our great Laker team in 1972, he concentrated on the defensive end." He then multiplied that number by the number of days he had been alive at the time minus 15 years. Countless suggestions were offered; he shot them underhanded, one-handed, two-handed, from the side of the circle, from well behind the line, and even banked it in. [28][d], Chamberlain's freshman team debut was highly anticipated; the freshman squad was pitted against the varsity, a team favored to win their conference that year. . He did not care for the Sixers' coach Dolph Schayes because in his view Schayes had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players. After several Tar Heel turnovers, the game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation.[38]. [s] The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third straight season. He later admitted that this loss was the most painful of his life. This was also helped by the fact that Chamberlain was a near-insomniac who often simply skipped sleeping. Russell apologized privately to him and later publicly in a 1997 joint interview with Bob Costas. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 5251. Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks in six games. [23], At the ages of 16 and 17, Chamberlain played several games for the semi-professional Quakertown Fays under the pseudonym George Marcus. When Abdul-Jabbar published his autobiography in 1990, he wrote a paper titled "To Wilt Chumperlane", in which he stated: "Now that I am done playing, history will remember me as someone who helped teammates to win, while you will be remembered as a crybaby, a loser, and a quitter." [152][153] His condition deteriorated rapidly in 1999 and he lost fifty pounds (23kg). [42], After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player. [5], Chamberlain's game evolved over the years. [43][110] Erickson commented that "Butch catered to Elgin and Jerry and that is not a good way to get on Wilt's side that relationship was doomed from the start. [62] Powered by his defensive presence, the Lakers embarked on an unprecedented 33-game win streak en route to a then-record 69 wins in the regular season, yet the streak led to one strangely dissonant event. [186] Russell's Celtics won seven of eight playoff series against Chamberlain's Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers teams, and went 5737 against them in the regular season and 2920 in the playoffs. [88] When emotions cooled off, Hannum said to Chamberlain that he was on the same page in trying to win a title but Chamberlain had to "act like a man" both on and off the court to pull this off. [50], In the 195960 NBA season, Chamberlain joined a Philadelphia Warriors squad that was coached by Neil Johnston and included Hall-of-Famers guard Tom Gola and forward "Pitchin'" Paul Arizin, plus Ernie Beck and Guy Rodgers; remarkably, all five starters were Philadelphians. "[110], Chamberlain experienced an often-frustrating season. By 197172, at age 35 and running less, his game had transformed to averaging only nine shots per game compared to the 40 in his record-setting 196162 season. Jason Henry for The New . At first, Chamberlain was not interested in basketball because he thought it was "a game for sissies". [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. The Sixers charged their way to a then-record 6813 season, including a record 464 start. After losing Clark and Gail Goodrich, who joined the Phoenix Suns after the 1968 NBA expansion draft, he said: "Egan gets murdered on defense because of his [lack of] size but if I don't play him, we look like a bunch of trucks.