He had six games with 43 or more, topping out at 55. 2. In the end he was able to win the Big 8 track and field championships three straight years. It might be the closest thing the NBA has to a single-game record that will never be broken. Harveys Take: Another away home game, this time it took place in Bethlehem, Pa. Wilt scores 58 points and a little less than a month later he did it in New York versus the Knicks. The Speed of Wilt Chamberlain - YouTube 0:00 / 1:23 The Speed of Wilt Chamberlain jaranarm 3.5K subscribers 3.2K 411K views 9 years ago Weighing anywhere from 250 to 310 pounds the 7'1". He stopped me dead in my tracks with his arm, hugged me and lifted me off the floor with my feet dangling. Hall of fame coach Larry Brown retells the rest "Magic Johnson used to run the games and he called a couple of chintzy fouls and a goal tending on Wilt," Brown said. When the Los Angeles Lakers got Wilt Chamberlain (see cover) in a trade last summer, the immediate popular supposition was that they had dealt themselves a . "Just to be in the record books along with staples in basketball . They cleaned the glass in the 60s at a level that has and never will be seen again. Actually thats below average by todays standards. (Im 99% sure he meant backboards for a ten foot rim) That height is about 13.5 feet from the ground and Wilt could clear it. He was at least 7-1, played as heavy as 325, and as Russell. When Wilt died, two numbers became the shorthand summary of Wilts life: 20,000 and 100. Wilt Chamberlain. A career 51 percent free throw shooter, Wilt made 28 of 32 attempts. Over a four-game stretch in February of 1967, Wilt Chamberlain simply could not miss setting an NBA record by making 35 consecutive shots in that span, including an 1818 performance on February 24th. Jaylen Brown and the Celtics are learning from Bill Russell and Wilt This game happens at a moment when the NBAs ascendence, dominance is certainly not inevitable. Insane speed of Wilt Chamberlain . Phillies fans traveling to Clearwater, FL for Spring Training are frustrated by the MLBs lockout and cancellation of games. Faster than Al Attles (and the rest of his Warriors team) in a full court race after Wilt and Attles' coach Alex Hannum set up races to see who the fastest players on the Warriors team were. announcers would introduce the starting lineups before the game, and then they would introduce each fan in the crowd because there were so few of them. I watched him take hook shots from midcourt during pregame practice, making them without even a flinch. The club helped many of them train to compete in the Olympics. [6] He was the star player for the Overbrook Panthers basketball team, wearing jersey number 5. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice. But later in life, he realized that when he walked down the street, people would point at him and say, There goes the guy that scored 100 points.. The mere mention of the Big Dipper's name evokes images of hoops dominance and romantic impossibilities. I saw the team win a championship for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967. With no sleep and a hangover, he boarded the train to Philadelphia at 8 AM. Youre not going to get a shot off in the first half. And he kept the promise blocking all nine of Walters shot attempts. Even as James Harden went on his historic run in 201819 with a streak of 32 consecutive 30-point games, he finished the season 1,211 points short of Wilts 196162 campaign (the year he set the record with 65 straight 30-point games). . Its the statistical Everest. But safest of all rebounding records may be his 2,149 in the 196061 season. Still Auerbach was a great mentor to Chamberlain at Kutshers during the summer. He would talk about how fierce Bill Russell was, the will to win, how much he wanted to win, how much will, how much drive, and how much. Did Wilt Chamberlain really have a 48 inch vertical? No player has had more than 26 rebounds since 1977, so Wilts playoff single-game record of 41 seems pretty safe as well. In college at the University of Kansas, the 7'1" goliath ran a sub-11-second 100-yard dash and also threw the shot put 56 feet. Their will never be another athlete that could come close to Wilt Chamberlain athletic abilities. On Kindle books. That year he became a board member of the International Volleyball Association, a fledgling pro coed volleyball league that only lasted until 1979, and brought his intimidating 7'1" frame to the Seattle Smashers' front line. Is Michael Jordan still number one? To me, Wilt Chamberlain was the Greatest Athlete of all times. It was unimaginable to think someone could score 100 points in a single game. Well, a few things happened off the court that allowed him to reach this unsurpassed peak of 100 points. The Boston Celtics played in Providence. Would race his teammates giving them basically a 1/4 of the court head start (they start at FT line, he starts at baseline), and they'd have to run as fast as they could just to still not get beat, Faster than 6-3 Hal Greer in only a 1/2 court distance race in two different attempts after Greer challenged Wilt, Greer is cited as the fastest guard in the NBA at that time, Faster than Al Attles (and the rest of his Warriors team) in a full court race after Wilt and Attles' coach Alex Hannum set up races to see who the fastest players on the Warriors team were. Legend has it that it featured the only working air-conditioning in Harlem. Chamberlain loved cars, and he was known for cruising around in his Cadillac convertible or a custom-made lavender Bentley he'd imported from England. Twenty one assists in a game is simply unheard of for a center. How about a triple double double! Why Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game still matters - WHYY Its a perfect score on a test score. He had no fear. Harveys Take: Often overlooked in the enormity of Wilts scoring records was his ability as a passer. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Chamberlain spent the night before the game in New York, partying all night with a woman. While anyone can get hot on any given night, with the continuing rise of the less efficient three-pointer (even among big men) its becoming less and less likely that someone gets 1818 hot. He made it! The man who once scored 100 points in a single game and claimed to. Known for shooting a fake horse with a fake gun. 41 WitBeer forget the video. Some of the prominent members were Florence Griffith, Greg Foster, Andrew Phillips, Alice Brown and Jeanette Bolden. What we have is the fourth-quarter play-by-play call of WCAU sportscaster Bill Campbell. There was never any athlete as good as number 13. When it came to the rivalry between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, Russell always got the better of Chamberlain as he was a force down low at the defensive end with him being able to hold his . On March 2, 1962 exactly 60 years ago the legendary Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a single game. Copyright 2023 Legends Clothing Co. | Website builder by Shopify, Comments have to be approved before showing up, On a early summer day in the 1980s Chamberlain decided to play some pick up basketball at UCLA. Basketball for me would never be the same. It scared the hell out of me. In those head-to-head matchups, Wilt averaged 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds while Russell posted averages of 14.5 and 23.7. So Im going to attempt to keep them brief. At its peak the club featured more than 100 athletes. Wilt also claimed to have been able to snatch change off of the top of the backboard. Wilt was the strongest guy and best athlete ever to play the game. The crowds were so small the joke went back then that P.A. Probably fastest 7 footer ever, possibly just plain one of the fastest NBA players ever regardless of his height as testimony indicates faster than any players from his era: Archived post. Not only did they both play two different sports each during their sports careers. I saw those cool underhanded free throws and his no-look passes to the cutting teammates. The coach argued that without any practice their was no way he could be competitive. The other, more experienced player was named Phil Jordon. There is no doubt that Wilt was one of the greatest players ever to play the game of basketball. There was a quota in the NBA that owners in the league limited the number of opportunities for Black players to just one or two per team initially, and then three [or] four. Do the superstars of today measure up to the past legends? Wilt wasn't just a basketball player. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor, Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.. He also played Volleyball after his NBA career, and became a star. So this [crowd estimate] was 4,124. Wilt Chamberlain had held 72 NBA records, according to NBA.com. Harveys Take: Look up in the NBA Guide and youll find Wilt has four of the top highest single-game performances. Chamberlain averaged 22.9 for his career. The 4-minute mile. Please give today. It's unbelievable how fast Wilt was at 7'1 and 290-310 lbs. '5 Things You Didn't Know About' appears every Friday. Because it was not a certain future for the NBA. He achieved an average of 30.1. Imagine a player doing that for an entire season. Its easy to imagine a future legend take the league by storm and erupt for a huge game in his first season, but the fact that so few freshmen have even come close to Wilts mark makes it seem very unlikely. He used his size and athletic ability perfectly. 4. Both are in the hall of fame for each sport and both are considered, or at least in the argument as the greatest ever in their two sports. Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipedia This was how the NBA tried to develop its base. In addition to all these legendary tales, Wilt toured with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1959. Harveys Take: To give you some perspective, Wilt scored 50 or more points 118 times in his illustrious career. wilt ran a 49 in high school. The club featured dancing waiters and waiters on roller skates. So that meant that Wilt Chamberlain was matched against Darrall Imhoff. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on June 09, 2020: Spud, I dont know for sure, but it wouldnt surprise me. Only one player has even reached 1,500 rebounds in a season since Wilt retired Dennis Rodman, who had 1,530 in 199192. The NBA initiated offensive goaltending, in which players couldn't touch the ball going in a downward trajectory toward the hoop or flick the ball away when it was within the cylinder of the basket. Wilt is the Greatest Athlete Of All Times (GAOAT) and Ali the greatest boxer! Wilt Chamberlain played 14 seasons for the Lakers, Warriors and 76ers. The greatest NBA record book ever is Harvey Pollacks NBA Statistical Yearbook. He was with the Lakers when he asked Volleyball legend Gene Selznick how to play volleyball because he heard Gene was the best. WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor. Before you look away and start commenting, let me explain. This article will go over who is the greatest running back of all time. On a early summer day in the 1980s Chamberlain decided to play some pick up basketball at UCLA. But he only scored 100 points once. Its the holy grail of NBA records, a hallowed mark looked upon in reverence. I idolized him growing up as a kid in Philadelphia, his hometown. 11 Things You Didn't Know About Wilt Chamberlain Although the 20,000 feat would have been logistically difficult, Chamberlain allegedly told his on-and-off girlfriend Lynda Huey, "What's a zero between friends? Legend has it that Wilt went up to the University of Kansas track coach and asked if he could compete. The kids of the chocolate factory workers in Hershey had lined up three- and four-deep around the court waiting for the moment. To celebrate, CLNS and FanDuel are giving players $200 when they bet $5. The second highest total is Michael Jordan with 31. I was heartbroken when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the early '70s. I grew up watching Wilt and I went to several games at the Spectrum. 11 Memorable Wilt Chamberlain Performances | NBA.com It would take 22 years for someone to score 50 or more points on consecutive nights. Here are some facts you might not have known about the dipper. As for endurance, I never saw him come out a game. Wilt Chamberlain - Age, Bio, Personal Life, Family and Stats - CelebsAges When the issue of championships comes up, I am reminded of a quote Wilt once gave in an interview (I used to have it on videotape from a documentary on the history of basketball) where he said, "The Boston Celtics had to figure out how to beat Wilt Chamberlain, but I had to figure out how to beat the Boston Celtics." There are multiple stories of Wilts strength. Harveys Take: Wilt and Russell played against each other 142 times throughout their careers. Jim was mad and raced Wilt again. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Back in 1962, it was more of a lounge act a league in search of itself, a carnival kind of atmosphere. He participated in high jump, long jump, and even broad jump, but excelled in the 100 yard-dash, and the 400 metre. His contributions to volleyball earned him a spot in the sport's Hall of Fame. I watched Wilt pass the ball to Hal Greer, Luke Jackson, and Billy Cunningham.