Where it all began for Wilt: Overbrook High School at 59th and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia. The NBA needed to make it fair for the other players who didn't have the athletic skills and size. Living in New York during his playing days, Wilt was a regular at Big Small's. It's unbelievable how fast Wilt was at 7'1 and 290-310 lbs. Schwarzenegger once remarked that "Wilt was the strongest Human being I have ever seen". WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor, Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.. You can spot Harvey courtside this season, jotting down stats. He was 7'1", 275 pounds. 1. To me, Wilt Chamberlain was the Greatest Athlete of all times. No other player had more rules changed specifically to thwart that player, such as widening the lane and not allowing dunks during a free throw (as Wilt was known to do). Red Auerbach the coach of the Boston Celtics spotted the talented teenager at Kutsher's and had him play 1-on-1 against Kansas University star and MVP of the 1953 NCAA Finals, BH Born. Its the holy grail of NBA records, a hallowed mark looked upon in reverence. He beat the immortal NFL player, Jim Brown, in a race, when he played with the Harlem Globetrotters. Wilt in volleyball and nba, Jim in lacrosse and nfl. The average center in Wilt's prime was taller and heavier than they are now. WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. His contributions to volleyball earned him a spot in the sport's Hall of Fame. Duane Morris investigation into Central Bucks finds no discrimination against LGBTQ students, Shapiro signs first bill, expands Pa. health insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, 3 unions at Rutgers University have reached tentative agreements. The Speed of Wilt Chamberlain : r/nba - Reddit Despite competing and excelling in both sprinting and throwing, these were not his best events. 1 | One of the fastest men on the planet. No one had as much impact in professional sports as Wilt. But people are also aware of what just happened. For context, Wilt . Oscar Robertson, the great NBA star, would later say that Wilt saves the league. Wilt won. To claim your offer, go to https://fanduel.com/Boston -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Before he was in the NBA, Wilt played for the Harlem Globetrotters. Gary Payton had a good night and Thomas Bryant put his name in the record books by each going 1414, but theyre the only two players to even come close in the last four decades. Do the superstars of today measure up to the past legends? "So Wilt said, 'There will be no more layups in this gym,' and he blocked every shot after that. Yes. Battling Illness As a very young child, Chamberlain dealt with a brutal bout of pneumonia which nearly killed him. In which he out jumped all of Kansas current high jumpers. He did things that are still incomprehensible and nearly superhuman.. " scenarios in sports history. Its a pretty big arena, but its half-filled? A player never leaving the court for an entire season is insanity. (Golden State, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, respectively). Alex Hannum, the great Sixers coach told Wilt that the team didnt need him to dominate with his scoring but to get his teammates more involved. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. In Wilts rookie season, he not only led the league in scoring (37.6) and rebounds (27) but also in minutes per game (46.4), Harveys Take: I was at every one of those games and no matter what defenses they threw at Wilt, he either willed his way to the basket or dominated from mid range. A player never leaving the court in a game today is unheard of. 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. A dipper dunk! Jaylen Brown and the Celtics are learning from Bill Russell and Wilt In the end he was able to win the Big 8 track and field championships three straight years. 11 Memorable Wilt Chamberlain Performances | NBA.com Embiid's post-All-Star Game surge has led sportsbooks to make him a slight favorite over Jokic in the MVP race. Chicago Bulls win their 5th straight game, DeMar DeRozan breaks a Wilt 11. This week we dive into what a pro athletes eat. 5. 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. Question: I think perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Wilt's game was his endurance. Legend has it that it featured the only working air-conditioning in Harlem. That means for 28 minutes of that game in Hershey, the tallest player the Knicks had was 68 Cleveland Buckner. How tall was Wilt Chamberlain? In the 1980 season Cleveland offered Chamberlain a contract and at age 50 New Jersey offered him a contract, but he again declined. One hundred for the 100-point game in Hershey, and 20,000 for his myth-makers boast that he had slept with 20,000 women. He was Great friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger. During an interview for a book called Tall Tales by writer Terry Pluto, former college and NBA player Johnny Kerr admitted that Chamberlain broke his toe with a dunk one time when he was playing against him. A closer like at the life and play of the most dominant player in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain.Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/nonstopFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nonstopWilt Chamberlain is often considered the most dominant force that played the game of basketball, and one of the greatest players of all time. There are game tapes of him going up for a block and his fingers are parallel to the top of the backboard. FILE - Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia Warriors, holds a sign reading "100" in the dressing room in Hershey, Pa., March 2, 1962, after he scored 100 points, as the Warriors defeated the New York Knicks. Sometimes you take greatness for granted. For more information, please see our Wilt Chamberlain - Stats, Death & Career - Biography Wilt was an oversized LeBron, which is even more amazing that it sounds when you think what happens to the body with that scaling. Chamberlain's late age dominance is well documented. On March 2, 1962 exactly 60 years ago the legendary Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a single game. 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. Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. 76ers to play 34 nationally televised games, including Christmas Day. Harveys Take: Look up in the NBA Guide and youll find Wilt has four of the top highest single-game performances. Its launched into the imagination. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. [6] He was the star player for the Overbrook Panthers basketball team, wearing jersey number 5. 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? Its one of the great athletic achievements in sports. There might have been taller, heavier athletes, but none as good as Wilt the Stilt, the man who fashioned the finger roll, the player that dominated the game so much that other players and coaches thought it was unfair. He learned when he was 34 years old. On a cold night in Hershey, Wilt Chamberlain did the unthinkable. Is Wilt Chamberlain in the Hall of Fame? What do you, the writer of this article, think of Wilt Chamberlain's endurance? Hannum was convinced it would have been the 180lb guard Al Attles but it turned out to be the (at the time 300lbs) Wilt Chamberlain The primary knock against Ayton is that he wants more. The Stilt burst onto the NBA scene in 195960 and not only set the rookie single-game record with 58 points, but matched it less than a month later. It was unimaginable to think someone could score 100 points in a single game. To add some context to Wilt's low scoring numbers in the playoffs, John Stockton has a career average of 20.4 PPG per-100 in the playoffs. There wasn't anything he couldn't do in sports. WHYY host Avi Wolfman-Arent revisited that historic night with sportswriter Gary Pomerantz, the author of Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.. Starting in the 1970s, he formed Wilt's Athletic Club. Though its highly, highly unlikely any of Wilts incredible scoring or rebounding records will ever be matched, this record will be impossible to break. Most people think of Chamberlain as a member of the Lakers, Warriors, or 76ers, but his first pro basketball gig was actually with the Harlem Globetrotters. His shot put was 53 feet when the world record was 63 feet. Stream WHYY-FM, read the top stories from WHYY News, and listen to the latest podcast from WHYY Digital Studios anytime, anywhere. I grew up watching Wilt and I went to several games at the Spectrum. Chamberlain immediately became the team's top draw; who wouldn't want to watch a seven-footer play shooting guard? Is Michael Jordan still number one? What we have is the fourth-quarter play-by-play call of WCAU sportscaster Bill Campbell. 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. This game happens at a moment when the NBAs ascendence, dominance is certainly not inevitable. Since then, only six rookies have cracked 50 in a game with Brandon Jennings being the last back in 2009. Since they were practicing on the rims, Wilt was able to use his God-given talent and dunk the basketball on those rims. He was a legend when he played and still a legend today. After his basketball career ended, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association, was president of this organization, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. He can barely dribble lol. Scoring a hundred meant infinitely more than scoring, say, 97 or 103. Wilt could dunk on rims that are 1.2 size the height of what rims are today. Its a wonderful sports moment, and theres something about radio that TV cant touch. 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. He achieved an average of 30.1. Did Wilt Chamberlain really have a 48 inch vertical? Chamberlain's famous claim that he slept with 20,000 women first appeared in his 1991 autobiography A View From Above. Wilt Chamberlain had more competition back in his day than there is today. Financially, Chamberlain probably made out like a bandit by skipping the NBA to head to Harlem. Pixabay 4. Wilt took the cart and lifted it on to the lobby floor. It also helped launch the legend of Wilt a superstar who would help establish the NBA at a time when its future seemed wobbly. Im trying to square those two things and picture what it would have felt like. What was Wilt up to? They wanted to see the guy who scored 100 points. wilt ran a 49 in high school. Here is a clip of Wilt playing volleyball. His seventh straight game of at least 35 points and 50% shooting broke a record set by Chamberlain in 1961 and matched in 1963. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest athlete the world had ever seen and he doesn't let you forget it. Wilt did what he wanted, when he wanted. After a season of enthusiastically throwing himself into the Globetrotters' skits and shooting, Wilt jumped to the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. He also played Volleyball after his NBA career, and became a star. In high school, Wilt Chamberlain was a track and field star. The 76ers to kick off the season with a nationally televised away game against defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Celtics, on Oct. 18. This is the thing about Wilt: He was 71, and he had to be even bigger in the way he told his stories. The story goes that Wilt Chamberlain wanted to fight the narrative that he was a selfish player so he decided that he wanted to lead the league in assists, so he did. Hall of fame coach Larry Brown retells the rest, Good Old Boys - Jason Williams & Randy Moss, 10 Greatest High School Basketball Teams of All Time, Best Playground Basketball Courts in America. Harveys Take: Everyone makes a big fuss out of a triple double. Wilt went out and put on an Olympic-worthy performance. It scared the hell out of me. Both also changed the game by their very presence. How Good Was Wilt Chamberlain Actually? - YouTube Please give today. Wilt Chamberlain - Basketball-Reference.com What Wilt did was shatter that quota the whole notion that this league would be a white mans enclave. The man who once scored 100 points in a single game and claimed to. He participated in high jump, long jump, and even broad jump, but excelled in the 100 yard-dash, and the 400 metre. Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Back then their was far more talent inside. The two rounded out the most often asked question of Chamberlain, why did #BillRussell win 11 and #WiltChamberlain, only 2?#nba75 -Hi All,We are more than thrilled to announce our companies' brand new website has launched and can be found at https://CLNSmedia.com OR forExclusive NBA/Celtics coverage only, click here- https://www.clnsmedia.com/nba/ Thanks!Nick G (#BoomerRAGE) HTTPS://Twitter.com/clns_nick-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-CLNS is powered by FanDuel. Who Was Wilt Chamberlain? Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university, so he could draft him as a territorial pick for the Celtics, but Chamberlain didn't agree. To put that into perspective, if you go to an NBA game right now, youre not going to see twelve foot rims, youre going to see ten foot rims. Well, a few things happened off the court that allowed him to reach this unsurpassed peak of 100 points. So what happened on this particular on the court that allowed him to reach this unsurpassed peak? Often times the day would end with Breakfast dances at 8 am. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on May 21, 2020: Wonderful information, Jake. 5 Things You Didn't Know About Wilt Chamberlain | Mental Floss People forget, Wilt led the NBA in total assists in the 1967-68 season. After his basketball career, volleyball became Chamberlain's new passion. Chamberlain triple jumped more than 50 feet and successfully won the Big 8 Conference high jumping competition three years in a row. On Point is produced by WBUR for NPR. It also had a reputation of closing well into the AM. He faced Boston Celtic teams one of which had either 11 or 13 HoF players on it at the same time. There was never any athlete as good as number 13. They had both men and women teams that competed nationally. mczellers1@gmail.com on February 18, 2019: I look at how the refs favor the current superstars in the NBA, I have to think it was not so for Wilt, some or maybe many called a very tight game and may have favored lesser players from time to time! He became board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association in 1974 and became its president one year later. I idolized him growing up as a kid in Philadelphia, his hometown. " He would jump off the roof on top of the garage, or jump from one barn across to another. Keep in mind this is a guy who once averaged 50 PPG over a whole season. Renamed Big Wilts Smalls Paradise, after Chamberlain purchased the club. 11 Things You Didn't Know About Wilt Chamberlain In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice. Wilt ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, threw the shot-put 56 feet, he triple jumped 50 feet, and he won the Big Eight high jump three straight years." James' junior season high school football stats were indeed solid. Learn more about Social Responsibility at WHYY. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. How fast did Wilt Chamberlain run the 100 yard? As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. 10. Its a cold Friday night in early March. 18 Crazy Stories About NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain - Ranker Chamberlain was a well-rounded athlete in the discipline; his personal best in the high jump was six feet six inches, he threw 55 feet in shot put, he ran the 440 in 49 seconds, and he could do a 22-foot long jump. Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest ATHLETE of all time, and it - Medium
