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The next game against Oklahoma City was equally unpleasant, with KU winning 8161.[38]. Chamberlain often invited Russell over to Thanksgiving and visited Russell's place, where conversation mostly concerned Russell's electric trains. In Game 1, the Sixers beat Boston 127112, powered by Greer's 39 points and Chamberlain's unofficial quadruple double, with 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 unofficially counted blocks. In Game 4, Boston won 114108. The Warriors were led by two future Hall-of-Famers in star forward Rick Barry and Chamberlain's one-time backup and center Nate Thurmond. [137], After his stint with the Conquistadors, Chamberlain successfully went into business and entertainment, made money in stocks and real estate, bought a popular Harlem nightclub, which he renamed Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise, and invested in broodmares. Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973, at the end of the '72-'73 season, to pursue other interests. John Wayne Bobbitt and Lorena Bobbitt made Mr. Bobbit's male member the most famous one on the planet in 1993 during an incident in which Lorena severed John's member with a kitchen knife. He was writing a screenplay about his life. [10][m] Chamberlain once again broke the 2,000-rebound barrier with 2,052. For the last play, Thurmond and Barry were assigned to do a pick and roll against Chamberlain and Walker; however, the Sixers foiled it because Walker held up Thurmond's ability to roll, and Barry was picked up by Chamberlain, making it impossible to shoot. [149] Chamberlain played a villainous warrior and counterpart of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer. [141], Volleyball became Chamberlain's new athletic passion. "[9] It was also in this period of his life when his three lifelong nicknames "Wilt the Stilt", "Goliath", and his favorite, "The Big Dipper", were born. Chamberlain ultimately won two NBA championships, four regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one Finals MVP award, and one All-Star Game MVP award, and he was selected to thirteen All-Star Games and ten All-NBA Teams (seven First and three Second teams). [62] He later acknowledged that he was a "psycho case" in this matter. Shoots: With three minutes to go, the Lakers trailed 103102, but they committed costly turnovers and lost the game 108106, despite a triple-double from West, who had 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists, and became the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. [79], In the 196465 NBA season, the NBA widened the lane from 12 feet to 16 feet especially because of centers like 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. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point. After his professional basketball career ended, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association (IVA). [5][146][182] In basketball history, pundits have stated that the only other player who forced such a massive change of rules is 6'10" Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan, who played a decade before Chamberlain and also caused many rule changes designed to thwart dominant centers, such as widening the lane and defensive goaltending. For Abdul-Jabbar, 75, the hubbub over his pursuit of Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record nearly 39 years ago was little more than a distraction in the final weeks of the 1983-84 regular season . After his retirement, Chamberlain's records were kept intact by Hakeem Olajuwon . Now, over 20 years after his death in 1999 and almost 50 years since the end of his playing career in 1973, we're still trying to unravel the myths from the truth. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Peterson felt that the assault was "creepier" because Chamberlain had been a personal friend.[215][216]. 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. [110] Chamberlain described Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Standing at 7ft 1in (2.16m) tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. [106] In the second half of Game 7, Chamberlain did not attempt a single shot from the field. [80], Statistically, Chamberlain was again outstanding, posting 34.7 points and 22.9 rebounds per game overall for the season. Overbrook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Draft: inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania For the tip-off, he sent his shortest player Tommy Kearns in order to rattle Chamberlain and the Tar Heels spent the rest of the night triple-teaming him, one defender in front, one behind, and a third arriving as soon as he got the ball. [41] By the time Chamberlain was 21, before he even turned professional, he had already been featured in Time, Life, Look, and Newsweek. [51], In what was the first of many match-ups, Chamberlain outscored Russell with 30 points versus 28 points but Boston won the game, and the ChamberlainRussell rivalry (see below) would grow to become one of the NBA's greatest of all time. During his first championship season, his assists also increased, recording two back-to-back seasons with eight assists per game, and winning one assist title. "[131], In the NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks, a team that was shorthanded after losing the 6'9" Reed to injury, and undersized 6'8" Jerry Lucas had the task to defend against the 7'1" Chamberlain. Chamberlain divided that number in half, to be conservative and to correct for degrees of variation. 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. [10] Celtics forward Heinsohn said: "Half the fouls against him were hard fouls he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever. [106] In Game 2, Philadelphia evened the series with a 115106 victory, and won Games 3 and 4, with Chamberlain suspiciously often played by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry, causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down. After his . Wilt Chamberlain retired from the NBA in 1973, and many thought his sports career was over. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [132], The 197273 NBA season was to be Chamberlain's last, although he did not know this at the time. He wished people would understand that their roles were different. Returning to his hometown in 1965, Chamberlain joined the Philadelphia 76ers. [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. Kosloff and Chamberlain worked out a truce, and later signed a one-year, $250,000 contract. [92] In any case, Kosloff declined the request, leaving Chamberlain livid and willing to jump to the rival American Basketball Association (ABA) once his contract ended in 1967. His number 13 was retired by the Kansas Jayhawks, Harlem Globetrotters, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. [117], After the playoffs, Chamberlain challenged heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali to a fight. [86], In the playoffs, the Sixers again met the Boston Celtics and had home-court advantage for the first time. Allen's age was no surprise, of course, but most people . He also twice made All-Defensive First Team. [111] Van Breda Kolff was perceived as "pig-headed" for benching Chamberlain and soon resigned as Lakers coach. "[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. [38], Chamberlain was named first-team All-American. [42] Chamberlain likened his assist title to legendary home-run hitter Babe Ruth leading the league in sacrifice bunts, and felt he dispelled the myth that he could not and would not pass the ball. ', "Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers Box Score, March 18, 1968", "Wilt Chamberlain Reportedly Had A Quintuple-Double With 53 Points, 32 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 24 Blocks, And 11 Steals", "James Harden tied Wilt Chamberlain for the most points scored in a triple-double", "Russell Westbrook scored 57 points for most in triple-double", "Rockets' James Harden records first 60-point triple-double in NBA history", "Use Extension On Operating Table As Wilt Chamberlain Undergoes Tendon Surgery", "Achilles Heel Advertising: Repositioning the Competition", "5 Things You Didn't Know About Wilt Chamberlain", "Wilt spoke of regrets, women and Meadowlark", "Ali vs. Wilt Chamberlain: The Fight That Almost Was", "Jim Brown Talks Ali vs. Wilt Chamberlain // SiriusXM", "Chamberlain's feats the stuff of legend", "Flynn Robinson, 72, Scorer on Dominant N.B.A. [51] In his third game, Chamberlain recorded 41 points and a then-career-high 40 rebounds in a 124113 win over the visiting Syracuse Nationals. [48][h] Chamberlain became the NBA's highest paid player when he signed for $30,000, in his rookie contract. That was how the 20,000 number came into existence. Julius Erving had his no. [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. [24] There were contemporary reports of the games in Philadelphia publications, but he tried to keep them secret from the Amateur Athletic Union. The playmaker is Golden State's all-time leader . Chamberlain was criticized as a non-factor in the series, getting neutralized by Russell with little effort. He was also one of the first players to make prominent use of shots like the fade away jump shot and the finger roll. Answer (1 of 6): An interesting fact: in Wilt's two championship seasons, both his teams set regular season win records. [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. [42] Frank Deford of ESPN said that Chamberlain was caught in a no-win situation: "If you win, everybody says, 'Well, look at him, he's that big.' Many of those moments were in Philly, where he spent four seasons (1964-68), won regular season MVP three out of those four seasons and led the team . The Midwest Regional was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. By season's end, Chamberlain racked up more than 4,000 pointsbecoming the first NBA player to do soscoring an average of 50.4 points per game.