He nearly died of pneumonia as a child and still came back as one of the strongest athletes the world has ever seen. Abdul-Jabbar, who finished with five NBA titles with the Lakers in addition to his Bucks crown, closed his career at 38,387 points, still No. Chamberlain suffered a knee injury that limited him to only one matchup with the Bucks in 1969-70, so fans were eager to see a rematch between big men in theNov. 20 game early in the 1970-71 season. Since Bryant, Devin Booker is the only player to reach 70 in a game, still 30 points shy of Chamberlain's record. On Dec. 21, the Bucks again handled the Lakers, 113-88. But is that really true? Both of these times exceed the average speed of NFL wide receivers. Chamberlain played the character of Bombaata, the nemesis of the films title character, iconically played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. That 48 inch mark is coveted across the league because it stands as the highest vertical jump in NBA history. ", Said Alcindor, "This was the first time I ever played against Wilt for real, and I learned a few things. Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal are always mentioned in the conversation because they were the two most physically dominant basketball players of all time. The record still stands today and it is very unlikely to be ever broken. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. 872,195 11. To combat Chamberlains dominant play, opposing teams devised various tactics to stop him, including double and triple-teaming, and holding the ball for long periods of time to deny Chamberlain chances at offense (the shot clock was not used in college basketball at the time). The tte--tte between big men ended with Milwaukee fans giving Chamberlain a standing ovation as he checked out of Game 5 in the Western Conference finals, representative of the matchup's amiable nature. Recommended Articles. I used to dunk on that basket. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. He also claimed he never fathered a child, but Aaron Levi has some strong evidence that Wilt was his dad. Skiles, who averaged 8.4 assists per game that season and later had a 20-assist game, scored 22 points that night (and the Orlando Magic scored a team-record 155 points in a win over Denver). Chamberlain holds the record for being the fastest player to reach 30,000 points in a career, doing so in 941 games (Michael Jordan, whos second on the list, reached the mark in 960 games). As an African-American, Chamberlain ignored schools in the South due to the continued practice of racial segregation. He even towered over his greatest competition, Bill Russell, when it came to physical stature. Advertisement. Then he was traded to the Detroit Pistons and, because of an unbalanced scheduling quirk, played 53 games there to reach 88 for the season. Despite being one of the greatest players of all time, and a completely dominant physical force for his time in the league, Wilt Chamberlain won only two NBA championships. "We're the world champions; they aren't.". He won Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and the All-Star Game MVP. The NBA made a similar quick rule adjustment when Wilt entered the league. . Another mark sure to stand forever is his 48.5 minutes per game average. Knicks-Celtics, 7:30 p.m. Wilt was 7-2, 280 pounds. As he got older, he was still able to bench press 465 pounds at 59. There are only three active players who have averaged 3 blocks in a season even once (Myles Turner, Serge Ibaka and Hassan Whiteside). It was in high school where Chamberlain was given the famous nicknames that would stick with him for the rest of his life. You give whatever you have to give, and when it's appreciated, it's gratifying. Wilt came into the league at around 260. Impressive stuff, but because of the era that he played in there simply isnt much information out there on his athletic abilities. In the Finals against the Knicks, Chamberlain battled a nagging hand injury to lead his team to victory in five games. Rumors claim that Wilt Chamberlain could bench press up to 600 pounds (and has bedded 20,000 women), however given his height, weight and reach this seems highly unlikely. . Chamberlains biggest on-court rival was Boston Celtics center Bill Russell. 2 all time, Jason Kidd, and 5,000 ahead of No. The article credits Wilt with a 96 standing reach and a height of 133 after jumping. What muscles do decline bench press work? In the Finals, Chamberlain and the Sixers won a hard-fought series, winning four games to two. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Born. A review of his quotes so far in this article proves that. On December 1, 1967, Wilt Chamberlain scored 52 points against the Seattle SuperSonics at home, becoming the first player in the history of the Philadelphia Spectrum to score 50 points in a. He played in an era that simply didnt value or have access to the things we have today. Just like dunking, he would have to jump a good bit higher than the height of the backboard to be able to grab the change resting on top. Want to forecast where your favorite NBA stars could wind up? Pelatessaan vuosina 1959-1973 Yhdysvaltain ammattilaissarja NBA:ssa hnet valittiin nelj kertaa sarjan arvokkaimmaksi pelaajaksi, ja hnell on . In fact, he was measured at 84 while playing for the University of Kansas in 1957. I tried to stay relaxed and keep this game in its proper perspective as the fifth game out of 82. They met in the playoffs eight times and Russells Celtics were on the winning side seven of those times. The Lakers held a team meeting and protested the arrangement, noting that the collective bargaining agreement did not call for teams to play more than 82 games. He was miraculously almost never in foul trouble, averaging a career-low 1.5 a game. He was a track star at Kansas and generally the fastest person on the court. Chamberlains claim drew both criticism and mockery (if you do the math, his claim does seem a littleunlikely). I find it hard to believe that an athlete capable of reaching that height would describe dunking on a 12 foot rim as requiring effort. Chamberlain spent the night before the game in New York, partying all night with a woman. Wilt Chamberlain's Athleticism He was 7'1", 275 pounds. In all, Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records. That is more than enough height to touch the top of the backboard and getting real close to proving that Wilt Chamberlain had a 48 inch vertical jump. But that snot all Wilt Chamberlain could do. Initially, the honor of top seed was expected to be settled with a one-game playoff at the Milwaukee Arena on Friday night. With his basketball career behind him, Chamberlain turned his attention to another sportvolleyball. He would start from the top of the key, take a step, jump, and successfully dunk the basketball. Old School . Wilt Chamberlain 3.38 170 ratings24 reviews The quintessential big man, who changed the way basketball was played, reveals his controversial and candid views on sports, sex, race, Michael Jordan, the NBA, as well as money and drugs in sports. 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 . On the anniversary of his 100-point game, Wilt Chamberlain reflects on his historic night against the New York Knicks. Chamberlain had a multi-faceted game. Hakeem Olajuwon's 3,830 blocks. In the 75-year history of the NBA, there have only been five 20-game winning streaks within one season, an indication of just how rare such a run is. . 2023 www.jsonline.com. Therein lies the tie to Chamberlain. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. Someone would put a quarter up and Id snatch it down. Born Aug. 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Chamberlain excelled in track and field, but basketball eventually became his sport of choice. This time, Alcindor was dominant with 37 points and 16 rebounds with a national TV audience looking on. Chamberlain went so far as to get help from legendary trainer Cus dAmato, but he eventually pulled out of the fight at the last minute. He was 63. The 2015-16 Warriors started 24-0, and all they had was the best regular-season team ever, finishing 73-9. Amongst NBA players with at least 1,200 free throw attempts, Chamberlain is third-from-last, with a career free throw percentage of only 51.1%. Walt Bellamy's 88 games. How much can Arnold Schwarzenegger Bench Press? An effective, yet embarrassing method, Chamberlain usually preferred to miss overhanded than risk ridicule with the granny shot. Despite his tenacious brand of defense, Chamberlain never fouled out of an NBA game. The Warriors shocked Milwaukee in six games, and it was the Lakers who advanced to the NBA Finals after a five-game series win over Golden State. The game was a tight affair and after Chamberlain appeared to tweak his knee while grabbing a rebound, he was benched in favor of Mel Counts. Chamberlain had . This doesnt change the legendary status of Wilt Chamberlain. The longest recent streak was that of Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles, who played in 384 consecutive games from 2015 to 2021. The most famous member of the club was a young Florence Griffith Joyner. He was an incredible scorer, a dominant rebounder, great defender, and an exceptional passer for his position. With Philadelphia being a hoops hotbed, Chamberlain came to terms with his height and decided to shift his sporting attention to basketball at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia (side fact: Will Smith attended high school years later). During his final season with the Overbook Panthers, he had a three-game stretch where he recorded 74, 78, and 90 points. 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 . I do feel confident that there is enough information out there to determine how high Wilt Chamberlain could really jump and have included the most compelling arguments below. The physical attributes here are just off the charts, Wilt Chamberlain possessed a coveted combination of size and athleticism by todays NBA standards. The current active leader in offensive rebounds is Dwight Howard, who is still 2,600 behind Malone. The Big Dipper brought down a massive 55 boards in that game. Sam Mitchell likens the overwhelming physical dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo to that of the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. He spent the next 14 years dominating for L.A. On April 5, 1984, Abdul-Jabbar passed Chamberlain for the NBA career scoring record, eclipsing Chamberlain's total of 31,419. When he was asked to elaborate he simply said, "No.". To say it was the twilight of Chamberlain's career during the Bucks' title run was fair but also misleading. The article earned him a cool $10,000, which at the time was more than the average NBA contract. Wallace's relationship with officials went from bad to worse, and it played out the following season as he racked up a record 41 technicals on the way to 18 ejections. Igrao je na poziciji centra, a Philadelphia Warriorsi izabrli su ga na NBA draftu 1959. godine. An outspoken, tell-all memoir that stands way above any basketball bestseller around. For his size there is no denying that he is possibly the most impressive jumper in league history, but is he capable of jumping 48 inches? Wilt Chamberlain's 55 rebounds.