WILT CHAMBERLAIN

NBA Star

"Wilt the Stilt" was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 1936. He was one of elven children of William and Olivia Chamberlain. His father was a welder and his mother a cleaning lady. He nearly died as a child from pneumonia, and was constantly teased because of his height. He eventually grew to a height of 7 feet, 1 inch.

He attended Overbrook High School, where he was such a standout that he was the most recruited player in the country. He chose to go to the University of Kansas, where in the 1950 NCAA Championship game they lost to North Carolina in triple overtime. Chamberlain was so overpowering that supposedly some rules were added to try and limit his control of the game.

Frustrated by opponents triple-team of him and freezing the ball so that he had less offensive opportunities, he decided to leave college, and joined the Harlem Globetrotters. Soon after (in 1959) he joined the Philadelphia Warriors, where he became the first player to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards the same year. He stayed with the team when they moved to California as the Golden State Warriors, and in 1965 returned to Philadelphia as a member of the 76ers, then in 1968 he went to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Chamberlain was the first player to score over 3,000 points in one season, and one year he averaged over 50 points a game. In 14 NBA seasons, he was named to 13 NBA All-Star teams, was a first team All-NBA selection seven times. and was the league MVP four times. He led the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive years. His career total for scoring was 31,419 points, a 30.1 per game average. In one game he scored a record 100 points against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1961. He also established an all-time record 23,924 career rebounds. He helped win two NBA championships, one with Philadelphia in 1967 and one with Los Angeles in 1972. He was also elected Player of the Decade by NBA fans for the decade 1957-1966. For all of his scoring prowess, he was an all-around player. He set a league career record with 23,924 rebounds, and is the only center to lead the league in assists.

He was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame, and was chosen as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. He passed away October 12, 1999.