Wilt Chamberlain
Teams
Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors - 1959-65
Philadelphia 76ers - 1965-68
Los Angeles Lakers - 1968-73
Playoffs
Appearances - 13 (1960,1961,1962,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973)
Conference Finals - 12 (1960,1962,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973)
NBA Finals - 6 (1964,1967,1969,1970,1972,1973)
Championships - 2 (1967, 1972)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1960
MVP - 4 (1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1966,1967,1968)
Finals MVP - 1 (1967,1972)
All-NBA First Team - 7 (1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969)
All-NBA Second Team - 3 (1963,1965,1971,1972,1973)
Hall of Fame - 1979
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Rebounds - #1
Rebounds Per Game - #1
Points Per Game - #2
Total Points - #7
Field Goal Percentage - #36
Total Assists - #83
League Leads
Total Rebounds (#1-1960,1961,1962,1963,1966,1967,1968,1969,1971,1972,1973, #2-1964,1965)
Rebounds Per Game (#1-1960,1961,1962,1963,1966,1967,1968,1969,1971,1972,1973, #2-1964,1965)
Field Goal Percentage (#1-1961,1963,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1972,1973, #2-1962,1964, #3-1971)
Total Points (#1-1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966, #3-1967,1968)
Points Per Game (#1-1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966, #4-1968, #5-1967)
Total Assists (#1-1968, #3-1967, #3-1964)
Assists Per Game (#2-1968, #3-1967)
After 2 seasons at Kansas in which he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3, Wilt Chamberlain left college to become a pro, but since NBA rules at the time didn't allow him to play because he wasn't 4 years out of high school, he joined the Harlem Globetrotters for a year, then was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors as a territorial pick because he was born and raised there.
In his rookie season, Wilt set new records for scoring and rebounding in a season, averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game. Due to his dominance, he was named the Rookie of the Year and the MVP, the first rookie ever to win that honor. In the playoffs, Wilt led the Warriors to the Conference Finals, where they met the Celtics. Chamberlain had 50 points and 35 rebounds in Game 5, but the team fell in Game 6 and their season was over.
Chamberlain broke both of his record averages again the next season, raising his league-leading averages to 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds, and also led the league in shooting for the first time with an average of .509. He also set the single-game rebounding record that year, grabbing 55 in a game against the Celtics, breaking the record set by Bill Russell a couple of years earlier, but in the playoffs, his Warriors were swept by Syracuse in the first round.
The next year, Chamberlain had the single greatest statistical regular season of all time. He averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game, and set the all-time record by averaging 48.5 minutes per game, missing only 8 minutes in the entire season due to an ejection, but playing every overtime minute available to raise him above the 48 total minutes per game. He also scored his famous 100 points in a game, another record that nobody has ever approached. He led the Warriors to the NBA Finals for the first time, and tied the game with 16 seconds left in Game 7, but a basket by Sam Jones with 2 seconds left won the game and the series for the Celtics.
The team was sold after the season and moved to San Francisco, and many players either retired or requested trades rather than move to California. Chamberlain remained with the team, and had another amazing season with 44.8 points and 24.3 rebounds, both by far the best in the league again, but the team missed the playoffs after losing most of Wilt's supporting cast.
The next year saw Wilt average 36.9 points and 22.3 rebounds, and with solid rookie Nate Thurmond joining the team, the Warriors were much better, reaching the NBA Finals again, but losing to the Celtics again, this time in 5 games. At the next season's All-Star break, Wilt was traded back to his hometown of Philadelphia to play for the 76ers, who had recently moved from Syracuse.
He finished that season with the 76ers averaging 34.7 points and 22.9 rebounds, and led the 76ers to the Conference Finals, where he met up with Bill Russell and the Celtics again. The series went to 7 games, and Chamberlain had 30 points and 32 rebounds in the final game, but Boston still won the series and advanced to the Finals.
Chamberlain led the league in scoring for the 7th and final time in 1965-66, when he averaged 33.5 points and 24.6 rebounds per game, and led the 76ers to the best record in the league, winning his second MVP award. They met the Celtics in the Conference Finals again, but despite his 46 points and 34 rebounds in the final game, they lost to Boston once again in 5 games.
Philadelphia replaced their coach after that season, and new coach Alex Hannum convinced Wilt to be more of a team player, and the result was amazing. His scoring dipped to 24.1 per game, by far the lowest of his career to that point, but he led the league with 24.2 rebounds per game and had 7.8 assists per game as well. He also shot .683 from the field, which set a new record. The 76ers won 68 games, a record at the time, and finally beat the Celtics in the Conference Finals, with Wilt getting a triple-double of 29 points, 36 rebounds, and 13 assists in the deciding Game 5. They faced the Warriors in the Finals, and behind Wilt's 17.7 points and 28.7 rebounds per game, the 76ers won the title. The Finals MVP didn't exist yet, but Wilt would have been an easy choice to win the award.
He averaged 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds the next year, and led the league with 702 assists, the only center ever to lead the league in assists. The 76ers had the league's best record for the 3rd straight year, and met the Celtics in the Conference Finals again, but after taking a 3-1 lead in the series, Boston fought back and became the first team to ever come back from down 3-1 to win a series, and Philly was unable to defend their title.
After the season, Wilt requested a trade away from Philadelphia, and was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time he was the 3-time defending MVP, and he was the first reigning MVP ever to be traded before the next season. He averaged over 20 and 20 again that season, and helped lead the Lakers to the Finals against Boston, but he injured his knee late in Game 7 and the team lost again.
Wilt got off to a great start the next season, averaging 32.2 points and 20.6 rebounds in the first 9 games before tearing his patellar tendon and missing almost the entire season as a result. He returned for the final 3 games of the season, then led LA back to the Finals, scoring 45 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in Game 6 to tie the series, but they lost to New York in Game 7 to finish another season in disappointment.
Wilt led the league in rebounding again the next year, averaging 18.2 per game for his 9th rebounding title, but the Lakers met Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Milwaukee in the Conference Finals, and they were unable to overcome the young superstar, losing the series in 5 games.
The next season, Los Angeles broke the league record by winning 69 games, breaking the record held by Wilt's 1967 76ers team, which included a record 33-game winning streak. The team easily advanced to the NBA Finals to face the Knicks again, and after Wilt broke his hand in Game 4, he played through it in Game 5, finishing with 24 points, 29 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the team to a championship and win the Finals MVP award.
The next season, Wilt broke his own record by shooting an amazing .727 from the field for the season, and he led the league in rebounding for the 11th time, with 18.6 per game. He led the Lakers to the Finals again, where they faced the Knicks for the 3rd time in 4 years, but with several of his teammates out with injuries, Wilt wasn't able to beat New York, and the Lakers fell in 5 games.
After the season, Wilt signed with the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA as a player-coach, but he still had an option year on his contract with the Lakers, who sued San Diego, preventing him from playing the season. He didn't enjoy coaching, and decided to retire after the season ended without ever playing in the ABA.
Wilt owns numerous NBA record, even nearly 50 years after his retirement, and was constantly leading the league in multiple categories. He led the league in scoring 7 times, rebounding 11 times, shooting percentage 9 times, and assists once, and was the only player to ever average 30 points and 20 rebounds in a season, which he did 7 times. He also finished his career averaging over 30 points and 20 rebounds per game, and he has the highest rebounding average of all time, and won 2 championships on 2 of the best teams of all time, and is obviously one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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