Introduction
Wilton Norman Chamberlain (1936–1999) was an American professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1959–1973. Due to his physicality he was given nicknames-such as “The Big Dipper” (which he preferred), “Goliath”, and “Wilt The Stilt”. After his basketball career, he played volleyball, authored several books, and became a successful businessman. He also starred in the successful film, Conan The Destroyer.
Short Bio
Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia in 1936. His mom, Olivia, was a domestic homemaker and worker. His father, William, was a welder, custodian, and handyman. He was born into a family of nine children. Wilt was a frail child and nearly died of pneumonia early on-he missed a school year as a result. He was a track and field athlete in his early years. But, basketball was considered to be the most important sport in Philadelphia, so he shifted his interest to that sport. Due to his height, strength, and speed he was a nightmare on the basketball court. This would become a consistent gimmick throughout the majority of his career.
Impressive Stats
>Scoring: Wilt led the league in scoring 7 consecutive times-a record; tied with Michael Jordan. In the 1961–1962 season, he averaged 50.4 points per game-an NBA season record. On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game-the most points ever scored in a single game. He also has a ton of 70, 60, and 50 point games. He averaged 30.1 points per game for his career.
>Shooting: Wilt led the league in shooting percentage on 9 different occasions. In his final year of basketball, he had a shooting percentage of .727-an NBA season record.
>Rebounding: Wilt is an 11 time rebounding leader. In 1960–1961, he averaged 27.2 rebounds a game-an NBA season record. He also averaged 22.9 rebounds for his career-an NBA career record.
Other Records: In 1967–1968, he led the league in assists. He lead the league in minutes 9 times. He has the career record of minutes per game-with 45.8. He played the most games in a season 6 times.
Player Profile
Wilt Chamberlain is considered to be one of the all-time greats in scoring, shooting, rebounding, basketball, the center position, and sports. His versatility in basketball led to him being compared to other greats. Most notably Michael Jordan (for their scoring abilities), Dennis Rodman (for their rebounding abilities), Shaquille Oneal (for their dominance), Kareem Abdul Jabbar (for their center position), and Bill Russell (for their rivalry). He was directly responsible for several rule changes-including widening the lane, offensive goaltending, rebounding rules, and inbounding rules. However, he was criticized by the public due to his poor free throw shooting, his lack of championships (he has 2 rings), and his frequent losses in the playoffs.
After ending his basketball career, he became a volleyball player for the International Volleyball Association (IVA). He became the president of the organization and was inducted into the IVA Hall of Fame.
Public Image
Wilt was intelligent. Off the court, he was a businessman and a writer. Despite being shy and insecure as a teenager, he was outspoken as an adult. He had a smooth and eloquent voice, using various expressions while speaking. His pride was off the charts, as he compared himself to upcoming stars of the next generation. Chamberlain played the role of mentor to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who would become a legendary basketball player in the future.
Though, not heavily touched on, he had a role in politics. He was a supporter of the Republican Party. He identified as a black conservative. Due to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Wilt was depressed. His team had a game to play on the day of MLK’s funeral. He unsuccessfully tried to gather up teammates to stay home-to prevent the game from happening. In the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections, he supported Richard Nixon. However, he distanced himself from Nixon later on due to disagreements with his presidency. Nixon and Chamberlain were both present at the funeral of MLK.
It’s very surprising that the media didn’t dig deeper into his political life. It would have been incredibly interesting to hear Wilt’s perspective on politics and his black conservatism. Unfortunately, the media never found it interesting-considering there were so many interesting facts about the man. Out of the hundreds of topics you wanted to talk about, you have to pick a few for a conversation. Either way, Wilt is a man of many talents and perspectives. For that very reason, his legacy lives on decades after his passing.
