Remembering Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain is a name no NBA fan can afford to forget. This player of the 60s and early 70s rewrote the Record books umpteen number of times. He is the guy who revolutionized the position of Center in NBA.

He started his NBA career with Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60 season. In his rookie year he averaged 37.2 points a game and 27 rebounds a game. In doing so he broke the records for most number of points as well as rebounds a season record. He broke 6 more records in his 1st season. These kinds of statistics are unheard of today in NBA. In his second season he surpassed his 1st season statistics averaging 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. He also won his 1st title for field goal percentage and also set a whooping record of 55 rebounds in a single game. When a full team is barely managing to collect 50+ rebounds a game Chamberlain alone has achieved this feat. In his third season he achieved the impossible – averaging a staggering 50.4 points a game. He also achieved another amazing record of scoring 100 points in a single game. It has never been achieved since. The closest someone has come is 81 points in 2006 by Kobe Bryant. He also played 3882 minutes out of the total 3890 minutes played by his team.

Though he continued to be a superstar on an individual basis an NBA title was eluding him. Many criticized him for his offense oriented play. Finally in 1966-67 season with the Philadelphia 76ers he won the 1st of his 2 titles. He won his 2nd title with the Los Angeles Lakers which also featured the legendary shooting guard Jerry West. In his later years something which was very evident was his change from an scoring – rebounding player to a more of defensive minded player. He finally ended his career in the 1972-73 season. He had 2 NBA titles, 4 MVPs, 1 MVP finals, 7 time All Star First Team, 1 All Star Game MVP, 13 time NBA All Star, 7 time NBA scoring champion and a 11 time NBA Rebounding Champion to his credit.

Throughout his career Bill Russel used to be his Nemesis. Bill Russel, a player of comparable size and style of play as Chamberlain has had many a duel with Chamberlain. Though enemies on court they were good friends off the court. His autobiography is titled Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door . His influence on this sport is unmatched and its most unlike that we see another player like him.