Wilt Chamberlain: Career Retrospective
Maybe your like
NEWSLETTERS Emailed Daily. Always Free! - Home
- Quizzes
- My Quiz Activity
- Newsletters
- MY FAVORITES
- Add Sports/Teams
- SPORTS
- Sports Betting
- RESOURCES
- My Account
- YB on Facebook
- YB on Twitter
- YB on Flipboard
- Contact Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Quizzes
-
Follow Us
-
On Facebook -
On Flipboard -
On Twitter
-
NBA News
Home Teams Quizzes Watch Newsletter
Getty Images 
Wilt Chamberlain: Career retrospective Updated May 21, 2023 | By Chris Morgan It feels like Wilt Chamberlain is the most larger-than-life figure in NBA history, and not just because of his height. He dominated the sport physically in a way few ever have. His numbers are gaudy and massive, and that isn’t a joke on the infamous claims he made about the number of women he bedded. Let’s focus less on that and more on the career of the legendary center who may or may not have had the greatest individual game in NBA history.
1 of 22A dominant high school career
Bettmann/Getty Images Despite being incredibly tall growing up, it took a while for Chamberlain to embrace basketball. Early in his life, he focused on track and field. When he was already 6’11’’ when entering high school, though, he realized that basketball could be right up his alley. Chamberlain played for Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, leading the team to a 56-3 record and two city titles while averaging 37.4 points per game and setting a new high school scoring record.
2 of 22Wilt chooses Kansas
Hy Peskin/Getty Images Needless to say, many college programs wanted Chamberlain to come play for them. UCLA came calling. Purportedly, the University of Pennsylvania offered him diamonds and offered his high school coach a gig at the school as well. Chamberlain wanted to get away from his home of Philadelphia, though, and ended up playing for Phog Allen and the Jayhawks.
3 of 22Chamberlain excels in college, but leaves early
Bettmann/Getty Images As was required at the time, Chamberlain had to play on the freshman team his first year in college. Then, Phog Allen retired. In his first varsity game, Wilt scored 52 points and picked up 31 rebounds, both Kansas records. Chamberlain was dominant in his sophomore and junior years, even being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in 1957, even though Kansas lost to North Carolina in the finals. However, Chamberlain, who didn’t seem to love basketball necessarily, hated being double and triple teamed and wanted a chance to earn some money. As such, Chamberlain left Kansas before his senior season.
4 of 22Wilt joins the Globetrotters
Bettmann/Getty Images Back in the day, you couldn’t play in the NBA until after your graduating class had, well, graduated. That meant the league would have to wait for Wilt. Instead, Chamberlain signed up to play for the Harlem Globetrotters for 1958, for $50,000, which equates to about $443,000 today. Needless to say, Wilt was quite the draw.
5 of 22Chamberlain signs with the Philadelphia Warriors
Bettmann/Getty Images Chamberlain didn’t stick around with the Globetrotters, though. As soon as he was eligible for the NBA, he signed a deal with the Philadelphia Warriors. For the second he joined the league, Wilt was the highest-paid player in the NBA. In fact, he contract ($30,000) was more than the owner of the Warriors had paid for the team ($25,000) just seven years earlier.
6 of 22Winning Rookie of the Year AND MVP
Hulton Archive/Getty Image As with Kansas, Chamberlain made a splash right out of the gate. In his NBA debut he dropped 43 points and 28 rebounds on the Knicks. When his rookie season ended, Wilt was averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game. He broke eight NBA records, and won not only Rookie of the Year but the MVP as well. Only Wes Unseld has done that since.
7 of 22Chamberlain almost retires, grabs 55 rebounds in a game instead
Bettmann/Getty Images Despite the success, Chamberlain was still frustrated by basketball. He hated being double and triple teamed, and he took hard fouls constantly, in part because he was a poor free-throw shooter. This is when Wilt first said, “Nobody loves Goliath.” However, Chamberlain got a raise and stuck around. Early in his second NBA season he grabbed a staggering 55 rebounds, which is still a NBA record.
8 of 22The 100-point game
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images You were surely waiting for this one. It’s the iconic moment in Chamberlain’s career, and one of the NBA’s iconic moments full stop. On March 2, 1962, the Warriors played the Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Sure, he took 63 shots and attempted 32 free throws. Nevertheless, Chamberlain scored 100 points, an NBA record that will assuredly never be bested. Wilt is the one and only player to ever score 100 points in an NBA game.
9 of 22An incredible 1961-62 season
Bettmann/Getty Images Let’s dig into that 1961-62 season a little further. Chamberlain averaged a staggering, unfathomable 50.4 points per game that year, which is an NBA record that will never be beaten. He also pulled down 25.7 rebounds per contest. Wilt played in all 80 games, and since he played effectively every minute of the season, including overtime games, he averaged over 48 minutes per contest. And yet, he somehow didn’t win the MVP.
10 of 22Wilt is traded to the 76ers
Bettmann/Getty Images Wilt's time with the Warriors were often tumultuous. There were several coaching changes, and the franchise was also sold and moved to San Francisco. Eventually, both sides wanted to go their separate ways. Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, who until recently had been known as the Syracuse Nationals, at which point the owner of the Warriors called Wilt “not an easy man to love.”
11 of 22Chamberlain and the Sixers win a title
Bettmann/Getty Images There was success for Chamberlain and Philly his first two seasons with the team, but there was no ring. There was the “Havlicek stole the ball!” game, though. Finally, in the 1966-67 season, Wilt was able to break through. Fittingly enough, the Sixers and Wilt’s old team the Warriors met up in the NBA Finals. Chamberlain pulled down almost 30 rebounds per game as he won his first ring.
12 of 22Wilt leads the league in assists just because, wins his fourth MVP
Focus on Sport via Getty Images Chamberlain was regularly one of the leading scorers in the NBA, and he led the league in rebounds per game 11 times in his career. This led to a reputation that he was a ball hog who never passed. This got Wilt’s goat, and he set to change minds during the 1967-68 season. Chamberlain decided he wanted to lead the league in assists, and he did just that. Well, total assists, not assists per game. Still, he’s the only center to ever do that, and that season he won his fourth and final MVP.
13 of 22Traded to the Lakers
Focus on Sport via Getty Images That season would be Wilt’s final with the 76ers. Chamberlain would leave his hometown to move across the country (again) to play for the Lakers. The storied franchise traded for the center in hopes of getting over the hump and winning a title, for the franchise and the center.
14 of 22Injuries, and the Willis Reed game
Focus on Sport/Getty Images Chamberlain’s first season with the Lakers was tumultuous, which shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, and the second season was even tougher. Wilt hurt his knee and was limited to 12 games during the regular season. It’s the one season he wasn’t an All-Star. Chamberlain was able to return for the playoffs, and the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals to face the Knicks. The series went to seven games, and the Knicks were possibly going to be without Willis Reed. Then, Reed famously gutted it out to play at the beginning of the game, by reputation inspiring the Knicks to the win and the title.
15 of 22Chamberlain almost boxes Muhammad Ali
Bettmann/Getty Images Here’s another weird Chamberlain moment. After the 1971 season he wanted to box Muhammad Ali. Seriously, he was going to go 15 rounds at the Astrodome in Houston that July. Jim Brown was going to be the corner man for Chamberlain. However, reasonable heads prevailed, and the fight never happened.
16 of 22Wilt wins Finals MVP with the Lakers
Focus on Sport/Getty Images Wilt didn’t box Ali, and he was able to be healthy for the 1971-72 season. There, the Lakers were able to beat a few tough teams, including a Bucks team led by a young man named Lew Alcindor (later to be known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). In the Finals, the Lakers met up with the Knicks again. This time, Los Angeles won, and Chamberlain was named the Finals MVP.
17 of 22One final trip to the NBA Finals
Ron Kuntz Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images The 1972-73 season would be the final season for Chamberlain in the NBA. While he only scored 13.2 points per game, he stayed a potent rebounder, leading the league with 18.6 board a night. Once more, the Lakers went to the NBA Finals, and once more they faced the New York Knicks. The Lakers were banged up, though, and the Knicks won the series in five games.
18 of 22A weird year with the San Diego Conquistadors
Ross Lewis/Getty Images Technically, Chamberlain didn’t retire after that final season with the Lakers. He signed on with the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA to be a player-coach. However, the Lakers still had an option year on his contract, so they sued him to keep him from playing. Thus, Wilt simply served as the coach, although he quickly tired of that and left coaching duties to his assistant. After one year doing this, Chamberlain happily stepped aside.
19 of 22Wilt retires, tries his hand in movies
Rolf Konow/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images His contract over with the Lakers, and the Conquistadors wackiness over, Chamberlain retired for good. He got into movies a bit, forming a film production company that produced films such as “Go For It.” He also acted in the film “Conan the Destroyer” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, there was no film career for Chamberlain beyond dribs and drabs.
20 of 22Hall of Fame induction
Focus on Sport/Getty Images Obviously, Chamberlain was an easy pick for the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was elected way back in 1979, cementing his legacy in Springfield for future generations.
21 of 22Chamberlain passes away in 1999
Brian Bahr/Allsport Being tall can have its disadvantages from a health perspective. In 1999, his health started to deteriorate, and he lost quite a bit of rate. Chamberlain would die October 12, 1999 from congestive heart failure. He was 63.
22 of 22A dominant force. An underachiever?
Focus on Sport via Getty Images Chamberlain has one of the strangest reputations of any basketball player. He averaged over 30 points and almost 23 rebounds per game in his career. He was a scoring champ seven times and made 10 All-NBA teams. The man was dominant on the court. And yet, his teams only won two titles. He was compared unfavorable to fellow center Bill Russell, whose Celtics teams won titles left and right. Some accused Chamberlain of not having his heart in it. Or maybe, like he said, nobody likes Goliath.
Chris Morgan Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.
More must-reads:
- James Harden had unexpected comment about the Clippers
- Damian Lillard making an improbable return to All-Star Weekend
- The 'Super Bowl halftime show artists' quiz
Breaking News
NFL - New Dolphins regime has reportedly made huge Tagovailoa decision NFL - Cowboys sound ready to make massive George Pickens decision NFL - Diggs addresses future with Pats after Super Bowl loss NFL - Pats' Davis sends warning to NFL after Super Bowl loss NFL - Klint Kubiak confirms he's heading to Vegas after Super Bowl win NFL - Super Bowl LX takeaways: Defense carries Seahawks to dominant win over Patriots NFL - Social media compares Patriots’ yardage to Bad Bunny’s halftime movement NFL - Pats' Vrabel defends Maye after nightmare outing in SB lossTrending News
NFL Patriots' Robert Spillane says Tom Brady's Super Bowl comments make him 'sick'
1 MLB Yankees re-signing Paul Goldschmidt contradicts Brian Cashman's statement 
2 NFL Three ideal landing spots for Jim Schwartz in 2027 
3 NFL Mike McCarthy already making unprecedented change to Steelers organization after Mike Tomlin era 
4 NFL Raiders' Maxx Crosby has one preferred trade destination 
5 Olympics Team USA surges to early lead in Olympic team figure skating 
6 Entertainment Who is Ken Kern? 'The Lincoln Lawyer' tribute, explained 
7 NBA Winners and losers from the 2026 NBA trade deadline 
8 Customize Your Newsletter
+ 
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. MY ACCOUNT SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE JOBS FAQ PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE FREE NEWSLETTERS Copyright 2026 YB Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is for entertainment purposes only. There is no gambling offered on this site. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. 
Tag » Why Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire
-
One Tall Tale: When The Cavaliers Made A Serious Run At Wilt
-
Why & When Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire? - Celeb Answers
-
Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipedia
-
“Wilt Chamberlain Blocked Everything, It Was Unbelievable.”: How A ...
-
Legends Profile: Wilt Chamberlain
-
Wilt Chamberlain Declined Sixers' Invitation To Come Out Of ...
-
Retired 18 Years, Wilt Claims He's Ready To Rebound
-
Why Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire From The NBA? – Short-Questions
-
At What Age Did Wilt Chamberlain Retire? - FAQ Blog
-
That Time 49-year-old Wilt Chamberlain Received A Contract Offer In ...
-
Chamberlain, At 42, Eyes N.B.A. Return - The New York Times
-
Chamberlain, 38, Rehires; Basketball's Top Scorer
-
Wilt Chamberlain: Did He Really Play In A Weak Era?
-
Wilt Chamberlain | American Basketball Player | Britannica