Only two other players have had 40 (Nate Thurmond and Jerry Lucas) in history. I never did that before.". Wilt Chamberlain's Athleticism He was 7'1", 275 pounds. Chamberlain stood at a towering 71. Wilt Chamberlains vertical jump height has been claimed to be an astounding 48 inches, but the exact details of this incredible leaping ability is very unclear. FactSnippet No. So an impressive athlete in his own right but not quite Wilt. Unfortunately, he also experienced racial taunts from hostile away crowds. The man would successfully jump from the free throw line to complete a foul shot. However, his mark has since been passed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Dirk Nowitzki. At his stature that would mean that he was able to reach a higher max height than any other human in history. Earlier this season, he left a game with an abdominal injury after scoring 10 points. Sports performance training as we know it was non-existent, making it difficult to understand just how great of an athlete he was. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. This would put Wilts neck above the rim. Not a bad first impression! When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Alcindor (32 points, 22 rebounds) got the slight edge on Chamberlain (22,20, eight blocks). When the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night (10 p.m. There is a reason why Wilt scored 100 points in a single game, and no other player came close to it yet. If there was any doubt, the headline in the Milwaukee Sentinel spelled it out clearly. Wilt was on his job. The star player of the warriors was a 7-foot, 1,275-pound man with a towering physical presence. On March 2, 1962, in a game between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 pointsthe most points a single player has ever scored in an NBA game. Such as playing semi-professional basketball as a child under the name George Marcus. With a nickname like "The Stilt" in the world of basketball, where athletes are commonly a foot taller than the average man, it is no wonder why this guy was something special. The Jazz had 68 in a December win over the Hornets (Rudy Gobert pulled down 21 of them), matching the season high the Grizzlies set in a November win over the Kings (no Memphis player had more than 12). ", Alcindor said he didn't think he played well. When I was a freshman, I fooled around with shooting free throws this way: For some reason, I thought you had to stay within the top half of that free-throw circle, so I would step back to just inside the top of the circle, take off from behind the line and dunk. Initially, the honor of top seed was expected to be settled with a one-game playoff at the Milwaukee Arena on Friday night. Dwight Howard is 610 tall and has a vertical jump of 39.5 inches. What we do know is Chamberlain stood about 7'1, while his wingspan is up for debate. Shaq could only bench about 450, probably less now. His stellar play and fierce battles with Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics helped establish a national following for a relatively new-on-the-scene NBA. . Wilt Chamberlain owns most. One would think this would seriously hurt his chances at racking up points, but Chamberlain had a trick up his sleeve that night: He shot his free-throws underhanded. That's all.". Wilt Chamberlian once performed 200 pushups in a row, fingertip style, in competition with Heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson who had maxed out with 158. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Sure the camera angles were terrible, mostly shot from the ground angled up at the players, but one would think that you could at least clearly tell if a guys neck was above the rim. The opponent was Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics, who won by three points. Milwaukee won, 85-84, thanks to a late Abdul-Jabbar bucket. Wilt Chamberlain vertical jump and reach have been an issue of contention simply because many people don't believe that some over 7 feet tall can jump that high. The record still stands today and it is very unlikely to be ever broken. Thats why Chamberlains points per game average for the 1961-62 season are so stupefying. The physical attributes here are just off the charts, Wilt Chamberlain possessed a coveted combination of size and athleticism by todays NBA standards. Wilt Chamberlain is part of many extraordinary tales and finding accurate data on the legendary big man is no small feat. He was nearly unstoppable at Philadelphia's Overbrook High School, scoring more than 2,200 total points, a Pennsylvania record. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. In 2006, the NBA put in new rules that called for suspensions once a player reaches 16 for a season, and it has probably iced Wallace's record for good. I loved Wilt. He was eventually convinced to continue playing when Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb upped Chamberlains annual salary to $65,000. His average of 50.4 points per game is easily the highest in NBA history. he has Blue color Eye and Select Hair Color color Hair. Before hitting the hardwood, Chamberlains sport of choice was actually track and field. There are some conflicting statements out there regarding just how high this man could jump. The current active leader in offensive rebounds is Dwight Howard, who is still 2,600 behind Malone. L.A. briefly bit back with a 118-107 win in Game 3, when Alcindor had 20 points and 19 rebounds, but Chamberlain had 24 and 24 to win the day. The 7-foot-1 center regarded as one of . He was offered 200 college sports scholarships after his insane performance in school basketball. But that was the Lakers' last stand. Chamberlain never forgave van Breda Kolff, and after learning that the Lakers were on the hunt for a new coach, van Breda Kolff resigned before he could be fired. The Bucks won the flip, but it doesn't live on in collective memory the way it does when the Bucks won the coin flip for the right to draft Alcindor No. In all, Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records. "This time I turned around and faced the basket, and that made him play more honestly. But it was always special when Kareem and Wilt shared a court. After the Bucks won, it meant Los Angeles would have to defeat Golden State the following night to tie the Bucks atop the Western Conference with 60-22 records. LH: NBC tried something new in 1992. The match was supposed to take place in the summer of 1971 in the Astrodome in Houston. He averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds a game, which were both single-season records. At Kansas, Chamberlain continued to develop his game, build his legacy, and even find time to compete in the track. Eventually he dropped her off at 6 am the next . James passed Jordan, who had the previous record of 866 consecutive games, in 2018. But the advancing years meant little to Chamberlain in terms of physical conditioning. Wilt Chamberlain (born August 21, 1936) is an American basketball player who plays as a Centre for Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball. Known as "Wilt the Stilt" (a nickname he hated) or "The Big Dipper," he is regarded as one of the greatest and most dominant basketball players of all time for the incredible statistical achievements he attained throughout his playing career. How much can Arnold Schwarzenegger Bench Press? He told me, `Sonny, no.. The testing protocols and training methods to increase performance were in their infancy and because of that we dont have anywhere near the data that we have now. 2. Wilt was more than capable of jumping high enough, however to do so repeatedly or while in live gameplay is another story. This doesnt change the legendary status of Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt was definitely one of a kind, both on and off the court. At the time there was no rule that prevented a player from dunking their free throws. James started the streak in 2007 and has had a few close calls, including last season when he hit a 3-pointer to reach 10 points only after badly spraining his ankle in a game and then leaving for the locker room. Chamberlain had an incredible rookie campaign. Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, and in 1996, in honor of the NBAs 50th anniversary, he was named as one of the leagues 50 greatest players. Chamberlain also holds the record for most career rebounds with 23,924. You don't shove him around much because he's just about immune to it.". His claims were backed up by Sonny Hill, a former Philadelphia 76ers legend. "I'm just happy we played a good game and that things went the way they did," Alcindor said. This move was legal because he never stepped foot inside the paint area until after the ball went through the rim. As a freshman at Kansas he was seen dunking his free throws, the NCAA decided to quickly move to ban the practice before Chamberlain could play his first game. He even appeared in a few games for the Seattle Smashers and was the MVP of one of the leagues All-Star games. Testo Lab Pro is an all natural testosterone booster, and is by far the most impressive option that we've come across on the market. In his 1991 autobiography, A View From Above, Chamberlain made the startling claim that he had had sexual relations with 20,000 women. For that time, it was great and unstoppable but non-comparable to the older eras. To match Olajuwon, a player would need to play every game for 15 seasons and average 3.1 blocks a game. These are great numbers for any ordinary center, but a player of Shaq's physical dominance could have done more. In his later years, however, Chamberlain discouraged and regretted his promiscuous lifestyle. He also claimed he never fathered a child, but Aaron Levi has some strong evidence that Wilt was his dad. He wore number 13. Although his team fell short to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Chamberlain was still named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. Chamberlains 1961-62 season is best remembered for one legendary game in particular. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. It broke Russell's record of 51 rebounds set the previous season. Grizzlies-Clippers, 10 p.m. A.C. Green's 1,192 consecutive games. Impressive stuff, but because of the era that he played in there simply isnt much information out there on his athletic abilities. (Getty Images) We all love underdogs. Chamberlain had a multi-faceted game. All Rights Reserved. Wilt Chamberlain Bench Press: How much could he bench press? I used to dunk on that basket. Not to be outdone, he also averaged 25.7 rebounds per game and, perhaps most amazingly, he averaged 48.5 minutes per game. To frame what it takes to put together something even close, consider the last two. The house, which stood on a 2.5-acre parcel of land, overlooks the Bel-Air Reservoir. So the cards are somewhat stacked against us here but I have done a good amount of research and feel like I can definitely determine how high Wilt Chamberlain could jump. Advertisement. Monday, December 3, 1956. Wilt himself confirmed that he was able to dunk on a 12 foot rim, saying: Whats unfortunate is that most people regard the great leapers as being only the short guys who could dunk, said the 7 1 & 1/8 Wilt Chamberlain. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Without a doubt, but does he get to the 18 inches above that rim necessary to have a 48 inch vertical? Wilt didn't come from a race of giants as many thought. He was a top high jumper in college with a 44+ inch vertical leap. In his first season, he averaged 37.6 points and an absurd 27 rebounds per game, leading the league in both categories.