Facts for Kids

MVP awards and big teams helped make Wilt a famous player. He started in 1959 with the Warriors (they moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco). In his first season he won Rookie of the Year, the regular-season MVP, and the All-Star Game MVP. Later he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wilt had many amazing games. In the 1961–62 season he often scored more than everyone else on his team. He set single-season records by scoring 4,029 points and getting 2,052 rebounds. He also played almost every minute of many games, showing huge stamina and strength.

One of his most famous nights was when he scored 100 points in a single game on March 2, 1962. That game is remembered because no one else has ever scored that many points in an NBA game. Even so, his teams sometimes had trouble in the playoffs when opponents had more balanced lineups. What do you think it would feel like to try to score every point for your team?

Wilt was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia. He was the sixth of nine children and grew up in West Philadelphia. His family went to church and worked hard to take care of each other. As a child he was already very tall — he reached about 6 feet by the time he was ten — and he ran track when he was young.

At first Wilt did not like basketball. He started playing in seventh grade at Shoemaker Junior High because the game was everywhere in his neighborhood. He also became very sick once and missed a year of school, but he recovered and kept getting stronger.

Wilt Chamberlain was one of the tallest and most important basketball players ever. He stood about 7 feet 1 inch tall and played the center position in the NBA for 14 seasons. Because he scored so much and grabbed so many rebounds, people say he is one of the greatest players of all time.

Wilt set many records — 72 in all — and he did things no one else did, like scoring 100 points in a single game. He won two NBA championships, four MVP awards, and was chosen for thirteen All-Star Games. Fans called him the Big Dipper, and his powerful dunks and smooth shots changed how people played and even how rules were written.

Wilt played college basketball at the University of Kansas from 1956 to 1958. In his very first varsity game he scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, which broke school records. He helped Kansas win the conference and earned top honors for his play.

In 1957 Kansas reached the national championship game that went to triple overtime — the only final to do that. Kansas lost 54–53, but Wilt was so important he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Teams often triple-teamed him and used slow tactics to limit him, and by the end of his college years he averaged nearly 30 points and 18 rebounds per game.

the Big Dipper was a nickname people used because Wilt was so tall and his shots and dunks seemed to scoop down like a dipper. He used moves like the dipper dunk, the fade-away, and a soft finger roll. For a man his size, he was also fast and had a lot of energy, so he could run and jump like smaller players.

Wilt changed how basketball was played. His strength and reach led to rule changes so games would be fair for both teams. For example, the lane was widened and some inbound passes were limited. He also never fouled out of a game, which shows how careful and dominant he often was. How do you think rules might change if someone today was as different as Wilt was?

Wilt went to Overbrook High School and quickly became a star. In 1953 he was scoring about 31 points a game and helped Overbrook win the city’s Public League title. The next year his team went undefeated, 19–0, and Wilt once scored 71 points in a single game — a high school record.

By 1955 he had some incredible scoring nights, including games with 74, 78, and even 90 points. Opponents often hurled many players at him to try to stop him, but he still led Overbrook to several league and city championships and was later named Mr. Basketball USA for 1955.

72 NBA records are part of Wilt’s story, and many of them still stand. He averaged at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game for seven seasons, which is almost unheard of. His 1961–62 season produced the huge single-season totals of 4,029 points and 2,052 rebounds, and his 100-point game is one record everyone remembers.

Wilt also won two NBA championships, four regular-season MVP awards, and was chosen for thirteen All-Star Games. After basketball he even played professional volleyball and joined the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Today players and coaches still talk about how he changed the game and pushed what was thought possible for tall players. Which of his records surprises you the most?