Dossier · 1960s
Wilt Chamberlain
The only player who ever broke the sport's arithmetic.
1959-1973 · Warriors, 76ers, Lakers
- Career scoring
- 30.1 per game
- Career rebounding
- 22.9 per game
- Best season
- 50.4 points, 1961-62
- MVPs
- 4
- Titles
- 2 (1967, 1972)
- Single game
- 100 points
The numbers
Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds for his career. Both are records, and neither is close. He led the league in scoring 7 times and in rebounding 11 times.
In 1961-62 he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds while playing 48.5 minutes a game. The regulation game is 48 minutes long. He essentially did not sit down for a season.
On March 2, 1962, against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania, he scored 100 points. He shot 36 of 63 from the field and 28 of 32 from the free throw line. There is no film of it.
Then the part almost nobody knows: in 1967-68 he led the entire league in assists at 8.6 per game. He was a center. He decided passing was the thing being questioned about him, so he led the league in it.
The context
The 1961-62 league averaged 118.8 points per team per game. Today that number sits near 114 with a 3-point line. Teams then shot early, missed often, and ran the miss back the other way.
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Wilt Chamberlain on the Tape
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