I was not yet born, though fortunately I at least got to see him as a Laker 11 years later.
This web site has lots of good info on the game, Wilt's career, and some of the myths surrounding him: http://wiltfan.tripod.com/index1.html
see particularly the 100 point game section:
http://wiltfan.tripod.com/onehundred.html
The game got very odd in the 4th quarter as the Knicks started holding the ball for the full shot clock to slow the game down. The 76ers started fouling, as a counter move, to get the ball back. The Knicks then started fouling other players to keep Chamberlain from scoring. Wilt finally started bring the ball up court, so they had to either stop him or foul him, and for that one night he made 28 of 32 free throws.
Some of my favorite factoids and quotes from elsewhere on the site:
In Wilt's first NBA game, he scored 43 points on 17-of-20 shooting, grabbed 28 rebounds, and (unofficially) blocked 17 shots.
Wilt's "go-to" move was not the dunk, but rather the finger roll and the fade away jump shot.
In his 143 games against Bill Russell, Wilt averaged 28.7 ppg and 28.7 rpg.
In 1962, his coach, Frank McGuire, asked him in the pre-season to score 50 PPG, because he said that was the only way they could beat the Celtics: Russell couldn't stop Wilt, but Russell's teammates were vastly superior to Wilt's (the 1962 Celtics featured 7 hall of famers on the roster). During Wilt's last 7 years, his role changed. Coach Alex Hannum asked Wilt to score less, pass off more take higher percentage shot. The reason why was because the Sixers had talent to match the Celtics'. Wilt told Hannum that he would do anything to win a title, and he responded with perhaps the single finest season in NBA history: 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, 68.3% from the field, NBA championship
This web site has lots of good info on the game, Wilt's career, and some of the myths surrounding him: http://wiltfan.tripod.com/index1.html
see particularly the 100 point game section:
http://wiltfan.tripod.com/onehundred.html
"I can't have a nightmare tonight. I've just lived through one."
--Darrell Imhoff, the starting opposing center the night Wilt scored 100 points, oddly enough most well-known for his defensive prowess.
--Darrell Imhoff, the starting opposing center the night Wilt scored 100 points, oddly enough most well-known for his defensive prowess.
Some of my favorite factoids and quotes from elsewhere on the site:
In Wilt's first NBA game, he scored 43 points on 17-of-20 shooting, grabbed 28 rebounds, and (unofficially) blocked 17 shots.
Wilt's "go-to" move was not the dunk, but rather the finger roll and the fade away jump shot.
In his 143 games against Bill Russell, Wilt averaged 28.7 ppg and 28.7 rpg.
In 1962, his coach, Frank McGuire, asked him in the pre-season to score 50 PPG, because he said that was the only way they could beat the Celtics: Russell couldn't stop Wilt, but Russell's teammates were vastly superior to Wilt's (the 1962 Celtics featured 7 hall of famers on the roster). During Wilt's last 7 years, his role changed. Coach Alex Hannum asked Wilt to score less, pass off more take higher percentage shot. The reason why was because the Sixers had talent to match the Celtics'. Wilt told Hannum that he would do anything to win a title, and he responded with perhaps the single finest season in NBA history: 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, 68.3% from the field, NBA championship
"The greatest play I've ever seen was one of the last games of the 1966-67 season and were playing Baltimore. We [Philadelphia] were going for the best record in NBA history. There was a play earlier in the game where Gus Johnson had dunked one over Wilt. Gus ... was a physical specimen [6-foot-6, 230 pounds], all muscle. He loved to dunk and was a very colorful player. When he slammed it on Wilt, he really threw it down, and you could tell that Wilt didn't like it one bit.
Later in the game, Gus was out on the fast break, and the only man between him and the basket was Wilt. He was going to dunk on Wilt--again. Gus cupped the ball and took off--he had a perfect angle for a slam. Wilt went up and with one hand he grabbed the ball--cleanly! Then he took the ball and shoved it right back into Gus, drilling Gus into the floor with the basketball.
Gus was flattened and they carried him out. Gus Johnson was the only player in NBA history to suffer a dislocated shoulder from a blocked shot."
--Billy Cunningham, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 236
Later in the game, Gus was out on the fast break, and the only man between him and the basket was Wilt. He was going to dunk on Wilt--again. Gus cupped the ball and took off--he had a perfect angle for a slam. Wilt went up and with one hand he grabbed the ball--cleanly! Then he took the ball and shoved it right back into Gus, drilling Gus into the floor with the basketball.
Gus was flattened and they carried him out. Gus Johnson was the only player in NBA history to suffer a dislocated shoulder from a blocked shot."
--Billy Cunningham, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 236
"Wilt did come into the league with a good touch from the outside, which made his early scoring that much more significant. He wasn't just dunking the ball then."
--Red Holzman. A View from the Bench. P.70
--Red Holzman. A View from the Bench. P.70
"The best players I ever saw. The best players I can ever imagine. Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar...These were all players who could dominate the game from their positions, whatever positions they played. At any point, these six could simply take the game over, and change its direction. They could all do many different things...These guys were supermen, and they would have been the best no matter when they played. They not only had incredible natural talent, they worked at it too."
--Walt Frazier (Knicks broadcaster and hall of fame player), Walt Frazer: One Magical Season and a Basketball Life. (written in 1988), pp. 162-63.
--Walt Frazier (Knicks broadcaster and hall of fame player), Walt Frazer: One Magical Season and a Basketball Life. (written in 1988), pp. 162-63.
"I said before I faced him, 'Wilt isn't such a tough guy. Let me guard him!' He backed me down and dunked the ball so hard, the ball came through the net and hit me in the forehead twice! Bang! So I said, 'You know, I think maybe he is that great.'
--Spencer Haywood, 5-time all-star, The NBA at 50 p.169
--Spencer Haywood, 5-time all-star, The NBA at 50 p.169
"When I coached the San Francisco Warriors, I thought Al Attles was the fastest guy on our team--by far. We used to gamble a lot--which player could jump the highest and run the fastest. So I set up a series of races, baseline to baseline. In the finals, it was Wilt and Al Attles and Wilt just blew past him. I'm convinced that Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest all-around athletes the world has ever seen."
--Alex Hannum, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 327
--Alex Hannum, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 327
Watching Wilt, you always kind of got the idea he was just playing with people. That he was on cruise control and still 10 times better than anybody else that was playing at that time.""
--Dan Issel, Hall-of famer with 27,842 career points ABA and NBA
--Dan Issel, Hall-of famer with 27,842 career points ABA and NBA
Opponents used to put multiple players on Wilt (the defined "illegal defense" rules weren't in place until the 1980s), and they still couldn't stop him. Opponents used to put their elbows into Wilt (illegal today), and they still couldn't stop him. They used to mug the guy, and the refs allowed it, because they were trying to help the other guys, since Wilt was too overwhelming. Today, superstars get preferential treatment. Nearly every single rule passed since the 1960s has been to help the offense have an easier time, even though now teams walk the ball up the court. Wilt would simply dominate the league with these easier rules. He would lead the league in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and be near the top in fg%, and he would certainly lead all centers in assists.
-Wayne Embry
-Wayne Embry
People say the NBA then was a scoring league then. Well, Wilt made it a scoring league. Jack Twyman and Chamberlain became the first players in NBA history to average 30 points a season, in Wilt's rookie year, 1960. So he was the first to average 35, 40, 45, and finally 50 ppg.
-Terry Pluto
-Terry Pluto
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