Wilt was 7 1 1/16 of raw muscle, power, incredible leaping ability and speed. Chamberlains claim drew both criticism and mockery (if you do the math, his claim does seem a littleunlikely). Now lets get into the details and start to unpack the answer to whether or not Wilt Chamberlain had a 48 inch vertical jump. Can you imagine modern day centers being the fastest on the court? [6] Sports performance training as we know it was non-existent, making it difficult to understand just how great of an athlete he was. He was a founding board member of the newly established International Volleyball Association. He was nearly unstoppable at Philadelphia's Overbrook High School, scoring more than 2,200 total points, a Pennsylvania record. In the 75-year history of the NBA, there have only been five 20-game winning streaks within one season, an indication of just how rare such a run is. This occurred in a game in 1968 when he recorded 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists. Shaq could only bench about 450, probably less now. 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. Wilt Chamberlain Dress Size 8 US. Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipedia [5] As an avid track and field athlete, Chamberlain high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches, ran the 440 yards in 49.0 seconds and the 880 yards in 1:58.3, put the shot 53 feet, 4 inches, and long jumped 22 feet. That is more than enough height to touch the top of the backboard and getting real close to proving that Wilt Chamberlain had a 48 inch vertical jump. He participated in high jump, long jump, and even broad jump, but excelled in the 100 yard-dash, and the 400 metre. Walt Bellamy's 88 games. Of all his impressive statistics, the 20,000 women number seems the most far-fetched and least verifiable, and the book kicked off . When you include his ABA numbers, it's 7,382. The smallest report records it at 7'8, while the largest account has it at 8'4 inches. At the end of his career, Chamberlain held the record for most career points with 31,419. As a lifelong bachelor and infamous ladies man, Chamberlain became well known for a particular off-court statistic. Recommended Articles. Wilt Chamberlain: Why the Big Dipper Would Dominate Today's NBA I would say its a safe bet to assume that Wilt had a much greater wingspan than that. Ive heard stories about Jackie Jackson doing it, but Ive never seen anyone (but himself) come close.. The Warriors shocked Milwaukee in six games, and it was the Lakers who advanced to the NBA Finals after a five-game series win over Golden State. I find it hard to believe that an athlete capable of reaching that height would describe dunking on a 12 foot rim as requiring effort. In his later years, however, Chamberlain discouraged and regretted his promiscuous lifestyle. To say it was the twilight of Chamberlain's career during the Bucks' title run was fair but also misleading. As he got older, he was still able to bench press 465 pounds at 59. that must be the most frightening sight in sports. 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. Full Player Comparison: Shaquille O'Neal vs. Wilt Chamberlain "Lew Gets 23, Wilt Nets 25; Bucks lose" It was the largest crowd at the Forum in Inglewood, California, a sellout of 17,489. In the Finals, Chamberlain and the Sixers won a hard-fought series, winning four games to two. With his 96 standing reach, a vertical jump of only 36 inches would put Wilt at 126 in the air, which would be more than enough height to complete a slam dunk on a 12 foot rim. Wilt was in Chuck Taylors and chugged Sprites during the game, and while he did lift weights and gain muscle during his career, it predated modern weight training which is far more comprehensive. As a collegiate player, he was featured in popular magazines of the time, including Life, Time, Look, and Newsweek. I asked Kareem if he ever did, and he could jump a little bit. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Knicks-Celtics, 7:30 p.m. Now its time to analyze all of this evidence to determine the legitimacy of each claim. We want our readers to trust us. His imposing height was inevitable; he reached six feet when he was only 10 years old and reached 610 when he was a high school freshman. Chamberlain went so far as to get help from legendary trainer Cus dAmato, but he eventually pulled out of the fight at the last minute. So an impressive athlete in his own right but not quite Wilt. Thats why Chamberlains points per game average for the 1961-62 season are so stupefying. Wilt was on his job. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. Wilt won the 1967 NBA title with the Philadelphia 76ers and the 1972 NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a career 51% free throw shooter, and it was easily the best-percentage free throw night for him in that magical season. He. The Lakers won three of those games by a combined eight points, but it wasn't necessarily a fluke. Wilt Chamberlain was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. He was one of the couples nine children. Chamberlain had 25 points and 14 rebounds. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. He was never substituted out that season; he only missed eight minutes of one game after he was ejected in the fourth quarter. ", Alcindor said he didn't think he played well. To match Olajuwon, a player would need to play every game for 15 seasons and average 3.1 blocks a game. 1 in 1969. Chamberlain stood at a towering 71. The only ongoing streak that was close belonged to James Harden, but that ended last season at 450 games after he had to leave a game with a hamstring injury. Abdul-Jabbar, who finished with five NBA titles with the Lakers in addition to his Bucks crown, closed his career at 38,387 points, still No. Wilt Chamberlain | HowStuffWorks Auerbach convinced the young Chamberlain to play a game of one-on-one with college star B.H. Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West, NBA75: Meet the best players in league history, NBA75: Snubs, surprises and who's next for the all-time greatest list, LeBron breaks all-time records of Kareem and Kobe on Christmas Day, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds a game, which were both single-season records. However going as far as 600 pounds like some sources have claimed seems a little too far-fetched, even for us. Wilt Chamberlain was such a fantastic jumper that he was able to dunk his free throws. Chamberlain suffered a knee injury that limited him to only one matchup with the Bucks in 1969-70, so fans were eager to see a rematch between big men in theNov. 20 game early in the 1970-71 season. Two months later, Mileti hired Stan Albeck as the team's second head coach.. Chamberlain was a well-rounded athlete in the discipline; his personal best in the high jump was six feet six inches, he threw 55 feet in shot put, he ran the 440 in 49 seconds, and he could do a 22-foot long jump. Suns-Mavericks, 1 p.m. (ABC) The tte--tte between big men ended with Milwaukee fans giving Chamberlain a standing ovation as he checked out of Game 5 in the Western Conference finals, representative of the matchup's amiable nature. Wilt was definitely one of a kind, both on and off the court. During his playing time, Chamberlain owned and operated the Smalls Paradise nightclub in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. How physically gifted was Wilt Chamberlain? - Quora They met in the playoffs eight times and Russells Celtics were on the winning side seven of those times. The Lakers also won four of five meetings in the regular season. Off the court, the two had a good friendship, until a falling-out which was sparked by Russells accusation that Chamberlain gave up in the 1969 NBA Finals. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? Chamberlain sat out the 1973-74 season, hoping to serve as a player-coach with the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA. "I have no big thing with Wilt.". These included widening the painted area on the court, implementing offensive interference rules, and changes to free throw shooting and inbounding procedures. I know that a 12 foot rim seems high, but it is really only 2 feet higher than a standard rim. "This time I turned around and faced the basket, and that made him play more honestly. You don't shove him around much because he's just about immune to it.". Scott Skiles' 30 assists. An outspoken, tell-all memoir that stands way above any basketball bestseller around. ESPN.com - NBA - Until his dying day, Wilt was invincible Yet the 1971-72 Lakers, led by Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich (Elgin Baylor had retired nine games into the season, literally just before the streak began), posted a record that has remained relatively safe. 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. Chamberlain was the first of professional basketball's dominating seven-footers. It's also true that the highest-profile clashes between the two happened outside the 70-71 season. During the visit, Chamberlain and the Globetrotters met with then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Chamberlain played in the NBA during the 1960s, and many people think he is one of the best players in basketball history. This would put Wilts neck above the rim. So confident was he in his physical prowess that he talked of a comeback in his early 50s. The Big Dipper brought down a massive 55 boards in that game. At 7'1", 275 pounds, he towered over the competition and could . Wilt Chamberlain - Wikipdia He also didnt get along with Kansass new coach Dick Harp, who replaced Phog Allen after he retired. JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. While Chamberlain had the far more impressive individual statistics, Russell had the greater team accomplishments. Chamberlain not only had to play all regular minutes, but also had to play deep into overtime many times to get that average. Today in History: MARCH 2, Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Her original height 5 Feet 6 Inches and her Weight 62 KG. Wilt Chamberlain Measurements, Height, Weight, Physical Stats Goliath Facts About Wilt Chamberlain, The Big Dipper - Factinate Perhaps most impressively though, he holds the record for most 30 point/30 rebound games with 124. If I account for the available footage and combine it with the impressive displays of jumping ability that we know Wilt was capable of, I can confidently say that Wilt Chamberlain had between a 38 41 inch vertical jump. Milwaukee is going to be a contender, so it was mostly a matter of experimenting, for later on. Wilt Chamberlain, by his own reckoning, was the greatest basketball player who ever lived. The San Diego Conquistadors of the upstart American Basketball Association signed him to a player-coach contract in 1973, but a lawsuit from his old team the Lakers prevented him from playing. The longest recent streak was that of Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles, who played in 384 consecutive games from 2015 to 2021. Here is a look at some of the individual records that have stood and likely will stand the test of time as unbreakable, even 25 years from now when the NBA celebrates its 100th season. He ran a "Sub-11" second time in the 100 yard dash, and ran the 400 metre in 49 seconds. . [1] [2] [3] A Philadelphia/San . The evidence that Wilt Chamberlain could touch the top of the backboard gets even more solidified by an article found in the June 10, 1958 edition of Look Magazine. As a 25-year-old physical phenomenon intent . Wilt was 63 when he died. He reached an average of more than 48 minutes because he played seven overtime games. Such as playing semi-professional basketball as a child under the name George Marcus. ", Said Alcindor: "There was satisfaction on both sides. This is why I have set out to analyze the infamous Wilt Chamberlain vertical jump to determine if in fact he was able to leap 48 inches through the air. No one else has averaged more than 30. A 48 inch vertical jump would mean that the top of his head would be 13 inches above the rim, or 111 off the ground. When I went to Kansas, they had a 12-foot basket in the gym, because Dr. Phog Allen was advocating the 12-foot basket. 1. LH: NBC tried something new in 1992. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. He told me, `Sonny, no.. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? As a teenager, Chamberlain spent his summer vacations working as a bellhop at the Kushters Hotel, a popular resort in New Yorks Catskill Mountains. 2) Wilt held the distinction of being the last Big 7 high jump champion in 1957, clearing 6-5 in that competition. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. All Rights Reserved. My sergeant [vertical leap] was higher than Michael Jordans. Chamberlain became a local, and eventually national, legend. This is a full 18 inches above a 12 foot rim! 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You give whatever you have to give, and when it's appreciated, it's gratifying. Wilt Chamberlain 3.38 170 ratings24 reviews The quintessential big man, who changed the way basketball was played, reveals his controversial and candid views on sports, sex, race, Michael Jordan, the NBA, as well as money and drugs in sports. The sickness made the future basketball star quite frail and even caused him to miss an entire school year.