Wilt Chamberlain Biography

Fast Facts

• Set NBA single-game records for most points with 100, most consecutive field goals with 18 and most rebounds with 55
• Was the only NBA player to score 4,000 points in a season
• When he retired from the NBA, he had the all-time high in career points with 31,419, though the record was later surpassed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Played college basketball for the University of Kansas
• Left college a year early to go pro, but due to an NBA rule preventing college players from playing professionally until their class graduated, he played in the Harlem Globetrotters for a year, earning the unprecedented sum of $50,000
• Was a track and field star in high school and college
• Because of his actions during his career, the NBA instituted many rules changes, including widening the lane, instituting offensive goaltending and revising rules about inbounding the ball and shooting free throws
• Was known for blocking dunks with his sheer strength, one of the few NBA players of his time who could do so
• After retiring from the NBA, he pursued such interests as coaching, acting, volleyball, tennis, marathon running, polo and reading
• Named his home Ursa Major after the constellation containing the stars of the Big Dipper, his basketball moniker