Wilt Chamberlain (born Wilton Norman Chamberlain) was an American basketball star who played for several NBA teams. Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied at Overbrook High School where he played on his school’s team for three years, scoring more than 2200 points. During high school, he measured 6 feet, 11 inches tall, and after finishing school he grew a further 2 inches to reach an astonishing height of 7 feet, 1 inch. He was a popular member of his team and was given a number of nicknames by teammates, media reporters and fans such as “Wilt the Stilt” and “The Big Dipper”.
After a successful high school career, Chamberlain was sought out by many of the top universities on a basketball scholarship. He finally chose to join the University of Kansas where he began to play for their team, the Jayhawks in 1956. He led his team to the NCAA finals the following year, but they lost the game to North Carolina. Nevertheless, Chamberlain had made his mark and was given the title of “Most Outstanding Player” of the tournament. The very next season, he made it to the all-America and all-conference teams. He left college without graduating in 1958 but had to wait for one season before going pro because of NBA prohibitions regarding recruitment of seniors who hadn’t finished college. In the meantime, he decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters for a sum of $50,000.
He turned pro in 1959, starting his professional career with the Philadelphia Warriors. In his first game, the Warriors played the Knicks, and Chamberlain scored 43 points. For that season, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Most Valuable Player. In 1962, he made history by becoming the first NBA player to score 100 points in a game, a record which stands to date. He also became the first NBA player to score more than 4000 points in a season. His average score was 50.4 points per game. During this time, he was selected for the All-NBA first team for three consecutive years. Chamberlain had a long standing
